Ex-Bayonne official, attorney, has law license temporarily suspended

0

Bayonne attorney Peter Cresci, a former city business administrator and frequent critic and the Mayor Jimmy Davis administration, had his law license temporarily suspended on Thursday and already said he plans on taking the necessary measures to be reinstated.

Peter Cresci

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

“It is ordered that Peter J. Cresci is temporarily suspended from the practice of law, effective immediately and until the further Order of this Court; and it is furthered ordered that Peter J. Cresci be restrained and enjoined from practicing law during this period of his suspension,” states the November 17 order signed by NJ Supreme Court clerk Mark Neary.

The order, which is only a little over one page, also says that Cresci cannot move any monies stored in a bank account related to his work as an attorney, pending a subsequent order from the court.

A reason or reasons for the suspension are not provided in the court order and no one from the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics, who filed a petition with the Supreme Court, could be reached for further details.

Cresci, who played a pivotal role in forcing Bayonne to implement a tax revaluation by 2019, the first one in almost three decades, and was also against merging the local municipal utilities authority into the Department of Public Works, confirmed the order was authentic and that his lawyers are moving to reinstate.

He also said the temporary suspension is a form of “retaliation and reprisal” after Cresci potentially handed the Davis administration a heavy blow on November 2 by getting three laid off employees reinstated, pending a final decision from the state Civil Service Commission.

“I dedicated myself several years ago to fight for people’s Civil Rights and insisting for better government for the people. The actions this week are in retaliation and reprisal of a recent action filed against the applicant of the order. It is also questionable timing as a recent court case reversed the illegal layoff conducted,” Cresci said in a lengthy text message.

“Mayor Davis, the [Bayonne] police chief and the deputy police chief were subpoenaed to testify within the [last] week by our office. Moreover, I understand local government officials were high-fiving, sending out texts and excited that they were clear of answering for their actions in taking bribes, soliciting contractors by our police department, sexually harassing employees and using the people’s coffers for their own personal edification.”

Cresci, also a Notre Dame alumnus and a U.S. Army veteran, added stated “the war is never won within the skirmish” and continued that since the motion was temporary and done without notice, his attorneys will move to reinstate his license.

Andrew Casais, Davis’ chief of staff, said that this is a matter between the Cresci and the state Office of Attorney Ethics, where the decision making rests in the hands of the state Supreme Court.


Warning: A non-numeric value encountered in /home/hcvcp/public_html/wp-content/themes/Hudson County View/includes/wp_booster/td_block.php on line 353

LEAVE A REPLY