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Both were in the Bagel Express about 7 a.m. when Marc Bracciodieta said, Laforet elbowed him.
Laforet said Bracciodieta had “aggressively” come after him and was stalking him around the store.
Officers were called and found the two arguing.
Bracciodieta then went to headquarters and filed the complaint.
While that was happening, Laforet was in the parking lot taking photographs of his car, so Bracciodieta filed a second complaint, alleging harassment.
The complaints must be reviewed by a judge to determine if probable cause exists for either to proceed. This likely will be done in Central Municipal Court in Hackensack, given the positions of both men.
Batelli is Laforet’s friend and next-door neighbor. Laforet, who won a special election last November to replace the late Mayor Dick Martel, is up for re-election next week.
The trouble apparently began several months ago, when Laforet tried to privatize the recycling division of the DPW, which Bracciodieta opposed.
Bracciodieta, who is also a firefighter, was speaking to Lt. Stuart Blank at headquarters on July 16 while delivering mail there when Batelli walked in and asked him to conduct personal business on his own time.
Witnesses say an argument ensued between Bracciodieta and Batelli, which ended with the DPW worker cursing at the chief twice.
(Blank and Bracciodieta apparently got into a dispute over text messages about remarks he made at a council meeting. Bracciodieta had spoken on behalf of the DPW, which he said would lose seven people if the mayor’s plan was approved.)
DPW director Keith Hallissey suspended Bracciodeta for two days without pay for the incident with Batelli — a decision upheld by the Township Council. This followed approvals by DPW Supervisor Edward Sinclair and Business Administrator Brian Campion.
“You just don’t tell a department head to eff-off,” Councilwoman Lisa DiGiulio said during the council’s vote to uphold the suspension. She called all the recent disputes “stupid [and] childish,” adding, “It’s got to stop.”
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