The Hoboken City Council approved a $700,000 settlement between the city and former Public Safety Director Angel Alicea by a vote of 7-0 at the February 3 meeting, with Councilwoman Beth Mason and Councilman Tim Occhipinti absent for the vote.
On December 18, 2013 a Hudson County Superior Court jury awarded Alicea $1,065,000 dollars for a wrongful termination claim after deciding that the City of Hoboken had discriminated against Alicea, although Mayor Dawn Zimmer did not participate in the same practice.
Just five days later, the Hoboken City Council rejected the settlement terms when they were placed before them in the form of a resolution. Then, on April 21 of last year, Gerald Krovatin filed an appeal in Hudson County Superior Court’s Appellate Division.
Terms of the settlement force Alicea to drop all pending claims against the city, including a libel claim against Zimmer for allegedly making defamatory statements early last year about him following the jury’s verdict.
Alicea’s attorney, Louis Zayas, told Hudson County View that he was happy to settle the matter and was pleased with the city of Hoboken’s professionalism in rectifying this issue.
Several members of the council declined to comment on the settlement when approached by Hudson County View at the February 3 meeting and the full terms of the settlement were obtained through an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request.
the convenience of absence.
All that taxpayers money. Why isn’t anybody pissed?