Former airport supervisor sued for stealing time
TRENTON » In addition to trying to get into the pants of his workers, former Mercer County Airport supervisor Stanley Patterson has pilfered the county’s pockets.
Booted from his county job Oct. 11, following the unearthing of lurid sexual harassment allegations, Patterson, of Ewing, proceeded to steal time from the county, according to court papers obtained by The Trentonian.
It’s unclear whether he may face criminal charges over the time theft allegations if he refuses to make the county whole.
County Counsel is trying to recoup more than $2,000 in sick, vacation and personal time used by Patterson after he was fired.
Assistant County Counsel John Maloney filed the allegations in small claims court Nov. 20, more than a month after Patterson was let go, alleging the former employee milked the county for 47.5 hours of unentitled pay.
The live-in boyfriend of county personnel director and Democratic bigwig Raissa Walker, Patterson earned $45.83 per hour as a confidential aide/assistant/airport supervisor. That translated to unearned pay of $2,177, the court documents state.
The county also wants back the $50 filing fee and $7 service charge for having to go after Patterson in court, bringing the total sought judgement to $2,234.
Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes opened up for the first time about the sexual harassment allegations against Patterson, pointing to a wave of high-profile examples that led to the downfalls of everyone from movie mogul Harvey Weinstein to former “Today” host Matt Lauer.
“It’s happening all over the country, and it’s about time that people have to stand up and be responsible for their own activities,” he said. “Listen, we’ve had four members of the United States Congress have to resign in the last two weeks, people in Hollywood have to resign, people in the media have to resign. When it happens in Mercer County, we’re going to make sure there’s a result.”
The complaint against Patterson, providing directions in English and Spanish, says in bold capital letters, “YOU ARE BEING SUED!” – LE ESTAN DEMANDO – advising Patterson he has until Jan. 2 to respond in writing or in person to the complaint.
“If you disagree with the plaintiff’s claims, a written answer or signed agreement must be received by the court above, on or before 1/02/2018, or the court may rule against you,” the papers say.
Patterson is listed as “pro se,” meaning representing himself, and has not filed a response to the allegations, court officials said.
A county spokeswoman responded “no” when asked whether the county contacted the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office about investigating Patterson’s fleecing as time theft.
Sometimes time theft matters are handled criminally, civilly or in-house.
Prosecutors were tapped to probe similar allegations brought against three city dispatchers who reportedly played hooky at work.
In another case, two Stony Brook Regional Sewerage Authority employees caught stealing time by not swiping out faced administrative sanctions.
For now, Patterson’s matter appears to be handled only civilly. He has not been charged, and it’s unclear if the county will try to put pressure on the former employee by asking prosecutors to pursue a case if Patterson doesn’t pay up.
The county’s position, though not explicitly laid out in the filings, appears to be that Patterson forfeited paid time off once he was fired for cause when sexual harassment allegations were substantiated against him.
“He exhausted his allotted time before being terminated,” spokeswoman Julie Willmot said. “The county is seeking return of the monetary value of his excess time off.”
So far, two women alleged Patterson committed sexual misconduct, proposing threesomes and pressuring subordinates for sex. The airport boss also alleged foreplay was the key to great sex.
More women are expected to step forward with allegations against Patterson, whose coercive pick-up lines allegedly included Eazy-E rap lyrics, “Put it in your mouth,” and bragging to women about how his bigshot girlfriend Walker liked to make out with women when she got drunk.
Rumors are swirling around the county about a possible outside investigation into a cover-up of sexual harassment allegations, though Willmot said she had “no knowledge” of a probe by any law enforcement agency.
It’s clear from the women’s lawsuits they complained to top county brass, but believed their allegations were either ignored, not taken seriously or deep-sixed because of Patterson’s romantic ties to Walker.
Walker, who did not respond to an email Wednesday requesting comment about whether she used her sway to protect her beau, is a powerful figure in Mercer County.
She is head of the county’s HR departments which oversees hiring and firing of employees. She has also served as chairwoman of the Trenton Democratic Committee since 2012.
It appears the sexual harassment allegations against Patterson haven’t broken apart the power-broking couple, which celebrated a oneyear anniversary on social media in December 2013.
They were also captured posing in pictures together days before The Trentonian published a story about the first lawsuit.
Hughes confirmed Walker has been out on leave for the last two weeks but claimed it was “absolutely” unrelated to the Patterson matter.
The county executive insisted Walker’s absence was because she’s recovering from knee surgery. He said she is expected to return to work this week.
Hughes said the county doesn’t have a fraternization policy, banning relationships between certain employees.
“Do you have one at The Trentonian?” Hughes shot back. “People date who they date.”
He was specifically asked whether he felt it was problematic for Walker to be romantically involved with Patterson, who reported to Walker’s second-in-command. Hughes responded that Walker was not a boss to Patterson, a former Trenton Public Schools custodian who earned $83,000 with the county before he was fired.
People have raised concerns about Patterson’s qualifications, wondering whether Walker used clout to help her man get a job.
After battling with The Trentonian over Patterson’s resume for more than a month, the county disclosed that Patterson was initially hired by county corrections in December 2013 before he was transferred.
He was brought on as a hearing officer but reassigned “following discussions with union officials” who “decided that the hearing officer position was not a civilian position,” Willmot said. The county refused to turn over Patterson’s resume despite multiple public records request. At one point, it claimed it didn’t have one despite admitting hiring policies mandated Patterson’s resume permanently remain on file. After county officials claimed they didn’t have Patterson’s resume, The Trentonian asked for his job application. The county refused to disclose it, and later, Willmot claimed the county suddenly found the resume. Apologizing for the “confusion,” the spokeswoman wrote, “It was not on file at the McDade Administration personnel office; it was in a file at the Correction Center.” Before he was hired by the capital city school district, Patterson worked for two years as a “specialty service associate” and sales associate at the Wegmans and Home Depot in Princeton, according to his resume. He also listed having worked at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital for almost eight years, until May 1998, which appears to support claims one woman made about how Patterson bragged in summer 2016 that at a previous job at a hospital, he rubbed co-workers’ feet. Patterson claimed subordinates reciprocated the favor by either giving him cash or performing sexual acts, the lawsuit said. Patterson, who attends Shiloh Baptist Church, has been a youth football coach and sought a “demanding career in criminal justice,” his resume states. Under skills, he listed being “proficient in Microsoft Word.” Patterson didn’t immediately respond to a message left on his phone Wednesday. He previously refused to discuss the allegations against him, shouting, “Who is this?” before hanging up the phone. He didn’t respond to follow-up calls or text messages.