Port Authority lawsuit filed by former employee Jerry Speziale ends, judge rules

Associated Press | Associated Press

NEWARK — A federal judge tossed a whistleblower suit Thursday that accused the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey of retaliating against former high-ranking police official and current Paterson public safety director Jerry Speziale.

Speziale filed suit against the Port Authority in 2014, claiming he was retaliated against after reporting internal violations.

U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo wrote that as a bi-state organization, the Port Authority isn't bound by the New Jersey whistleblower law cited in the lawsuit. Under its charter dating back nearly 100 years, the Port Authority isn't liable under a law of one state unless both states have enacted laws that are substantially similar.

Speziale, who was previously the sheriff of Passaic County, was hired in 2010 as the Port Authority's deputy superintendent of public safety at a salary of $198,000, according to court filings.

In October, 2013, Speziale resigned from the Port Authority to take a job as police chief in Prichard, Alabama, a small town outside of Mobile. In 2015, Speziale returned to Paterson to become public safety director and later took on a second job as police chief in Hazelton, Pennsylvania.

Among Speziale's claims were that he was denied medical leave benefits to be with his terminally ill wife while she underwent treatment. The Port Authority denied that allegation and other claims in the lawsuit.

Speziale didn't return phone and email messages seeking comment.

NorthJersey.com staff writer Keldy Ortiz contributed to this article.

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