‘Pretty evil stuff’ — Firefighter says racist posts weren’t his

BAYONNE — A member of this city's fire department for more than 25 years is fighting to keep that job amid an investigation into racist posts that showed up on a Facebook page the firefighter confirmed is his, although he claims the posts were the work of hackers.

Keith Castaldo told The Jersey Journal, as published by NJ.com, that Facebook notified him he had been hacked, but because he had not been active on the social networking service for a while, he made no attempt to deactivate his account. However, his page is now deleted.

The NJ.com report said that for a period of several months in 2017, pictures of African Americans, Muslims, and other minorities were posted on Castaldo's page, along with disparaging remarks about former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.

"None of that stuff is mine," Castaldo told The Jersey Journal, calling it "some pretty evil stuff that I don't agree with whatsoever." Bayonne's fire chief said the department and the city are conducting a joint investigation.

Patrick Lavery produces "New Jersey's First News" and is New Jersey 101.5's morning drive breaking news reporter. Follow him on Twitter @plavery1015 or email patrick.lavery@townsquaremedia.com.

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