Montclair Settles the Whistleblower Lawsuit, Which Will Cost the Town Millions, But What About Mayor Sean Spiller’s Criminal Liability?

The Montclair Local  reported that the Montclair has settled the whistleblower lawsuit against Mayor Sean Spiller and the town.  Because the town’s lawyers stonewalled and prolonged the legal process, the lawsuit went on for over 18 months, resulting in $1,000,000 in legal fees for the plaintiff’s lawyers, all of which will be borne by Montclair taxpayers.  And this does not account for the “army” of lawyers defending Spiller and the town. In the end, the cost to taxpayers will likely run into the millions.  But this is not the end of the matter for Spiller, who, along with Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, still faces potential criminal liability.  Both are political pals of Gov. Murphy, and we ask if they will receive equal justice under the law as three Wildwood officials who were indicted for similar conduct.   All New Jersey will be watching the result.

Per the Local, the Montclair town council has settled the whistleblower lawsuit for $1,250,000.  The plaintiff, the former-CFO, was paid $250,000 and reinstalled in her job.  $1,000,000 went to her lawyers for their extensive work on the case.  While the payment to the plaintiff will be covered by insurance, the $1,000,000 for her lawyers will be paid by Montclair taxpayers.

But this does not account for all of the expenses from this lawsuit.  The town also paid for “army” of lawyers to defend Spiller and the town during the course of the legal battle that lasted over 18 months.  The plaintiff’s lawyer explained that the $1 million in fees occurred “because the town fought … so long and so hard,” causing the plaintiff’s lawyers to bill over 1,000 hours of work.

It didn’t have to be this way.  The Local quotes Judge Stephen Petrillo’s choice words for some of the legal arguments made by the town’s lawyers: “ridiculous,” “absurd”, and “nonsense.”  Petrillo criticized the town’s “wall of secrecy,” by which the Spiller and the town tried to keep information about the lawsuit from becoming public, which prolonged the legal process.  In other words, they wanted to keep Montclair citizens in the dark about the conduct of the town’s officers and it is the citizens who will pay for it. 

We hope that the town will be forced to reveal the overall legal costs, but we would predict that they will run into the millions.  All of this will be paid for by Montclair taxpayers.  No doubt another reason why Spiller decided not to run for re-election.

Nor is this is the end of the matter for Spiller, who faces potential criminal liability for allegedly accessing state health benefits that he was not eligible for.  The New Jersey Attorney General’s office appears to be conducting a criminal investigation and subpoenaed the town for pay records and other documents.  We do know that Spiller pleaded his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination over 400 times in his deposition for the whistleblower lawsuit.  And we do know that three Wildwood officials were indicted by the Attorney General for similar abuse of health benefits.  The criminal threat to Spiller appears very real: even Judge Petrillo stated he was “more worried” about town officers getting “health benefits they weren’t entitled to” than the town’s stonewalling in the civil lawsuit.

And then there’s the question about whether Murphy’s Attorney General will administer equal justice under the law for Murphy’s political pals.  Under Spiller, the NJEA has been Murphy’s biggest political supporter, spending over $15 million in support of him.  Indeed, Murphy has called Spiller a “dear friend” (per the Local).  Then there’s Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who has also been implicated in similar health benefits abuse.  Gill managed Murphy’s 2017 campaign for governor and ran the pro-Murphy Super PAC, New Direction New Jersey.

Will Spiller and Gill be subjected to the same legal standards as the Wildwood three?  All New Jersey will be watching.