Former Hackensack Deputy Chief Frank Zisa sues city, mayor for $3 million in federal court

HACKENSACK— Former Hackensack Deputy Police Chief Frank Zisa is suing the city and Mayor John Labrosse for $3.18 million in federal court, alleging a salary increase he was owed was not processed because he is a member of the Zisa political family.

Zisa, who retired in 2010, alleges that a retroactive salary increase was not processed for his pension because Labrosse prevented the salary change from being reported to the state pension department. Zisa claims that Labrosse did this in retaliation for his political affiliation, according to the complaint.

"The mayor in particular has a vendetta against the Zisa family," Louis Zayas, Zisa's attorney, said. "In the recent election, they made remarks about the Zisa family. They talked in a disparaging manner about the Zisa family."

Labrosse said that he wasn't privy to pension discussions with any employee, including Zisa.

"I never knew anything about Frank Zisa's pension," Labrosse said. "I was never involved in pension discussions."

The city is adamant that it has done all it should and could do and officials responded to every request from the state pension department for information.

"The city does not owe him anything," Steve Kleinman, the city attorney, said. "It will be up to pensions to determine what he is or isn’t entitled to. The city has tried repeatedly to try and resolve this issue with pensions."

Zisa, 56, retired in May 2010 and received a document detailing his retirement benefits the next month, according to the complaint. He claims that the salary for his last year of city employment did not reflect a salary increase that the city processes Jan. 1 every year. Zisa's annual pension should be $116,825, according to his 2015 tort claim.

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At the center of Zisa's complaint is the allegation that Labrosse tried to block Zisa from receiving his full pension because of his being part of the Zisa family that controlled city politics for years. At one point, Zisa's older brothers Jack and Ken were the city's mayor and police chief, respectively. During last year's City Council campaign, Labrosse often used the Zisa family's influence as a talking point.

The suit claims that despite Zisa's repeated communications with the city's pension fund supervisor, the issue was not resolved and documentation was not provided, at the behest of Labrosse. A 2015 tort claim, or a notice to file a lawsuit, alleges that both Labrosse and Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino instructed James Mangin, the city's chief financial officer, not to hand over documentation to the pension department.

"That never happened," said Mangin, who is not named in the lawsuit. "I've never had a conversation with the mayor or deputy mayor regarding Frank Zisa ever."

Canestrino declined to comment.

Zisa claims that from May 2010, when he retired, to Dec. 2015, he lost $19,663 in alleged underpaid pension. More than $3,000 in wages per year was not calculated in his pension, according to the tort claim.

This is not the first time Zisa has been involved in litigation with the city. In August 2012, the city paid $2.48 million to Alessandra Viola, a department dispatcher and former girlfriend of Zisa. Viola alleged that she faced disciplinary charges after she resisted sexual advances by both Frank and Ken Zisa, Frank's brother and the former city police chief. She also alleged retaliation for shielding officers from the chief’s attempts to intimidate them to vote for certain candidates in a 2008 union election.

Email: torrejon@northjersey.com