TOMS RIVER, NJ – A jury was united in finding fault against three Berkeley Township officials in a case alleging workplace discrimination by a Jewish woman, an employee of the township.
The jury found Mayor Carmen Amato, Business Administrator John Camera, and Recreation Director Debbi Winogracki guilty of violating the rights of Debra Reuter, the Recreation Supervisor for the township.
The six-member jury awarded Reuter $1,110,000, which included $110,000 in compensatory damages and $1,000,000 in punitive damages.
Reuter, who is Jewish, alleged that Mayor Carmen Amato, Camera, and Winogracki discriminated against her because of her religion and because she is disabled. She also accused Berkeley Township Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds Ted McFadden, but the jury exonerated McFadden of all claims.
Amato, who is running for state senate, according to the lawsuit, on multiple occasions was accused of making antisemitic comments and even banned Jews working for the township from working Christmas-themed events.
Among the allegations, Amato’s wife, Nancy, called the woman a ‘moron’, because she did not observe Halloween. She was also forced to work an Italian Flag raising on a Saturday, the Jewish High Holy day.
The lawsuit alleged Amato said to her, “Why do you need the day off to go sit and pray?”
She claimed Amato and recreation department officials wanted to rename the “Holiday Tree Lighting” ceremony to the “Christmas Tree Lighting” ceremony because “The event is in no way associated with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.”
Amato was also accused of wording event flyers to make sure they were not confused with the Jewish holiday of Hannukah. Things went bad when Amato stripped Reuter’s employee discount for the township’s summer pre-school program while allowing other employees to use that benefit.
McFadden was accused of saying the Berkeley Township town hall was run by “stupid Jews”, and on occasion, said “Jews are cheap”.
He was also accused of telling Jewish jokes in the workplace in the presence of Reuter.
Winogracki was also accused of violating Reuter’s religious rights at the workplace, often challenging Reuter on wanting to include Hanukkah-themed items in the annual Tree Lighting ceremony.
Winogracki punished Reuter for not working a beach concert on her day off by making her clean Winogracki’s office and closet, the charges alleged.
The jury found Amato and his team guilty on all charges in the civil complaint but voted 5-1 against her claim that she was discriminated against because she was Jewish.
The jury unanimously agreed that Reuter was discriminated against and created a hostile and intimidating workplace for her. They also unanimously agreed that Reuter was retaliated against and that the township was liable for compensatory and punitive damages as a result.
Amato is running for state Senate and last week, Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore condemned Toms River Councilman Daniel Rodrick for using the term “Lakewood-Style Development”.
Gilmore this weekend defended Amato, pointing out that the jury did not find him guilty on discriminating based on the woman’s religion but did not say whether or not he would call for a condemnation against Amato. Amato works for the Ocean County government.
The Ocean County Board of Commissioners has so far publicly ignored Gilmore’s request for condemning Rodrick and has not issued any statements in regard to Amato.
With one week until the election, it is unlikely that Gilmore will swap out Amato for another candidate. Gilmore’s antisemitic attack against Rodrick now appears to be purely political, in an attempt to defame the candidate a week before an election.
According to public records, both Winogracki and Camera remain employed by the Township of Berkeley.