Roque Lawsuits have Cost West New York Taxpayers $3.5 Million in Settlements and Legal Fees

New Beginnings WNY Campaign Calls for an End to Roque Chaos and Waste

WEST NEW YORK, N.J. — West New York taxpayers have been forced to pay over $3 million to settle political retaliation lawsuits against Mayor Felix Roque. In each of the five lawsuits by 19 employees, Mayor Roque and his cronies were accused of threatening, transferring or even firing municipal workers for their own political gain. This in an inexcusable waste of precious taxpayer dollars due to Mayor Roque’s deliberate and unlawful acts, and the New Beginnings WNY campaign is vowing to end the chaos and waste of the Roque era.

“All five commissioners are elected by the residents of West New York to represent the municipality in an efficient and effective manner, but Mayor Roque has never lived up to that,” said Commissioner Gabriel Rodriguez. “Myself along with Commissioners Cosmo Cirillo and Margarita Guzman are now working to reverse the damage done by Mayor Roques’ abuses, but the work won’t be done until our community votes for a New Beginning in May.”

In addition to the roughly $3 million dollars paid out in settlements, taxpayers are on the hook for rising legal costs and court fees associated with these litigations. Mayor Roque continues to grossly mismanage West New York government, attempting to hire unqualified political cronies for $200,000 jobs to fulfill personal and political agendas while a hiring freeze is in place. This annual practice is a common sense policy used while the budget is being prepared to protect the taxpayers, practice which Mayor Roque’s ally Susan Colacurcio implemented while she served as Commissioner of Revenue and Finance years ago.

The New Beginnings West New York team is running to make the town safer, cleaner, and more accessible while putting an end to the chaos of Mayor Roque’s years in office. West New York Board of Education employees have also made multiple claims of political retaliation over the last eight years, with various lawsuits ending in settlements, a scathing OFAC report that embarrassed the dedicated employees of the Board of Education and further brought shame to the Town of West New York as a whole. Mayor Roque cost taxpayers another $500,000 worth of settlements that could have gone to the children of West New York.

It is telling that Mayor Roque cares to govern when the power to hire his political friends has been put in check. Instead of complaining about our democratic process and our efforts to ensure fiscal responsibility and bring true progress to West New York, perhaps Mayor Roque should focus on helping us do what needs to get done – reversing eight years of nothing.

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