As reported by nj.com, although he has a full-time, $248,000 per year job as Union City’s police chief, Charles Everett has been raking in thousands of dollars for off-duty work for keeping tabs on the city’s pool and athletic field. According to records obtained by The Jersey Journal through the state’s Open Public Records Act, the Board of Education paid Everett $34,770 in 2009, $36,840 in 2010, and $17,520 this year, for detail security work at the Jose Marti Athletic Field and one of the two city pools. 

Everett began his detail work with the Board of Education in March 2008, and reportedly was paid $12,000 that year, but the Board of Education did not provide documents confirming that amount. His last day of work on the off-duty job was June 25, 2011.

Everett’s off-duty security work for the Board of Education was first disclosed in a report that aired on News 12 on August 3rd. The TV news report showed Everett working out in the police gym at time that he was also supposedly working for the school district.

In response to the story, Mayor Brian Stack announced the city would hire an attorney to investigate the matter. Stack spokesman Mark Albiez said the mayor will decide whether or not to take action when the investigation is completed.   

The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office has also made inquiries into the matter. “We are doing our due diligence and have made some inquiries. I wouldn’t characterize it as an investigation because when you do that it confirms there is an allegation of criminality. We are not saying that,” said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.

The detail work policy for off-duty officers at the UCPD was changed in 2006 to allow any officer of any rank to do off-duty work. The prior policy gave first preference to officers below the rank of Sergeant. Out of every 10 detail duties handed out, seven go to officers while three go to superior officers, according to the policy that was instituted.

Tags: Articles, NJ Police, off-duty jobs, OPRA, Union City, Union City PD
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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.

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