BRIDGETON — A 40-year employee of the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office is suing her employer, claiming she was reprimanded after telling a co-worker the prosecutor patronized "an upscale adult boutique."

An internal affairs investigation was launched in March after it was discovered that long-time employee Francine Hovermann, 58, of Minotola, told a co-worker the details of her January trip to Philadelphia with Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae, according to the suit filed Oct. 21.

On Jan. 11, Webb-McRae and Hovermann traveled to Philadelphia to celebrate Hovermann’s birthday. After dinner they went to the Kink Shoppe, an “upscale adult boutique store,” where Webb-McRae purchased two vibrators, the lawsuit claims.

About a month after the trip, Hovermann and legal secretary Mary Kaganzev went out to lunch in Bridgeton, where the lawsuit states Hovermann told Kaganzev about the trip and Webb-McRae’s alleged purchases.

Following the lunch, Kaganzev complained to the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office Professional Standards Unit because she believed it was inappropriate for Hovermann to have told her about the trip and alleged purchases, the lawsuit stated, adding Webb-McRae and First Assistant Prosecutor Harold Shapiro then authorized the internal affairs investigation by the standards unit.

But Hovermann maintains in the lawsuit the discussion between herself and Kaganzev did not violate any internal rule or regulation within the county prosecutor’s office. Further, that internal affairs does not have the authority to investigate the personal, private affairs and conversations of employees which have no bearing on the duties and responsibilities as employees in the prosecutor’s office.

Webb-McRae, a Democrat-backed appointment in 2010, could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday night.

The lawsuit adds the investigation’s use of public resources for a wholly private and personal matter was an abuse of authority.

The prosecutor’s office sought to terminate Hovermann as punishment, according to the lawsuit. She was ultimately demoted two steps from her position of certified public manager/office administrator to legal secretary, cutting about $30,000 from her yearly salary, the lawsuit claims.

Breach of confidentially and lack of candor were amongst the charges brought against Hovermann, according to the lawsuit.

On Sept. 4, Shapiro issued a letter of reprimand to Hovermann, which, according to the lawsuit, stated: “Your disclosure to Kaganzev did not reflect personal respect for Kaganzev or for the prosecutor. Nor did the disclosure of personal information involving the prosecutor to Kaganzev reflect positively upon the office.”

Shapiro added that Hovermann acted inappropriately by also allegedly telling William T. Johnson, former chief of detectives for the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, about her trip to Philadelphia with Webb-McRae.

The lawsuit also claims that during the internal affairs investigation Hovermann was ordered to answer questions under the threat of discipline and/or termination about her personal trip to Philadelphia with Webb-McRae and to whom else Hovermann recounted the story.

The lack of candor charge against Hovermann resulted because Hovermann initially denied to internal affairs detectives that she told Kaganzev about the Philadelphia trip with Webb-McRae. However, the suit says Hovermann called detectives on the same day of being questioned to amend her initial statement.

On Sept. 20, Webb-McRae issued Hovermann’s demotion, according to the suit. The demotion is currently pending appeal at the Civil Service Commission.

The written reprimand is being handled in Superior Court.

Hovermann is demanding the written reprimand be reversed and the internal affairs investigation be retracted with no further action taken against her, along with her attorney fees and costs covered.

Cumberland County Solicitor Ted Baker would not comment on pending litigation.

“This is a personal and private matter and it should have stayed that way," said John Rowland, Hovermann’s lawyer. “There is ongoing litigation in multiple forums and agencies and we don’t want to taint the investigation currently pending by commenting further. The suit speaks for itself.”

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Contact staff writer Spencer Kent at 856-451-1000 ext. 516 or at skent@southjerseymedia.com.