Verrelli loses union job, files whistleblower lawsuit
TRENTON » Time to update his bio.
New Jersey Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli of Hopewell Township identifies his occupation as senior representative of the Keystone Mountain Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters, but his profile description is woefully outdated.
Verrelli, a longtime carpenter bigwig, lost his fulltime union job earlier this year amid the COVID-19 public health emergency. The powerful Democrat filed a lawsuit earlier this month alleging the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and affiliated unions terminated him for exposing union corruption.
The assemblyman, according to a civil complaint filed Dec. 1 in Essex County Superior Court, has suffered and continues to suffer “financial loss, emotional distress, as well as personal physical injury and sickness.”
Verrelli earns $49,000 per year as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, a part-time gig. He used to work full time as the elected president of carpenters Local 254 but suddenly lost that position in August when the higher-ups “removed” him from power, according to his lawsuit.
A career carpenter since 1989, Verrelli previously worked for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Keystone Mountain Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters and the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, according to his civil-action complaint.
Verrelli alleges the unions retaliated against him on March 27 “by immediately and abruptly terminating his employment.” The assemblyman and other plaintiffs in the litigation say they were illegally terminated from union employment for engaging in whistleblower protected activity.
Verrelli’s walking papers suggest he lost his job as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, but he alleges that is a “false” justification to “cover up the real reason” for the termination.
Alleging retaliation, Verrelli is demanding a trial by jury, economic damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and “other relief as the Court may deem equitable and just.”
New Jersey employment lawyer Nancy Erika Smith filed the civil-action complaint on behalf of Verrelli and several other plaintiffs on Dec. 1. The complaint alleges the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and regional affiliates “have engaged in unlawful retaliation and derivative retaliation in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination” and the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act.
Verrelli openly supported John Ballantyne, a former union boss who accused fellow carpenter George R. Laufenberg of embezzlement.
A federal grand jury in September 2019 handed up a five-count indictment charging Laufenberg with embezzlement of pension funds and related offenses on allegations he stole or conspired to steal more than $1 million from the carpenters union benefit funds.
Verrelli says the union higher-ups considered him a “traitor” for being a close friend and supporter of Ballantyne, who lost his powerful union job in May 2018.
“Shortly after John Ballantyne was terminated, Plaintiff Verrelli was encouraged to leave his Team Lead position and instead take a position as a Service Manager,” the assemblyman’s attorney alleges in the complaint.
Speaking through his lawyer, Verrelli alleges these higher-ups further “retaliated” against him by “forcing” him to attend political events far away from his Hopewell Township home “in an attempt to undermine his ability to provide effective representation to the Union.”
Frank Mahoney, a spokesman for Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, suggested Verrelli’s allegations of retaliation have no merit.
“It is unfortunate that former employees would make such accusations about our Union,” he said last week in a statement. “In the midst of a global pandemic, our Council had to make the tough and unfortunate decisions many other unions, businesses, and organizations had to make regarding staffing levels. The Councils staffing levels decreased in every state that the Council has geographic jurisdiction over, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Our goal is to always make decisions that are in the best interest of our hard working members in the field.”
Regina Wilder, a public information officer for New Jersey General Assembly staff, did not respond to an email last week asking why Verrelli’s legislative biography still lists his occupation as Senior Representative, Keystone Mountain Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters. The Legislature’s website as of Wednesday still falsely listed Verrelli’s occupation as a trade union leader.
Verrelli previously served as a Mercer County freeholder before becoming an assemblyman in 2018. He represents parts of Mercer and Hunterdon counties, including the city of Trenton.