Judge affirms Carifi appeal for carry permit

MORRISTOWN – Two years after leaving the force, former Parsippany Police Capt. James Carifi finally has a document saying he retired in good standing and is cleared for a gun-carry permit.

His status arrived in the form of a carry-permit application signed by Parsippany Police Chief Paul Philipps and placed before state Superior Court Judge Salem Ahto, who presided Thursday over a hearing to appeal a denial of the permit by the New Jersey State Police.

That permit, according to previous testimony by a State Police detective assigned to process such applications from former law-enforcement officers, was denied solely on the basis that Philipps had not submitted the signed form declaring Carifi retired in good standing and did not suffer from physical or mental disability or other relevant restrictions.

That was all Ahto needed to hear, although Carifi’s attorney, Edward Bilinkas, argued at length with the judge for his desire to call Philipps to the stand and to explain his reversal on the application.

Referring to Philipps being named in a civil suit brought by Carifi against the township, Parsippany Mayor James Barberio and Township Attorney John Inglesino, Bilinkas wanted to know if the chief’s decision was voluntary and assure he “is not under any threats or coercion.”

That suit is part of an ongoing battle between the township administration, Carifi and Carifi’s brother, Council President Paul Carifi Jr., and two other council members that has resulted in several lawsuits and public accusations that go back to James Carifi’s original suit against the township in 2011, which claimed he was passed over for promotion.

Philipps and Paul Carifi both attended the hearing, as did Councilman Louis Valori, who with Robert Peluso has formed a council majority that remains at odds with Barberio and Inglesino.

Ahto said he was satisfied that Assistant Prosecutor Catherine Broderick’s presence in court to represent the state was sufficient evidence Philipps’ signature was voluntary and, therefore, he did not need to hear from the chief. Blinkas persisted, citing previous testimony from Philipps that he claims conflicts with his decision to sign the document.

Ahto, who already had indicated he was ready to rule in his clients’ favor, told Bilinkas, “I’m not going to let you get into some kind of discovery process with respect to other matters.”

Bilinkas said, “I don’t want anybody to question him signing off on this if at some point in time it is determined there is a conflict because he’s become a party to a lawsuit.”

Ahto responded, “What do you want to do, put him on the stand, affect his credibility, and let me think I possibly shouldn’t consider this?”

“No,” Bilinkas said.

“I didn’t think so,” Ahto replied.

Ahto ultimately ruled in Carifi’s favor.

After the hearing, Philipps said he could not comment on his decision to sign the form, saying, “I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment about an ongoing matter. I chose to sign off on the issue on the advice of my counsel.”

He also declined to comment on any pending administrative charges that may arise from previous administrative charges that alleged James Carifi illegally downloaded or deleted thousands of documents from police department servers.

“Again, the charges are pending, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment. It wouldn’t be fair to Mr. Carifi,” Phillips said.

“I consider this an unconditional surrender on the part of the chief and Parsippany,” Bilinkas said. “We’ve been saying from Day 1 he retired in good standing and has no disabilities as suggested by the chief. For them to sign off on the document certifying he is in good standing, to me, is a major victory for James Carifi.”

“Everything Mr. Bilinkas did I appreciate, he’s got a great investigative team,” Carifi said after the hearing. “I look forward to an open hearing on any other issues that may arise. The stakeholders of Parsippany deserve to know the facts of the case.”

“We’re ready for the administrative hearing,” Bilinkas said. “Tell them I’m coming.”

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-428-6627; wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com