Seaside Heights targeted Karma over too many black, gay patrons: Lawsuit Scroll down to read John Saddy's lawsuit

Jean Mikle | Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Police misconduct: Using cops to shutdown a business? In 2007, the owner of the Sawmill bar claimed Seaside Park town leaders wanted to put him out of business because he was bringing “black bands” to the town that claimed to be the Shore’s “Family Resort.”

SEASIDE HEIGHTS - The owner of Karma nightclub has sued Seaside Heights in federal court, claiming police and borough officials unfairly targeted his business because he would not accede to their demands to stop hosting events that could attract African-American and gay patrons.

The borough's’ mayor, council, municipal employees and police officers “has implemented and maintains an unconstitutional, discriminatory and racist policy, practice and/or custom of discouraging and limiting African-American and LGBTQ (Lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer/questioning) visitors to Seaside Heights," according to the lawsuit filed in Trenton.

It was filed on behalf of John P. Saddy, a Toms River resident who has operated nightclubs and bars in the borough for more than 25 years.

The lawsuit claims Seaside officials conspired to punish Saddy after the nightclub owner objected to the borough's "prohibition" on his playing hip hop and rap music in his nightclubs and the borough's attempts to limit the number of African-American patrons.

"When they say 'family friendly,' they mean white, straight people," Freehold lawyer Thomas J. Mallon, who is representing Saddy, said of the officials' preferred clientele.

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The lawsuit claims the town has "a history of abusing power and taking retaliatory actions against residents and/or citizens for exercising their constitutional rights."

"Contrary to the Borough of Seaside Heights' public claims that it is trying to promote a 'family environment,' the borough, through the individually named defendants, is actually trying to promote a 'white' and 'straight' environment," the lawsuit states.

Borough Attorney Jean Cipriani rejected all of Saddy's claims in a strongly worded statement.

She said the lawsuit is full of "outrageous, false and inflammatory allegations made by an individual who is looking for money and who is willing to make wild and unsupported smears about public servants in pursuit of that money.

"The Borough of Seaside Heights does not discriminate on the basis of race or sexual preference or identity. Period," Cipriani wrote in a emailed statement.

She said that Saddy's suit was filed in retaliation for the borough's efforts to have Karma's liquor and mercantile licenses revoked earlier this year.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are the Borough of Seaside Heights, Mayor Anthony Vaz and Borough Council members Richard Tompkins, Michael Carbone, Louis DiGiulio, Agnes Polhemus, Harry Smith and Victoria Graichen, Administrator Christopher Vaz (the mayor's son), and Police Chief Thomas Boyd, police Sgt. Luigi Violante and unnamed borough employees and police officers.

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The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of money to compensate for income Saddy says he lost after the borough's crackdown on Karma, as well as payments for "emotional distress" and payment of attorney fees.

Among the allegations contained in court documents:

Saddy says that his nightclubs were frequently targeted by police and other borough officials, who threatened to disrupt his businesses if he tried to host hip hop or rap events or parties that would appeal to the LBGTQ community.

He says he was issued "baseless" code enforcement summonses and that an "unjustified police raid" was made May 27 at Karma, when police, Ocean County Sheriff's officers, firefighters and at first aid squad volunteers came to the club during the "Hyperglow" dance party.

Borough officials said they went to Karma because they had received calls about overdoses and underage drinking. Saddy said he was at the club May 27 "and did not witness any overdoses on his property or injury to any person."

Seaside Heights pressured Saddy to limit the number of African Americans coming to his nightclubs. He said borough officials "made clear" that he was not to host hip hop or rap music shows, since those might attract African-American patrons.

"High-ranking" borough officials, including Chief Boyd, were sent to Saddy's nightclubs specifically to count the number of African-Americans present and report this information to the mayor and council.

Chief Boyd told Saddy he had too many 'n------' in his clubs, using a racial slur, and warned him not to cater to African-Americans by playing hip hop and rap music.

After the borough was devastated by superstorm Sandy in October 2012, Saddy spoke with Administrator Christopher Vaz about hosting hip hop, rap and LBGTQ events to boost his sagging revenue. Vaz replied that if Saddy hosted such events,"the police would be living" at his venues.

In April, Saddy and an African-American promoter/rapper met with Administrator Vaz to again discuss the possibility of having hip hop and LBGTQ-friendly events at Karma and Bamboo. After Saddy suggested boosting tourism by bringing such events to his nightclubs, Vaz told Saddy that "'blacks and fags' did not conjure images of a family-oriented town."

In the early 2000s, Seaside Heights forced Saddy to a maintain a police presence outside his nightclubs, and to hire off-duty Seaside Heights officers to work there. He said he was forced to reimburse the borough for use of the off-duty officers "at a rate of pay significantly higher" than Seaside Heights usually paid its officers.

In 1992, Saddy was ordered to support incumbent candidates in the Seaside Heights municipal election "under threat from the Borough Council that it would institute a selective 12 a.m. closing time for the Bamboo Bar — a death sentence for any nightclub."

Saddy was told not to host an event sponsored by Hennessy cognac because Chief Boyd said such an event "would attract too many African-Americans to Seaside Heights." If he moved forward with the event, Saddy was told the Seaside police department would conduct a raid.

Reached on Thursday, Chief Boyd said he could not comment on the lawsuit. He directed inquiries to the borough attorney's office.

The borough went to state Superior Court in Toms River on May 22 in an attempt to have Karma closed for good.

Seaside Heights claimed Karma was being operated in violation of a site plan approval that calls for a full-service restaurant to be open on the property.

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Site plan approvals from 2008 require Karma's owners to have a full-service restaurant, to be operated on the club's first level, by "an independent restaurateur."

The owners of Savor, the restaurant that previously operated in the first-floor space, announced in April that they would not be reopening this year. Saddy said he was operating a restaurant on the premises, Chillz, until a new restaurateur could take its place.

According to the lawsuit, on May 25, Zoning Officer Kenneth Roberts and building inspector Charles Lasky came to the nightclub and issued Saddy summonses for "change of use" and "erecting a temporary stage." Lasky said Administrator Vaz had ordered him to issue the summonses.

Some time later, Roberts called Saddy and told him to "rip up" the summonses, according to court documents. Saddy said Roberts told him that the borough was dismissing the summonses because no such charges existed in Seaside Heights' ordinances.

On May 26, nine state fire inspectors visited Karma and Chillz. Saddy said he was told that the borough asked the state to inspect his property, but that no violations were found.

On May 27, Seaside Heights police, Ocean County sheriff's officers, firefighters and first aid squad members showed up at Karma, with their vehicles surrounding the building. Police began aggressively frisking patrons, according to the lawsuit.

Borough officials said the large response was warranted because of reports of overdoses and intoxicated patrons at the club. The club was hosting "Hyperglow," an electronic dance party that previously had been run by the borough on the beach, the lawsuit states.

Karma nightclub owner Saddy filmed the video below of the police presence outside the club on May 27.

Karma nightclub owner films police and first aid outside Seaside club Karma nightclub owner John Saddy filmed first aid and police vehicles outside his Seaside Heights club on May 27.

On May 29, Administrator Vaz spoke about Karma to the Asbury Park Press. He said, "I am personally going to recommend that their license not be renewed."

"We had a great day on Friday with the country concert, and then you get these clowns completely ignoring what they are allowed to do on the Boulevard," Vaz said.

Seaside Heights has spent several years trying to change its image from what Mayor Vaz has called "the bar atmosphere."

That atmosphere was on display in the mega-hit MTV show "Jersey Shore," which featured the exploits of a group of young partiers who stayed in Seaside for several summers, and frequented both Karma and the Bamboo Bar.

The TV show shone a bright light on Seaside and brought welcome publicity, along with tourists who hoped to visit the same spots frequented by Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Jenni "Jwoww" Farley and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino. Snooki celebrated a major milestone in the video above.

But it also stoked an image of the borough as an alcohol-soaked party town for 20-somethings. The "Jersey Shore" cast was frequently shown partying at Karma and the nearby Bamboo Bar, also owned by Saddy.

While Seaside Heights officials say the "Jersey Shore" experience was a net positive for the borough, Mayor Vaz and Borough Council members have said they want the town to shift back to the more family-friendly image it had in the 1960s and 1970s.

After the May 7 raid, Saddy said his business dried up, noting that promoters were no longer interested in booking events at Karma, and a restaurateur who was slated to take over Chillz backed out of the deal.

The Borough Council also adopted an ordinance last summer banning "teen nights" and those under 21 from patronizing a nightclub unless they were attending a dinner or private party.

While the measure impacts all bars and clubs in Seaside Heights, the greatest impact was on Karma and the Bamboo Bar, which have both had "18 to enter, 21 to drink" policies.

Saddy claims he was targeted, in part, because borough officials blamed him for a series of lawsuits filed over the past 10 years by people who accused Seaside Heights police of using excessive force when making arrests.

Police misconduct: Accusers say it's institutional Freehold Attorney Thomas J. Mallon has represented scores of excessive force plaintiffs. He says police brutality becomes part of the culture in certain police departments, a tactic passed down from one generation to the next.

He has likened his situation to that of former Sawmill Restaurant owner Stephen D'Onofrio, who began bringing live music to the restaurant in the early 2000s.

D'Onofrio said Seaside Park officials attempted to shut him down after he hosted a 2004 show by the rapper Method Man. The borough eventually settled with D'Onofrio for $2.5 million.

D'Onofrio's then-manager Kevin Kopacko said their attorney advised them to videotape the police presence at the club. Kopacko got into a physical altercation with police while videotaping them, which you can see in the video at the top.

Saddy contends Seaside Heights' officials blamed him for the excessive force lawsuits because some of the incidents happened outside his businesses. In the lawsuit, Saddy contends that he "became embroiled as a named defendant" in some of the excessive force suits, because police arrested him.

The borough has settled several lawsuits claiming police used excessive force in the past decade. Mallon, Saddy's lawyer, has represented the majority of the people who have filed excessive force lawsuits against Seaside Heights.

He estimated that Seaside Heights has paid out well over $1 million in settlements and legal fees related to the lawsuits.

The borough and its officers did not admit to any wrongdoing in any of the settled cases.

Borough Attorney Cipriani pointed out that in 2014 Saddy was forced to pay a former Toms River High School East quarterback $50,000 after an Ocean County jury found that the bar owner filed false assault charges against the former gridiron star.

Toms River resident Jared Morris, 25, filed charges of abuse of process and malicious intent against Saddy in 2010, after Saddy claimed Morris had punched him in the face during a melee at Bamboo Bar on April 3, 2010, according to court documents.

A jury found no evidence that Morris assaulted Saddy.

Cipriani said "Saddy has fabricated lawsuits in the past to gain an advantage in litigation," referring specifically to the Morris case.

"Mr. Saddy’s current complaint against the borough and borough officials demonstrates that he is just as disingenuous and malicious now as he was then," Cipriani said.

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Mallon noted that Morris also filed an excessive force lawsuit against the police department in connection with the 2010 incident, saying he was attacked by police after leaving the bar, sprayed with pepper spray, and injured when his face was smashed into the sidewalk pavement.

Mallon said it was curious that Cipriani did not mention Morris' excessive force suit in her response. The suit was settled in 2013 for an undisclosed amount.

"It's extremely disingenuous to suggest that their department was blame-free in this case, or any of those cases," Mallon said.

Jean Mikle: 732-643-4050, @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com