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The Port Authority is already under fire from Bridgegate. It now has to contend with incendiary charges in the lawsuit filed by one of its former captains, John McClave.
I’m bad, but other Port Authority cops are much worse.
That’s the dubious defense a disgraced former PA captain is pushing in a lawsuit aimed at getting his old job back.
John McClave, who was canned in September for being smashed while driving a police cruiser — and stripped of his pension and benefits — insists the punishment doesn’t fit his crime.
McClave admits what he did was wrong, but “the PA’s reaction to that conduct is so far out of proportion so as to shock one’s sense of fairness,” his lawyer Eugene Scheiman wrote in a lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court.
Especially, Scheiman continued, “when considered in the context of the comparative leniency with which the PA has treated other police officers who have committed a variety of on-and off-duty infractions.”
Including, Scheiman added, some that “are on their face significantly more serious than Captain McClave’s conduct.”
Then Scheiman listed 17 examples, courtesy of his 51-year-old client. They include:
— A sergeant who was found guilty of murdering his wife but was allowed to retire with benefits and is collecting his pension in jail
— Another sergeant who lost his service weapon in a bar and then stole an unmarked police vehicle from a bus terminal got a 25-day suspension.
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Thomas P. Costello/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Family friend John McClave with Amy Polumbo, Miss New Jersey 2007, as she announced that she had received a blackmail letter.
— An officer who hit a child on a skateboard while driving drunk and got a 120-day suspension even though his driving license was still suspended when he returned to work.
— An inspector was allowed to retire but with both benefits and a pension even though he had two DWI offenses, hit multiple vehicles with an unmarked police car, and assaulted a Summit, N.J. police officer.
— A sergeant who was caught having sex with a female officer while on duty is still working for the PAPD and assigned to the Staten Island bridges.
McClave, 51, who lives in Farmingdale, N.J. and was in charge of the PAPD officers assigned to the Lincoln Tunnel, did not name names in the court papers.
But a source identified the murderous sergeant as Rocco Cuccio, who admitted killing his wife with his bare hands in 2000 after they fought over issues in their pending divorce.
Scheiman told The Daily News all the cases cited in the papers were from the last decade.
There was no immediate comment to McClave’s lawsuit and allegations from the Port Authority. The PA is currently dealing with the fallout from revelations that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s top aides may have conspired to slow traffic on the George Washington Bridge as political payback against the mayor of Ft. Lee, N.J.
McClave’s troubles started in June 2012 when he “made the mistake of operating his official vehicle after drinking alcohol at a local bar,” according to the court papers.
After a brief stop at home, McClave set off for a nearby restuarant called Lorenzo’s only to discover it had gone out of business.
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Hagen, Kevin Freelance NYDN/Freelance, NYDN
Port Authority police have gotten away with worse infractions than the ones that cost John McClave his job, his lawsuit claims
McClave claims in the court papers he realized he was in no shape to drive and called his daughter for a ride.
While waiting for her, McClave said he encountered the owner of the building, Derrick Hanna, who later called cops and claimed the captain “threatened to shoot him.”
McClave denies threatening Hanna and was never charged with any crime in connection with the allegation.
Howell cops followed McClave and his daughter home and arrested him in the driveway and charged him with “operating a vehicle under the influence,” the suit states.
Instead of suspending him with pay or making him ride a desk “as is the PA’s typical practice in similar situations,” McClave said he was immediately suspended without pay.
McClave’s problems were compounded that September when he got into a shouting match with a drug dealer “armed with a lacrosse stick” who had come to his house to collect a $ 100 debt from his youngest son.
“This drug dealer filed a report with the Howell Police Department alleging that Captain McClave physically struck him,” the papers state.
McClave insisted he never laid a hand on the dealer but was charged with simple assault.
Then McClave claims he got railroaded when the PAPD assigned his case to an “overzealous” detective in the Inspector General’s office named Kevin McGlynn, whose son played football with the alleged drug dealer.
Ultimately, McClave pleaded guilty to two non-criminal violations: one for the DWI, and the other for disturbing the peace.
McClave says he got fired “after nearly twenty years of exemplary service” 17-months shy of the date at which he would have been able to retire with some of his benefits.
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