A South Jersey police captain has filed a third lawsuit against his boss and township, alleging the police chief unfairly promoted his wife to a top post in the department. But the town says the captain just can’t accept that the promotion process was fair, and he wasn’t the best man for the job.
Carmen Del Palazzo, a police captain in Voorhees Township, alleges in the latest complaint that both the township and its police chief, Louis Bordi, retaliated against him and created a hostile work environment after he lodged whistleblowing complaints about the process used to promote the chief’s wife.
This complaint follows two others that Del Palazzolodged against Bordi and township officials in December.
In the earlier civil suits, Bordi is accused of using his position to unfairly appoint his wife, April Herrington-Bordi, as the department’s deputy chief.
In a statement on Wednesday, Voorhees Township officials said the allegations in the lawsuits are untrue and the selection process used to promote Herrington-Bordi was approved by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission — the agency that oversees hiring for local service employees.
“Instead of accepting this simple truth, and the hard fact that he was not the superior candidate, Captain Del Palazzo has pursued a campaign of filing multiple lawsuits, all of which must continue to be defended at taxpayer expense,” the township’s statement said.
On March 27, Del Palazzo hit Bordi and Voorhees Township with the most recent lawsuit, again claiming that the mayor and council created a “sham” interview process to appoint Herrington-Bordi to the second-in-command role.
Herrington-Bordi was named the department’s temporary deputy chief in August 2022. She was then appointed as permanent deputy chief last April through a waiver process approved by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, according to court documents.
Bordi and the township bypassed standard testing procedures for the deputy chief role and requested a waiver from the Civil Service Commission, allowing officials to select and promote a permanent employee.
Both Del Palazzo and Herrington-Bordi showed interest in taking the civil service test for the position and were informed by township officials that they’d instead be eligible for the position through the waiver. However, when Herrington-Bordi was chosen, township officials allegedly told Del Palazzo that he was ineligible for the waiver, the complaint says.
Del Palazzo said he expressed concerns about the process last May. Since then, Chief Bordi and Deputy Chief Herrington-Bordi began to “undermine his authority” and “micromanage” his job, he claimed in the suit.
Bordi also allegedly started assigning Del Palazzo “busy work,” including a traffic study that he had never done before in his 22 years with the department.
The lawsuit also claims the department did not include Del Palazzo in its recent promotions of sergeants.
Bordi is also accused of refusing to assign more personnel to help with the division Del Palazzo oversees, and of isolating and humiliating Del Palazzo in front of coworkers, according to court documents.
Township officials have not taken any action to investigate Del Palazzo’s claims, the complaint alleges.
According to the township, Del Palazzo has never been suspended, disciplined or terminated in connection with any of these events “and has received several pay raises.”
“He continues to conduct vital supervisory responsibilities for the Township. The Township will vigorously defend against these claims,” Voorhees officials said, on behalf of the township, Bordi and Herrington-Bordi.
A separate complaint was made against Bordi by another person, which found the chief in violation of state ethics laws for employment actions involving his spouse, son and nephew, according to court documents. Bordi appealed this decision and it is waiting to be reviewed by the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law. Del Palazzo requests the court to consider that decision, as well.
In Del Palazzo’s lawsuits, he is asking the court to revoke Herrington-Bordi’s appointment, fill the vacancy through a competitive testing process and discipline the police chief for violating the township’s conflict of interest ordinance and state whistleblowing laws.
“My client’s overarching goal underlying all of his actions has been to ensure that the Township’s elected officials and representatives act in compliance with the law.” Patricia Barasch, Del Palazzo’s attorney, said in a statement.
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Nyah Marshall may be reached at Nmarshall@njadvancemedia.com.
