The former New Jersey schools superintendent who pleaded guilty last year to pooping under the bleachers of a high school athletic field near his home filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday claiming police illegally took his mugshot and maliciously leaked it to the media.

Thomas Tramaglini, 43, the former Kenilworth school superintendent, claims in court papers police departments are “expressly prohibited” under state law from taking booking mugshots for “low-level, non-criminal offenses.” Tramaglini was issued three summonses and later pleaded guilty to a single non-criminal municipal offense of defecating in public. He attributed the incident to a medical condition that affects his bowel movements when he runs.

Tramaglini made headlines around the world after police announced he had been arrested and accused of defecating at the Holmdel High School’s track and field complex. The school’s resource officer had set up a surveillance operation after reports of feces found near the track, authorities have said.

The charges led the Kenilworth district to place Tramaglini on administrative leave and he later resigned.

Tramaglini claims in the suit he “will never achieve the level of compensation benefits, and retirement pension income that he would have otherwise if the unlawfully taken photographs of him had not been released to the media.” Public records show he earned $147,504 a year before being forced to resign.

The former superintendent claims the mugshot was released to media organizations “to satisfy the prurient interests of certain members of the Holmdel Township Police Department and others they conspired with.”

The lawsuit contends taking and distributing the mugshot was illegal under New Jersey law.

The suit, filed by Morristown attorney Matthew C. Adams, names the township, Patrolman Jonathan C. Martin, Police Chief John Mioduszewski, several other unnamed officers and non-law enforcement personnel, along with “body politics.”

Tramaglini says his troubles began pre-dawn on May 1, 2018 when he was approached by Martin at the Holmdel athletic track, where he had been running for exercise. The officer ordered Tramaglini to meet him at the police department and both men drove there in separate cars, the suit states.

When Tramaglini arrived, he claims he was issued two summonses for violating non-criminal township ordinances. He was then issued booking arrest number 008978, handed a booking plaque and photographed by Martin and others, the suit states.

“The referenced booking photograph was immediately thereafter widely disseminated to the news media and others,” the suit states. The photo and “misleading stories” that Tramaglini had been arrested were then published by media outlets worldwide, the suit states.

Though not named as defendants, the lawsuit specifically cites NJ.com and the Asbury Park Press as examples of two New Jersey media outlets that ran with the story and published the photo multiple times.

“This pattern of embellished, sensationalized reporting based upon the impressions first created by (police and the township) and those acting in concert with them, repeated as the story of Tramaglini’s supposed ‘arrest’ and resulting court appearances were reported throughout the state of New Jersey, the nation, and the world,” the suit states.

Tramaglini claims the publicity forced him to step down as superintendent of schools in Kenilworth, ending a 20-year career in public education before the charges had been brought to court. In admitting to the municipal offense, Tramaglini agreed to a $500 fine and court costs.

Members of the Kenilworth Board of Education cited the mugshot as the basis for parting ways with Tramaglini, the suit states.

Tramaglini claims in the eight-count suit police violated his civil rights and that police and township officials should have known taking the mugshot and distributing the photo was illegal. The suit also claims intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring, training and supervision of police, defamation, invasion of privacy and intrusion..

Holmdel Township officials were not immediately available to comment on the suit Wednesday morning.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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