Three New Jersey police officers suspended over racist remarks caught on secret recordings have continued to draw paychecks for more than five years, costing taxpayers more than $2.6 million.
According to payroll records and court filings obtained by both NJ.com and The New York Post (via AOL.com), despite being deemed unfit for duty by the state Attorney General’s Office, the officers remain on paid suspension as legal battles drag on.
The case centers on Clark Township Police Chief Pedro Matos, internal affairs Sgt. Joseph Teston, and Capt. Vincent Concina. All three were suspended in 2020 after a whistleblower inside the department secretly recorded conversations in which Matos and Teston used racial slurs, including the n-word. Concina was not recorded using slurs but was accused of retaliating against the whistleblower, former Lt. Antonio Manata.
The recordings date back to 2019. In one, Matos discussed reopening a 2017 bias incident involving a Black puppet found hanging at a local high school, saying he wanted to prove that “them f***ing [n-words] did it.” In another clip, Teston referred to a Black suspect as a “f***ing animal” with a “big f***ing monkey head,” adding that the man’s mugshot resembled imagery from National Geographic.
While the language sparked outrage when it became public in 2022, the disciplinary process has stalled. The officers filed lawsuits in Superior Court seeking to block internal disciplinary action, arguing that investigators took too long to complete a related criminal investigation.
Under New Jersey law, internal charges must typically be filed within 45 days of authorities obtaining sufficient information, a point their lawyers say was missed.
At a recent hearing in Union County, attorneys for the officers described the delays as extreme. “The idea that it takes 18 months for trained professional criminal prosecutors to say, ‘Hmm, does that constitute official misconduct?’ is really absurd,” said Timothy Donohue, who represents Concina.
Prosecutors pushed back, saying the criminal investigation was ongoing until 2023, regardless of its length. “Not that it wasn’t occurring,” Deputy Attorney General Ryne Spengler told the court.
As the case lingers, pay has continued to flow. Records show Matos now earns about $195,995 annually—an 18.9% increase since his suspension—totaling nearly $980,000 in salary paid while sidelined. Concina’s pay has risen to roughly $178,979, costing taxpayers about $894,000.
Teston, meanwhile, earns $147,556, with more than $740,000 paid during his suspension.
Combined, the township spends roughly $22,000 every two weeks on their salaries alone, not including benefits or pension costs.
In a 2023 report, Attorney General Matthew Platkin called for firing Matos and Teston and demoting Concina, while stopping short of criminal charges. Judge Lisa Miralles Walsh, who called the matter “unique” and complex, has not yet ruled on whether discipline can proceed.