Cop who blew the whistle on sex in Sparta department wins a bigger pension

SPARTA — A New Jersey appellate court has reversed a previous decision denying accidental disability retirement benefits to a former Sparta police corporal who claims he and a fellow officer were harassed, and eventually fired for blowing the whistle on sexual misconduct within the department.

William Karasik appealed a Jan. 14, 2014 decision made by the Board of Trustees of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System granting him ordinary disability retirement, but rejected his application for accidental disability retirement benefits.

Karasik filed for accidental disability benefits based on a series of incidents that took place beginning in September 2001, when he and former officer Arthur Monto Jr. entered the police station's main lobby and "saw Detective Sgt. Casteel with his hands down the blouse of the female records clerk, publicly fondling her breasts," the appellate court wrote.

The department was still in the aftermath of an earlier sexual conduct scandal — when the contentious breakup of a married superior officer and a married patrol officer was disclosed, the court wrote. All officer had been ordered to obey the department's code of conduct — which included reporting known violations, it wrote.

The officers reported the incident to their supervisor, who then notified the department's internal affairs commander, the court wrote. The internal affairs investigator then told Casteel which officers reported him, the court wrote wrote.

According to the court decision, Karasik testified he was told  you "crossed the blue line" and was otherwise harassed by fellow officers.

"As (Karasik) testified, 'We were no longer considered patrolmen. We were considered trash to them,'" the court wrote.

In addition to the alleged verbal harassment by fellow officers, Karasik claimed other members of the department would try to discredit him by taking information out of his reports, according to the court. He also claims his vacation requests were denied and a junior officer was given the dates he asked for.

Karasik also had testified that between 2002 to 2003 while in the police station locker room, other officers "would load their guns and rack their weapons, with the barrel pointed" in his direction, according to the court.

When he attempted to report the incidents to the Internal Affairs officers, the IA officer allegedly told him that he "wasn't entertaining any complaints."

In another instance, Karasik was participating in an outdoor firearms training session in which the barrel and ammunition were exchanged for different parts that allowed officers to shoot paintballs instead of real bullets.

At one point, a supervising officer approached Karasik and said "You know what? It's very easy for these to get mixed up, Bill," the court wrote.

It cited Karasik's testimony that the supervisor then "held the bullet and the barrel in his hand," and said "you know how easy it would be to get killed out here."

Karasik then hid behind a shed out of fear, the appellate court documents state.

Then, on June 13, 2013, while Karasik was at his workstation doing a report, when his sergeant, who sat behind him, began playing with his service weapon, racking it, holding the firearm close to Karasik's head and making comments about weapons "accidentally discharging," he testified, according the court ruling.

The officer said he could feel the end of the gun at the back of his head and was afraid to move out of fear that he would "get shot" since the sergeant allegedly had his finger on the trigger, according to court documents, the court ruling states.

Karasik said he was so traumatized by the incident he began therapy and took sick leave, then didn't return to work. The officer said he was plagued by nightmares and post-traumatic stress disorder.

In March 2004, Karasik's employment was terminated, the lawsuit states. Monto and Karasik subsequently filed a lawsuit under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act against Sparta, claiming that they were ostracized and fired because they reported the misconduct. They said doing so denied them years of credit toward their pensions.

After a 12-day trial in state Superior Court in Newton in 2010, a jury returned a 6-0 verdict in favor of the two officers, according to the New Jersey Herald.

The two officers were awarded a $1.9 million settlement, with each of the men receiving $633,333 with the balance being used for attorney fees. In addition, the Herald reported, Sparta Township agreed to pay roughly $200,000 to cover contributions it would have made to the officers' pensions.

Monto and Karsik were both reinstated to their jobs for one day in July 2010, so that they could apply to the state pension board for credit, but two years later, the Board of Trustees for the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System ruled that they were not eligible for pension credit since the settlement waived them from seeking any back pay.

They filed, and won, an appeal to obtain pension benefits for the years they served on the department, according to appellate court documents.

In addition, Karasik filed for accidental disability benefits, which pay more than regular disability. His claim was denied when the pension board determined that "retaliation and harassment do not qualify as a traumatic event."

The appellate court Tuesday overturned the decision however, in light of the ongoing incidents, particularly the incident involving his sergeant holding a gun near the back of his head.

The appellate court's decision states that the events "satisfactorily proves he suffered a traumatic and horror-induced event causing his disability that qualifies for accidental disability retirement benefits."

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.

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