Galloway Police Chief Responds to Online Critics Regarding Operations of the Police Department

Chief Patrick Moran

Galloway Township Police Chief Patrick Moran has come out to publicly defend his Police Department after what appears to be a handful of anonymous individuals criticizing the operations of the Police Department on Galloway Patch.

Galloway Patch has since removed some of the comments however, Galloway Township News was able to capture the initial comments that spurred Moran's initial response prior to deletion.

The anonymous individuals criticized the Police Department for not releasing information to the public in a more timely manner after incidents occurred and further accused the Police Department of not being proactive in crime related areas of the Township. 

Regulation in Galloway May Prohibit Chief of Police Patrick Moran to Serve in Dual Capacity as Township Manager

Chief Patrick Moran, Credit GTPD.org

Galloway Township will be losing another Township Manager leaving that four (4) Managers is just three (3) years that would have worked for Galloway Township. 

Township Manager Arch Liston has been nominated by Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian to serve as their City Administrator. If Liston's nomination is confirmed by Atlantic City Council, Liston will serve in that capacity and move to Atlantic City, according to the Press of Atlantic City. 

The vacancy will leave Galloway Township Officials to immediately search for a replacement. Mayor Don Purdy publicly announced to Galloway Patch that Galloway Chief of Police Patrick Moran will serve as Township Manager and Chief of Police while it transitions to a new Manager. 

Galloway Police Officers Win in Court Ruling to Receive Pay for Military Drill Weekends

The Township of Galloway and the New Jersey State Policeman's Benevolent Association (PBA), Mainland Local #77, which represents the Police Officers in Galloway, have been spending time in and out of Court since January 2012, over a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by Chief of Police Patrick Moran regarding time off for Military Drill. 

According to the Court Documents released by the Township through an Open Public Records request,  Moran issued a Special Order on January 13, 2012, which would discontinue the practice of paying officers for military drills (weekends). Moran clarified in a statement, "the military drills are not to be confused with active military duty where orders are issued." Moran's special orders only included weekend drill only. 


According to the Special Order issued by Moran, "in compliance with the laws regarding military, Officers will be allowed to utilize compensatory time, benefit time, trade shifts, or take leave without pay to attend military drill." 

After Moran's Special Order was issued, the PBA filed a grievance against the Township on February 14, 2012. The Union alleged a breach in the Township's collective bargaining agreement with the PBA. The PBA alleged in the grievance "that time off with pay for military weekend drill has been past practice and the issuance of the SOP violated the Continuation of Benefits clause in the parties' Agreement." According to the Court Document, for the past 20 years the Township had given police officers off with pay for their drill weekends, if the drill overlapped with their scheduled shift. 

On January 28, 2013, the PBA's grievance was upheld by the Arbitrator overseeing the case. The Township disputed the arbitrators decision and filed an appeal in Atlantic County Superior Court alleging the Arbitrator failed to Rule on Applicable State Law thus constituting a mistake of Law. 

In the appeal, the Township requested the court to decide if the arbitration award should be vacated because said award requires the Township to pay police officers for weekend drills in violation of law. The Township also alleged the Arbitrator failed to consider the Public Interest and Welfare, thus violating standards set for Public Sector Arbitration. 

Atlantic County Superior Court heard the case and ruled on July 18, 2013, in favor of the PBA. According to the Final Order Judgment, the Judge ordered in part, "to make whole all affected Township Police Officers for any lost wages and/or contractual leave charged for the purpose of weekend military drills retroactive to July 13, 2012."  

The Galloway Police Department currently has five (5) police officers who are Military Personnel that this ruling affected. According to Moran, the five Police Officers are Raymond Casanova, Patrick Neal, Rita Abatemarco, Paul Smith and Kevin Costa.  According to the Arbitrator documents, these officers are part of the National Guard and Reserves who are "ordered to attend unit training assemblies (i.e. drill weekends)."

In a request for comment regarding the Judge's decision, Ray Theriault, President of the Mainland PBA Local #77 stated, "I find it troubling especially during this time of the war on terrorists that the Twp has chosen to arbitrarily eliminate a long standing benefit the citizen soldiers of the GTPD have enjoyed without due process. As you know, we grieved their decision and won. They appealed that decision and lost that too. I can't read their minds but I would expect them to appeal that decision as well. When they lose that one, they will have no choice but to make their citizen soldier's that are officers whole regarding the time and money they have lost. There is a process for them to follow if they are not happy with a benefit enjoyed by the members of GTPD and that process is contract negotiations. They can't just arbitrarily change benefits and expect to get away with it."  

Regarding the amount of legal fees the PBA has spent in the case, Theriault further stated, "If our attorney's feel it is appropriate to seek restitution for their fees then we will do so."  In response to the PBA, Moran stated, "I would also expect that if the Township's position is incorrect, that the PBA would do what they feel is right for their members." 

In a request for comment regarding the Judge's decision and what if any the Township's next move would be, Chief of Police Patrick Moran stated, "It is believed that the statute does not allow for the payment for military drill weekends; that has already been established and ruled upon by Civil Service.  Therefore, by Civil service’s interpretation of the statute, officers cannot get paid for military drill but they can take time off or the employer and employee can agree to a schedule change(that is in the briefs you OPRa’d).  However, it has not been decided for non-civil service departments.  Most Non-Civil Service departments change the officers schedules, Galloway has had a past practice of paying for weekend drill.  Budget considerations and savings were considered originally, however, it is believed that the statute does not allow for the payment, therefore there is no way to pay legally.

Judge Baten ruled in favor of the arbitrator’s award due to jurisdictional issues and not the details of the case and from what I am told, the Township will be appealing it.

Please be clear to ensure that this issue is not confused with active military duty, where orders are issued.  This is about weekend drill only.  If the Township’s appeal is lost, and the payment is deemed to be legal, the monies owed will be paid according to law and/or by whatever conditions are set or agreed upon by the Township and the PBA.

I also want to be clear that this is not a question as to whether we support or do not support the military.   We support the officers in the military 100% and we follow the payments and rules governing Military leave set by law.  This is about saving tax payer dollars and abiding by the law for dispersing public funds."   

The PBA indicated in their statement that the Township could have followed the process through negotiations. Moran in response to that statement said "there were unsuccessful attempts to discuss the matter; however, with the interpretation that "the law does not allow for the payment of military drill weekends", I am not sure it could have been negotiated."

To our knowledge, the Township has 45 days to appeal the Superior Court's decision. Moran stated, "from what I am told, the Township will be appealing it." That decision of appeal would have to come from either the Manager or Council, or a combination of the two, according to Moran. 

According to N.J.S.A. 40:43 et seq, the powers regarding litigation are solely with the Governing Body. GallowayTwpNews.com will follow this case and Council's decision to appeal the Judge's decision, if a vote of Council occurs. 

GallowayTwpNews.com has released below in full all of the documents we OPRA'd from the Township regarding this case. 

Gallowaytwpnews 7-23-2013 A by GallowayTwpNews

Gallowaytwpnews 7-23-2013 B by GallowayTwpNews

UPDATED: Investigation by GallowayTwpNews.com Forces Township to Admit the Secret Hiring of a Private Investigator

• Is the Press Release issued by the Township the real reason the Private Investigator (PI) was hired? 
• Were "certain" council members not privy to the hiring of the PI and did one Member of Council try to stop the investigation prior to it occurring? 
• Did GallowayTwpNews.com expose a secret hiring?
• Why did Township Manager Arch Liston not tell Council at a Public Meeting he already hired a Special Assistant?

GallowayTwpNews.com was the first media entity to discover and report the Township's hiring of a Private Investigator. Prior to that report, we released personnel actions forms of numerous employees the Township gave promotions to as well as hired. 

Of those employees hired was a former Galloway Township Police Officer who now has a business as a Private Detective called Investech.  James Brennenstuhl who is the principal of his company, was hired by Township Manager Arch Liston on February 19, 2013. Brennenstuhl was hired to be the Special Assistant to the Township Manager.

One of the things that did not make sense in this hiring, was GallowayTwpNews.com previously reported on March 11, 2013, that the Township advertised in the NJ League of Municipalities the same day an opening for a Management Assistant. Brennensthul was not only already employed by Galloway, but was already serving in that capacity as of February 23, 2013 according to his time sheets. We requested through an Open Public Records Request the Job Description for Brennenstuhl. Township Clerk TC Kay released the March advertisement as the Job Description. The inconsistencies in the Township's timeline of events caused us to investigate further as to why Galloway Township hired a PI. 

After GallowayTwpNews.com published our story indicating Brennenstuhl's hiring, we received several inquiries as to Brennenstuhl's past with the Township. Brennenstuhl is a former police officer for Galloway Township. It is alleged, Brennenstuhl retired after he was injured in a local bar fight while on duty for the Township. We requested Brennenstuhl's resignation letter, however because of the retention period, the documents were destroyed by the Township. 

In 2011, Brennenstuhl received a contract with the Township and approved by Council to perform "background investigations" for New Hires in the Police Department. We submitted an Open Public Records Request for a complete Vendor History on Brennenstuhl to include payments made to him, including the company Investech. According to Township Clerk TC Kay, no records existed for our request.

It was alleged through a source that Brennenstuhl was also hired to conduct Internal Affair Investigations for the Police Department. Chief of Police Patrick Moran confirmed, "Mr. Brennenstuhl has offered those services (internal affairs) to our department; however, we have not used him for any investigations, nor do we have any immediate need to use him."

Prior to Moran's statement, he contacted the Publisher of GallowayTwpNews.com on May 31, 2013 at 3:45pm in reference to a message we left with Township Manager Arch Liston. Moran indicated he was calling us since Liston was out of town and was in a bad area for cell phone service. However Liston still was able to make contact with Moran to let him know we called, through the bad cell service. Of course this is also after we published a statement indicating we would expose the content of our story and investigation unless the Township objected to same. 

In our conversation with Moran, he indicated he would try to contact Liston, via text. We further agreed to cooperate with the Township in not releasing our story until after Liston returned to work on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. On Saturday, June 1, 2013 at 11:20pm, we received a text message from Moran stating, "FYI, I made contact with the Manager and he knows to contact you when he gets back. Thank you for your consideration."

GallowayTwpNews.com did not want to obstruct or hinder an investigation being conducted, therefore we offered mutual consideration. 

Liston never made contact as we requested, however, our "consideration" was rewarded when Liston issued a Press Release to all media outlets including GallowayTwpNews.com. The Press Release was to confirm the Township hired a Private Investigator as originally exposed by this Publisher. 

We visited Liston in his Township Office almost immediately after he released the Press Release. Liston, who could not look at this Publisher in the eye, refused to answer any questions unless they were reduced to writing, as stated in front of multiple Township employees, including Township Clerk TC Kay. 

According to Liston in the Press Release, "the Township Manager was advised by members of the fire companies that reporting may have been done differently and inconsistently by each company." That reporting according to Liston, created "statistical anomalies" to appear between each company. Liston states, "$130,000 is spent annually on the program." The program is funded by the taxpayers. 

Liston stated, "The Township Manager in lieu of hiring an auditing firm at over $100 an hour, brought in a former police officer, James Bruennenstuhl who is familiar with the community and the fire companies, to assist in the review at $25 an hour, with a maximum expense of $1,000." Liston further stated, "This was submitted and approved by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs."

We submitted an extensive list of extremely valid follow-up questions to Liston regarding his press release as he requested. Liston has not returned any of our request for comment. Of the questions we submitted to Liston was, "If the statistical anomalies are money allocation of which you stated the Township spends over $130,000 on, wouldn't the investigation be better suited by a licensed accountant instead of a Private Detective/Investigator which according to his resume, does not have accounting experience."

The Township appoints each year a Municipal Auditor. We questioned Liston if the statistical anomalies were discovered through the audit process. Liston did not reply.

It has been alleged by several firefighters we spoke with on the grounds of anonymity, that the statical anomalies in their opinion are consist with Liston's first part of the press release indicating "points for service." However, the points of service as alleged by these firefighters are not the duration of the years of service, it is the points or attendance granted per "service call."

Another question we submitted to Liston was, "Is it true, that these statistical anomalies are more so an internal investigation into the conduct of individual(s) within the fire companies logging points for service on calls of which they never attended? If so, is there a targeted fire company located in Galloway Township? It appears Mr. Brennenstuhl is conducting surveillance, is that accurate?" Liston did not return our request for comment. We also requested comment from Township Fire Chief Tim McKenna, our request was also not returned.

According to payroll records released by the Township which in our opinion, thwarted their attempt to remain confidential in the investigation, Brennenstuhl submitted two pages from his company called "Investech" showing "Statement of Account" that the Township labeled as his time sheets. Those time sheets clearly indicate the Township as a "Client" and "Investigate" all over them as his service.  In essence in our opinion, at this point there was no way to hide an investigation was occurring. 

The time sheets also calculate mileage Brennenstuhl was traveling giving the appearance some sort of surveillance is being conducted. Our assumption is based on Brennenstuhl being hired as an "employee" and not contracted by the Township as an Investigator as they did in 2011.

GallowayTwpNews.com spoke with members of council of which requested anonymity indicating the "Township Legal Counsel requested they (council) not comment to GallowayTwpNews.com Publisher." We questioned why the Township is restricting speech of Council members and one council member stated, "because of who the publisher is." We have provided same to our own legal counsel as to the Township's prejudice to this news organization. 

In our conversations with those council members, two of them were not aware of the Township hiring a Private Investigator for any reason. A main concern presented was socializing this Private Investigator with other employees to conduct an investigation without the knowledge of those employees or the Township's Union Representatives. Some employees are also members of the Township Fire Department, including the Chief of the Township's Fire Department. 

Our last question to the Township Manager of which he did not respond was, "Are you aware of any involvement by a certain Member of Council to "sweep" under the rug per se, the results of your investigation as it pertains to "issues" that may have or be discovered by this investigation." We posed the question as one member of council we spoke with alleged involvement of another member of council that may have tried to stop the investigation prior to it occurring. 

Liston stated the report would be presented to Council and made Public. We urge the Township to fully state the reasoning of the investigation and why the Township has so many of their own statistical anomalies in the hiring of Brennenstuhl. 

We also urge the Township Manager to explain to Council why Brennenstuhl was truly hired. Liston was asked at a Council Meeting by a member of the public, also reported by Galloway Patch, why the Township was spending money on a Special Assistant to the Township Manager. Liston stated at a public meeting that his own salary would be reduced because the help of the assistant. Liston indicated he would be working 5 days a week instead of the 4 days he was originally hired. 

Liston listed the reason as "organizational structuring" and didn't specify which needs he was referring. Liston never told Council in Public at that meeting he already hired someone, giving the impression not only to council but also to the Public, he was seeking applicants. 

We request Township Manager Arch Liston to be forthcoming in this situation and not leave everyone in dark as to his true intentions on this hiring. 

Press Release LOSAP by GallowayTwpNews

LT Brennenstuhl by GallowayTwpNews

LT JB Res and Contract by GallowayTwpNews