A Bayonne firefighter has been suspended with pay after racially charged pictures were found on his personal Facebook page.

Keith J. Castaldo, a firefighter who has been with the department for more than 25 years, told The Jersey Journal on Friday that his page was hacked.

The posts, published over a period of several months last year, show photos of African Americans, Muslims and other minority groups and include disparaging comments regarding former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.

The Facebook page has since been deleted, but when reached by phone on Friday Castaldo confirmed the profile associated with the photos was his personal account. He said he had been notified by Facebook at one point that he had been hacked but he made no attempt to shut his page down.

"Based on the allegations, (Castaldo) is currently suspended with pay," Bayonne Fire Chief Keith Weaver told The Jersey Journal. "This is a personnel matter and the department, in conjunction with the city, will conduct a full investigation into this."

Castaldo on Friday said he has not been active on Facebook for a while and that "none of that stuff is mine," adding the posts were "some pretty evil stuff that I don't agree with whatsoever. ... I have nothing to do with it and I don't even know why it's being put up."

He added: "I got a warning from Facebook a while back that something was going wrong and that I had to deactivate. None of that stuff was mine. I don't know what to tell ya. ... That's just not me."

He told The Jersey Journal he would send emails confirming his page had been hacked, but those emails have not been received.

Castaldo, a member of FMBA Local 11, earns an annual salary of $119,991, according to city payroll records.

Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.