Maplewood Mayor Dean Dafis made a statement at the March 21 Township Committee meeting denying accusations of retaliation made by former Township Administrator Jerry Giaimis and defending the Township’s actions regarding the handling of bid-rigging allegations against Superintendent of Public Works Cesare Riccardi.
On March 13, Riccardi was arrested and charged with allegedly securing fraudulent bids for a township project in July 2022. Giaimis claims that he was forced to resign for blowing the whistle on Riccardi and taking actions to fire him — as well as for warnings about the delayed 2022 budget process.
Dafis “unequivocally” denied the claims of retaliation and sought to separate Giaimis’ resignation from Riccardi’s actions. “After the issue of irregular bidding was first discovered, the County Prosecutor’s Office was notified of the bid irregularities,” said Dafis. “At that point, the County Prosecutor’s Office took over investigation of the matter. It took the County Prosecutor several months to reach a decision. However as soon as Superintendent Riccardi was charged by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, he was immediately suspended. The Township will continue to cooperate with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office in its continued pursuit of these charges.”
In response to followup questions from Village Green, Dafis said that Riccardi did not receive a promotion while under investigation and the township was unable to suspend him until the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office took action.
“Mr. Riccardi was the Superintendent of Public Works during this time, he was not promoted, he had already been,” said Dafis.
“Once the County Prosecutor took over, our hands were tied with respect to investigating or discipline,” Dafis continued. “The Super was suspended as soon as the County charged him.” Dafis added that employees “have due process rights.”
Dafis and TC members also filed a response with the court on February 14 denying the accusations in Giaimis’s complaint.
Watch Dafis’s statement here:
Read Dafis’s statement here.
We don’t normally make public statements in pending litigation or in personnel matters, but we are carefully crafting a statement in this instance to unequivocally deny what has become visible and salacious in social media and in local & statewide press – an attack against our integrity and of our town’s. This message has been reviewed and approved by our legal representatives.We (current members of the governing body and past members in 2022) deny the allegations of improper conduct by the Mayor and members of the governing body, the Maplewood Township Committee. We did not / have not engaged in any retaliatory conduct against former Administrator Giaimis. We will vigorously defend the Township, our taxpayers, and our collective reputation in this litigation.
The allegation that we asked Mr. Giaimis for his resignation because he alerted us to alleged criminal activity is patently FALSE. We asked for his resignation because of his performance issues that were brought to his attention. He was asked to resign because, as noted in his complaint – he had lost the faith and confidence of the governing body.
The allegation about bid rigging by Superintendent of Public Works Riccardi was not a factor in the Township’s decision to move on from its employment of Mr. Giaimis. After the issue of irregular bidding was first discovered, the County Prosecutor’s Office was notified of the bid irregularities. At that point, the County Prosecutor’s Office took over investigation of the matter. It took the County Prosecutor several months to reach a decision. However as soon as Superintendent Riccardi was charged by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, he was immediately suspended. The Township will continue to cooperate with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office in its continued pursuit of these charges.
Accordingly, the Township has at all relevant times taken actions – timely, appropriate and within its powers or authority – to address these serious allegations.
Questions about the legal process in this litigation can be directed to Township Attorney [Roger] Desiderio.
