His Reputation Soiled, Former Superintendent Files New Suit

1378

By Philip Sean Curran

HOLMDEL – The jogger who relieved himself under outdoor bleachers at Holmdel High School last year claims in a new lawsuit that the “unlawful leaking” of his police mug shot led to him losing his job as a superintendent of schools in Union County.

Thomas W. Tramaglini sued the township, police chief John Mioduszewski and patrolman and school resource officer Jonathan C. Martin in state Superior Court, in a case also focusing on the role of the media in publicizing what some dubbed the “super pooper.” The suit, filed Oct. 2, seeks punitive and other damages.

It came on the heels of Tramaglini having his lawsuit thrown out by U.S. District Court Judge Anne E. Thompson. In her opinion dated Sept. 9, Judge Thompson said Tramaglini failed to show a connection between losing his job and the alleged distribution of his mug shot.

“The sensational media coverage he received seems to have stemmed from the evocative nature of plaintiff’s public defecation charge – a charge to which he eventually pleaded guilty – coupled with the fact that plaintiff was a superintendent at a different school district,” the judge wrote in her opinion.

“It is not clear how the mug shot – a simple neck-up photograph – plausibly could have caused any inaccurate reporting, and plaintiff does not allege that defendants publicly distributed any inaccurate information. Simply put, it can hardly be argued that but for the distribution of the mug shot – the only constitutionally deficient behavior alleged – the sensational media coverage and plaintiff’s termination would not have transpired,” Thompson wrote.

Thompson did not rule on other claims made in the suit, which included negligent and intentional inflicting of emotional distress, defamation and negligent hiring, saying the claims belong in state court, not federal court.

The case began when Tramaglini went for an early morning run May 1, 2018 at the outdoor track at Holmdel High School. He later said he had a sudden need to defecate and did so under the bleachers.

Police said there had been daily discoveries by high school staff of human feces “on or near” the track and football field. Police and school authorities monitored the area, ultimately charging Tramaglini, then 42, of Aberdeen, with defecating in public and related offenses.

But he was “unlawfully” taken into custody by Martin, an officer assigned to the school, without being given his Miranda warning, the suit claimed. He was allowed to drive himself to the police station, where he was issued two summonses for two municipal ordinances. A third summons was later mailed to him.

At police headquarters, Tramaglini had his mug shot taken, although the suit claims such photos are forbidden by state law for minor offenses. Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, said Oct. 8 that “there is no statewide policy regarding the release of arrest photos.” He declined further comment on the matter.

The photo eventually ended up in the hands of both state and national news media some of which labeled Tramaglini the “super pooper.”

“The booking photograph should have never been taken, to say nothing of the fact that it was immediately thereafter released into the public domain, fueling sophomoric, inaccurate and damaging ‘news stories’ about (Tramaglini),” the suit claimed. “The mug shot gave traction to inaccurate media accounts.”

News stories said Tramaglini had been arrested, which he was not, according to the suit. But for all the outlets that wrote about or covered the case, the lawsuit focused on the conduct of NJ.com, a news site owned by the Newhous family-controlled Advance Publications. The suit references unnamed sources at the website.

“Multiple whistleblowers from inside NJ.com at the time have revealed that Christopher Kelly, the current director, news innovation, topics and features for NJ.com, instructed journalists to write multiple, redundant stories lacking any news value whatsoever, focusing primarily on what was depicted in the unlawfully taken and disseminated booking photograph,” the suit claimed. “Despite the resistance of many in the NJ.com newsroom, Mr. Kelly forced journalists to continue publishing Tramaglini’s mug shot and related stories of Tramaglini’s supposed ‘arrest.’ These stories ultimately fueled other national and international stories providing false and misleading information.”

Neither NJ.com nor any of its employees are named as defendants in the suit. Kevin Whitmer, senior vice president for content, expansion and development at NJ Advance Media, had no comment when contacted Oct. 8.

The fallout from the controversy ended Tramaglini’s tenure at Kenilworth Public Schools. The suit said he “was forced to step aside” as superintendent, where he earned more than $140,000 a year.

According to the suit, Kenilworth Board of Education officials cited the mug shot as a basis for ending Tramaglini’s tenure. “The loss of income and other personal and professional harm that has befallen (Tramaglini) has been enormous and irrecoverable,” the suit said.

Tramaglini resolved the case by pleading guilty in October 2018 to a municipal ordinance, with the other allegations dropped. His attorney, Matthew S. Adams, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

“When it comes to the legal, I just let the process take its place,” Holmdel Mayor Eric Hinds said. “I certainly believe whole-heartedly that our police did everything in the correct way.”

Mioduszewski did not return a phone call seeking comment.