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The town and a group of Guttenberg police officers are being sued by a North Bergen man who says he was arrested on false charges after his sister broke up with one of the officers.
(Journal file photo)
Brian Dorador
A former New York auxiliary police officer is suing Guttenberg and several town police officers alleging his sister's breakup with one of the officers led to retaliation against him and his false arrest for impersonating a cop and a weapons offense.
"It was terrifying and it destroyed his dream of becoming a cop," said attorney Louis Zayas of his client, Brian Dorador of North Bergen. "He couldn't even get a job at Walmart because the background check showed he had a criminal charge. It has been damaging to his reputation and financially."
Those named as defendants include the police department, Capt. Joel Magenheimer, Sgts. Jeff Lugo and Juan Barrera, Investigator Joseph Terello and officers Laura Sorto and Joseph Keselica.
Guttenberg Mayor Gerald Drasheff said the town does not comment on pending litigation and Magenheimer also declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The suit alleges that after Dorador's sister broke up with Keselica, the officer held a grudge against him. In August 2011 Sorto told Dorador that Keselica was planning a scheme to set him up and arrest him for impersonating an officer and carrying a weapon due to Keselica's animosity, the complaint says.
Dorador told Magenheimer about it and the captain told him "don't worry about it" and did not report it to the department's Internal Affairs unit. Unsatisfied, Dorador again went to Magenheimer, who told him he had nothing to worry about if he did nothing wrong and again did not report it to Internal Affairs, the suit alleges.
Fearing his complaints were not documented or acted upon, on Aug. 3, 2011 the auxiliary officer filed an Internal Affairs report concerning Keselica with the NYPD, saying Keselica intended to falsely arrest him on the two charges, the suit alleges.
Dorador had moved in with his parents in North Bergen because he was preparing to leave for the police academy in Baltimore. On Aug. 12, 2011 police searched Dorador's parents' home based on a falsified warrant signed by Terello and they found no firearms, the suit alleges.
On Aug. 15, 2011 Lugo set up a meeting with Dorador, but when Dorador arrived Lugo said something came up and he left. Moments later, Terello and another officer pulled over Dorador's car, searched it and arrested him on the two charges, the suit alleges.
Barrera signed off on the arrest even though he knew or should have known the charges were baseless. No weapon was found in Dorador's parents' home, his car or on his person, the lawsuit says.
Police continued the retaliation by issuing a bulletin identifying Dorador and his car and claiming he was "armed and dangerous." That resulted in Dorador being pulled over by West New York officers two months later, on Oct. 13, 2011. They searched his vehicle, found nothing and let him go, the lawsuit says.
The unlawful possession of a weapon charge was dismissed by the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, the suit says. The impersonating an officer charge was resolved in the Pretrial Intervention (PTI) program and Dorador did not plead guilty to the charge.
After completing a period of probation, he will have no criminal record, the suit says.
The suit also alleged the officers retaliated against Dorador's family and a few days before going into PTI, his father was pulled over and issued "an excessive amount of tickets."
Dorador is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees, and other relief deemed just by the court.