Allegations of allegedly illegal activities in the Bayonne Park Authority, which had been percolating for months, became public earlier this month when former Parking Authority Executive Director Peter Hilburn filed a suit against the City of Bayonne, former Mayor Joseph Doria, and other prominent city officials in U.S. District Court.

Hilburn, cooperating with the state Attorney General's office on a probe of the Bayonne Parking Authority, claims he was illegally terminated by the BPA after he revealed his role as a whistleblower.

In July, Hilburn and Felicia Ryan, an executive secretary for the Parking Authority, were among a handful of Parking Authority employees terminated as part of what Parking Authority officials claimed was reorganization.

But Hilburn, for months prior to his termination, told the Bayonne Community News that he was concerned about questionable activities in the Parking Authority, including ticket fixing for city and school officials. Hilburn said he had gone to the state Attorney General to investigate the matter, and in the months leading up to his termination, Hilburn expressed the fear that he would become a target for this cooperation.

In the suit filed jointly with Ryan, Hilburn claims he told Peter Cresci, assistant corporation counsel for the City of Bayonne, that he was working as a whistleblower. The suit alleges that Cresci informed then Mayor Doria, after which Hilburn and Ryan were terminated.

Jay Coffey, director of the City's Law Department, refused to comment, but said the city would be issuing "a thorough and comprehensive" response to the allegations.

Besides including Doria, that BPA and Cresci, the suit also names Rocco Coviello, chairman of the BPA board, Michael Pierson, the vice chairman, Kathy Lo Re, former assistant director of the BPA, and the full board of commissioners.

Hilburn became the executive director on Sept. 18, 2006.

"Hilburn became aware of suspicious activity when he was asked to sign for a check for $2, 400," the lawsuit contends.

Hilburn was told that the check was to cover payment for a Christmas party for 20 people.

"The event was catered by Chairman Rocco Coviello's restaurant, the Chandelier," the lawsuit said. "Hilburn was not given an invoice, voucher, itemized receipt or any other document explaining the request for payment."

The suit alleges other similar arrangements, including payment for a retirement party that was partly funded by donations from BPA employees.

Trips

Hilburn told the Bayonne Community News prior to his termination in July that he was uncomfortable with the arrangement, language echoed in the suit.

He alleges in the suit that he later discovered that BPA commissioners had taken trips, which were being billed to the BPA.

"Hotel accommodations, expenses and airfare were being billed to the BPA," the suit claims.

In response to this alleged practice, Hilburn instituted a no-trip policy.

Hilburn said he reported the alleged abuses to Cresci as well as Mayor Doria.

"Hilburn was told to 'let it be,'" the suit alleges.

Hilburn also claims he notified the city of a similar situation at the Perth Amboy Parking Authority, from which criminal charges were eventually filed.

In March 2007, Ryan told Hilburn that mistakes were being made by the BPA accounting office in calculating pension income taxes. After being directed to look into the matter, Ryan allegedly came across three envelopes in the filing cabinet - two of which contained cash that had not been deposited, and a third that contained three parking tickets and a thank you note to Lo Re from Pierson.

The suit claims that Lo Re allegedly "forged" Hilburn's signature to dismiss the tickets.

Hilburn said in the suit that he has never dismissed a ticket by signing his signature. He said he raised these concerns with Cresci and the municipal court, even providing a sample of his signature to be compared. While Mayor Doria apparently ordered the practice to stop, Hilburn apparently believed nothing would be done and went to the Attorney General's office.

At this point, Hilburn said he had become a confidential informant and informed Cresci, who was then Hilburn's personal attorney. Hilburn claims Cresci broke attorney-client privilege.

Two subpoenas served on the PBA

At the time, Parking Authority officials told the Bayonne Community News that the subpoenas were in regard to the apparent mistakes in tax calculation.

The suit, however, depicts angry confrontations between Coviello, Doria and Hilburn over the subpoenas.

The suit said Doria allegedly threatened Hilburn with termination, which happened a month later.

"Hilburn was told that they [BPA] were eliminating [his] position," the suit claims. "It was explained that the BPA was going to be placed under the city and would not be autonomous anymore."

Cresci was named acting director. Hilburn said he was asked to surrender his keys, parking lot pass, and computer password. He was also apparently escorted from City Hall by two uniformed police officers.

The suit contends that the BPA has not been reorganized or abolished. He said this was likely an alleged cover for removing him and Ryan.

Ryan, however, had seniority over other employees, the suit contends, so other people should have been terminated before her.

The suit, however, contends that other irregularities exist in the BPA, including "shoddy construction of sidewalks and parking lots" and "failure to obtain required permits and inspections."

The suit claims books containing information on bidders and payments is missing.

Coffey said the charges will be responded to in full after a review by the legal department. A statement from Doria's office in the state Department of Community Affairs, where Doria now works, said that all decisions on personnel were made by the BPA.

Cresci, under advice from the city legal department, has declined comment. Coviello, Pierson, and Lo Re were not available for comment.

But Coffey said that Hilburn, Ryan and Lo Re are scheduled to appear before a Grand Jury on Dec. 10.

Coffey said no one will comment before they give testimony before the grand jury.

Karen DeSota, attorney for Hilburn and Ryan, said her clients have been advised not to make statements prior to their testimony.

email to Al Sullivan