Dear North Bergen Township,

Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-5(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.

I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.

I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.

I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.

Records requested:

1. Summary and conclusion report for Retired in Good Standing Deputy Chief David Corbisiero

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF COMMON-LAW RIGHT OF ACCESS
AND PUBLIC INTEREST IN DISCLOSURE

I submit this statement in support of my request under the New Jersey common-law right of access for the final Summary and Conclusions Report and the limited related records identified in my accompanying records request.

This statement is provided for two purposes: first, to identify the internal-affairs matter with sufficient specificity to allow the Township and Police Department to locate responsive records; and second, to demonstrate the requester’s particularized interest and the substantial public interest favoring disclosure.

I. FACTUAL BASIS IDENTIFYING THE REQUESTED RECORDS

On or about February 6, 2026, Captain Jorge Raposo participated in a meeting with Deputy Chief David Corbisiero and Lieutenant Santiago Hernandez in the presence of Chief Robert J. Farley, Jr.

During that meeting, Captain Raposo expressly advised Lieutenant Hernandez that Captain Raposo had a complaint against then-Deputy Chief David Corbisiero.

The allegations concerned the manipulation, alteration, suppression, omission, reclassification, or inaccurate presentation of official North Bergen Police Department data, records, reports, case entries, or information.

The requester has a good-faith basis to believe the alleged conduct attributed to Deputy Chief Corbisiero had already come to the attention of Chief Farley, the North Bergen Police Department, its Internal Affairs Unit, Commissioner Allen Pascual, who met with Corbisiero on approximately two occasions at the school after this meeting, and other senior Township or Police Department officials, including but not limited to Mayor Nicholas J. Sacco and Township Attorney Thomas Kobin who communicated with Chief Farley about investigating the allegations prior to March 1, 2026..

The requester has further been informed that, after the matter came to the attention of senior officials, those officials favored Corbisiero’s retirement rather than pursuing formal disciplinary charges and the attendant public disciplinary proceedings and public scrutiny of the Township and Police Department.

The requester has also been informed Sergeant Eric Weyand acted as an intermediary in connection with Corbisiero’s departure. According to the information provided to the requester, Weyand referred to himself as “the broker” and communicated to Corbisiero during a telephone conversation—reportedly at Chief Farley’s direction, after being told to do so by Township Officials—that it was time for Corbisiero to retire before the matter escalated further.

North Bergen Police Department Personnel Order 26-061 subsequently announced Deputy Chief David Corbisiero had retired “in good standing” effective March 1, 2026.

The proximity between the February 6 complaint and Corbisiero’s March 1 retirement, together with the information described above, creates a substantial public question concerning whether:

1. Captain Raposo’s oral complaint was formally accepted and documented prior to March 1, 2026;

2. An internal-affairs case number was assigned;

3. The allegations were objectively investigated before Corbisiero was allowed to retire in good standing;

5. The investigation was completed despite Corbisiero’s retirement prior to March 1, 2026;

6. Findings and dispositions were entered for each allegation;

7. A Summary and Conclusions Report was completed;

8. Retirement was improperly treated as a substitute for investigation or discipline; and

9. Corbisiero’s retirement “in good standing” accurately reflected the status and disposition of any pending complaint or investigation.

II. THE SUBSTANTIAL PUBLIC INTEREST IN DISCLOSURE

The requested records concern the integrity of official police records and the integrity of the internal-affairs process itself. They do not concern a routine or purely private personnel disagreement.

The alleged manipulation of official data or reports implicates the reliability of police records, supervisory accountability, disciplinary decision-making, public confidence in law enforcement, and the ability of prosecutors, courts, municipal officials, and members of the public to rely upon official Police Department information.

The alleged conduct is particularly serious because it concerns a Deputy Chief, one of the highest-ranking members of the Police Department. Misconduct by a senior command official has the potential to affect not merely one incident, but the administration and credibility of the department and all previous investigations he oversaw as the Internal Affairs supervisor.

The public interest is further heightened because Captain Raposo alleged that Lieutenant Hernandez engaged in the same or substantially similar conduct. The fact that the complaint was reportedly communicated in the Chief’s presence creates a legitimate public interest in determining whether the mandatory complaint-acceptance and internal-affairs procedures were followed.

The policy therefore does not permit retirement alone to terminate the responsibility to investigate alleged misconduct or to memorialize the outcome.

III APPLICATION OF THE COMMON-LAW BALANCING TEST

Under Rivera v. Union County Prosecutor’s Office, 250 N.J. 124 (2022), internal-affairs reports are public records for purposes of the common-law right of access and may be disclosed when the interests favoring disclosure outweigh legitimate confidentiality concerns.

The considerations identified in Rivera strongly favor disclosure here.

First, the alleged misconduct is serious. It concerns the manipulation or concealment of official data and records, possible lack of candor, potential false reporting, and an alleged effort to prevent officer misconduct from being accurately reflected.

Second, the allegations concern a Deputy Chief and another supervisory officer. The senior rank of the subjects substantially increases the public’s interest in departmental accountability.

Third, the information available to the requester indicates the allegations were taken seriously by senior officials and were followed within weeks by Corbisiero’s retirement. The official report is needed to determine the actual disposition and whether the allegations were sustained, not sustained, exonerated, unfounded, administratively closed, or never properly investigated.

Fourth, the requested records concern whether the internal-affairs system itself operated properly. The public has a compelling interest in determining whether an oral complaint made in the Chief’s presence was documented and objectively investigated, or whether retirement was allowed to function as an alternative to formal accountability to avoid public scrutiny.

Fifth, the request is narrowly tailored. The requester primarily seeks the final Summary and Conclusions Report. The requester does not seek wholesale disclosure of raw witness statements or unrelated internal-affairs files.

Sixth, legitimate privacy interests can be protected through redaction.

My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request.

Yours faithfully,

Alicia Raposo