Once a trooper, always a trooper.

It’s the motto of the Association of Former New Jersey State Troopers, a fraternal, social group for retirees of, like their name suggests, the New Jersey State Police. It’s on the back of the cards members carry.

For John O’Keefe, though, it’s become a phrase of betrayal.

The organization -- of which he was a member for 20 years, the most recent three as treasurer of its board of directors -- threw him out last year for what he said are a series of retaliatory, trumped-up violations born from his duty to protect the State Police.

Retired New Jersey State Police Trooper John O'Keefe at New Jersey State Police Headquarters in West Trenton on May 2, 2019.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media

And it all has to do with him questioning a plan to sell New Jersey State Police-emblazoned clothing and collectibles on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.

In essence, money, O’Keefe said.

The 30-year trooper who retired a lieutenant says he informed the State Police superintendent about the for-profit venture out of loyalty, and the plan was halted, for good reason, he believes. Months later, he was banned from the group for five years.

Word got around, and other retirees have turned their back on the Hamilton resident.

“What flabbergasts me the most is that I have been ostracized and shunned – and I was trying to protect the State Police,” he said recently.

O’Keefe, who retired in 1996, says an organization that should be a light lift - golf outings, picnics, scholarships and camaraderie – has turned into one of legal wrangling, for-profit ventures and non-disclosure agreements.

That’s right, O’Keefe had to sign what’s commonly called an NDA after he went to the superintendent’s office.

He’s tried to appeal to the organization and has spoken with a lawyer, all to no avail.

Without anywhere else to turn, the 77-year-old arrived at his local newspaper’s office with a bundle of papers to state his case. He knows his plight does rise to a critical level of public concern, but a group making money selling NJSP gear should, he argues.

Why does a social group for retirees need members to sign NDAs? Why would they expel him after he went to the leader of an organization they all served? O’Keefe is curious about that.

The current president of the Association of Former New Jersey State Troopers, often called the Former Troopers Association, or just FTA, Nicholas Soranno, declined to comment for this story. He too is under an NDA, he said.

The organization’s lawyer, Carl Soranno, the president’s brother, said he could not comment on specifics O’Keefe may be discussing publicly, and issued this statement:

“The FTA has no comment at this time to Mr. O’Keefe’s allegations, other than to wish John well, thank him for his service to the FTA, and expects him to honor his agreement of confidentiality. The FTA remains committed to its membership, its charitable works and the work it does for the good of the order of the New Jersey State Police.”

It all started in June 2017, O’Keefe says, when, as FTA treasurer, he learned about the plan to sell NJSP-logo items at highway rest area shops.

What used to be just the FTA, O’Keefe explained, grew in 2013 and 2015, to three connected groups: the FTA, the True Blue & Gold Inc. and the N.J. Former Troopers Heritage Foundation.

True Blue & Gold was formed in 2015 from the Heritage group, and their plan was to start selling the gear on the two toll highways on July 1 of that year.

O’Keefe brought it up at an FTA board meeting. We should let the superintendent know about this, was his thought.

That’s not necessary, we are a separate organization, the board decided, O’Keefe recalls.

A 1996 photo of then New Jersey State Police Lt. John O'Keefe, at the agency's headquarters.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media

O’Keefe sought the opinions of other members, who he says agreed with him. And he just had an overriding feeling the head of the State Police should know that NJSP gear was going to be on sale on highways the agency patrols.

So he did it on his own. He wasn’t violating any laws. This was a fraternal group.

“I was loyal to the State Police,” he said.

The sale was halted, O’Keefe says, and paperwork he provided shows. (True Blue & Gold’s website is selling such merchandise.)

Exactly why is unclear. Rick Fuentes was the superintendent at the time. He could not be reached for comment, and the State Police did not immediately return a request for comment as well.

There must have been a legitimate concern, O’Keefe agues. “They acted upon it.”

The hostility started soon after, from FTA board members, he says.

One member, a retired major, said O’Keefe committed a “treasonous act.” O’Keefe, who served in the Marine Corps, bristles at that.

“Treason is providing aid and comfort to the enemy. How is the State Police superintendent the enemy?” he asks incredulously.

For the next few months, it got worse, and in January of 2018, Nicholas Soranno took over as president, and handed out NDAs to the board, O’Keefe said. Everyone signed, he said.

O’Keefe balked, said he wanted to review it. If he did not sign, O’Keefe suspected it would give them reason to expel him.

In March, the FTA expelled him anyway.

It occurred over several weeks in which there was a noise complaint about him at the FTA’s offices in the State Police complex in Ewing. He was talking too loudly.

And then there was a dust-up about a laptop the FTA bought for him, to work at home. The board should have voted on the purchase, O’Keefe said.

O’Keefe said he understands, as well as any, that in the grand scheme of things, he could just walk away from the issue, thrown up his hands and enjoy his retirement.

But it’s about his name, and the only place he sees is the newspaper: he’s old school.

“These are historical documents in the FTA,” he says.

“When I am dead and gone, I don’t want someone to see them and see that I was the treasurer and think this guy was a scumbag,” he said. “I wasn’t a thief, and I did not screw up.”

It’s important, he says, because, “Once a trooper, always a trooper.”

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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