A New Jersey town allegedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to silence a whistleblower who came forward with secret recordings of local officials, including the mayor and police chief, using racial slurs.
But now, the whistleblower claims the city is holding back his retirement pension in retaliation.
According to NJ.com, Antonio Manata, a former police lieutenant, recorded several Clark Township officials using racial slurs and making derogatory statements, then threatened to file a lawsuit exposing them. But Clark officials ultimately decided to fork over $400,000 to Manata under an agreement that required the ex-cop to turn over his recordings.
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In seven recordings obtained and published by NJ.com, Manata captured the mayor and two top police officials referring to Black people as “spooks,” “shines,” and “n—s.”
In one recording from 2019, Clark Township Mayor Sal Bonaccorso, a Republican serving his sixth term, was leaving a meeting at the Clark Recreation Center when an officer pointed out some ropes hanging from above and asked what they were.
“We [expletive] hang the spooks up there,” Bonaccorso responded as laughter filled the audio.
“So the [Arthur L. Johnson High School] incident all over again,” the cop replied, referring to a racist incident in 2017 in which a Black puppet was found hanging at a local high school.
“How about I go to a Plainfield [expletive] council meeting in front of a room full of them and get up and talk about it?” Bonaccorso said.
In another recorded conversation from 2019, Clark Police Chief Pedro Matos spoke about reopening a bias crimes investigation into the high school incident.
“I’m going to prove that them [expletive] n—-s did it,” Matos can be heard saying.
In another recording, Internal Affairs Sgt. Joseph Teston allegedly said a Black suspect’s mugshot reminded him of a National Geographic photo and said he had a “big [expletive] monkey head.”
Bonaccorso can be heard in another clip from 2019 asking about a Black man police officers were chasing.
“What spook are you guys chasing around in a red shirt?” he asked, repeatedly using the racial slur.
Officials were also captured on audio demeaning women.
“As far as female cops go, I hope there is never any, but I can only take care while I’m here,” Bonaccorso once said, according Manata’s draft lawsuit which was never filed but was obtained by NJ.com. “They are all [expletive] disasters that I’ve seen.”
Bonaccorso did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment Wednesday.
He denied to NJ.com that he’d ever used racial slurs but also refused to listen to the audio obtained by the outlet to confirm it was his voice. He attempted to defend himself, saying, “I have many, many Black friends in my life, many of them; and employees here and everything else. … I’ve been here for 22 years, never had a problem, and all of a sudden this is coming up? I find it offensive. I do.”
But Bonaccorso has been accused of racism in the past. According to ABC 7 New York, he said he was “pro-Black for all the good Black people” at a 2020 rally during the height of George Floyd protests. He later clarified his comment, saying, “I’m for people. Good people. Law-abiding, hardworking, good family, good friends. People with good intentions. If you’re Black, great. If you’re white, great. If you’re Hispanic, great. It doesn’t matter. I judge people on how you judge me.”
Black people make up less than 2 percent of Clark Township’s population of 15,500, according to NJ.com.
In a settlement with Manata in early 2020, Clark officials allegedly agreed to keep him on the police department’s payroll for two years—without working—until he could retire as captain. He was also paid a lump sum plus legal fees totaling $400,000. In exchange, Manata handed the recordings over to town officials and agreed not to file his draft lawsuit. The town also signed a document denying the allegations.
Six months after Manata settled with Clark Township, supervision at the police department changed. According to NJ.com, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office took over the department and found “credible allegations of misconduct.” Matos, Teston, and Cpt. Vincent Concina were immediately placed on leave during an investigation. But nearly two years later, all three officers are reportedly still on paid leave, raking in more than $763,000 through March 15.
Now, Manata is not expected to receive his first pension payment, due to a pending investigation in the police department.
The Clark Township Police Department did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment Wednesday.
