A former Howell Township deputy manager claims he was punished for refusing proposals that he claims would have indiscriminately profiled Jewish and Hispanic residents, according to a lawsuit filed in New Jersey Superior Court.
Matthew Howard alleges township leaders tried to use housing regulations as a weapon, pushing measures that singled out people based on ethnicity, immigration status or nationality. The suit, which was on filed September 5, names Mayor John Leggio and Councilman Ian Nadel, as first reported by the Independent.
According to the complaint, officials floated requiring proof of legal status for housing documents and suggested combing through residents’ trashcans for Modelo beer bottles, a tactic described as a “proxy” for identifying undocumented renters. Nadel also allegedly asked staff to flag properties with Hispanic-sounding last names as a way to uncover potential violations.
The lawsuit says bias extended to Jewish residents too. In one instance, Nadel allegedly proposed paying code enforcement workers overtime to watch a home he believed was owned by Jews. According to the lawsuit, the goal was to see if Sabbath visitors stayed overnight, which could trigger rental enforcement.
Howard said he refused, calling the order unlawful and warning that nearby towns had faced penalties for similar actions. He claims this refusal led to retaliation.
The retaliation included officials digging into his personnel file, publicly discussing his salary and linking him on social media to a local murder case. A suspect was later charged in that killing.
Howard filed a tort notice for retaliation in June. That same month, then-township manager Joseph Clark resigned and later filed a lawsuit of his own. The complaint alleges that township leaders maneuvered to bypass ordinances that would have made Howard acting manager, instead installing the town clerk.
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