ACCUSED – Matt Calicchio at the courthouse (file photo).
A trial date has been scheduled in about two weeks on charges filed by a Hoboken Board of Education member who alleges she was verbally harassed on public school property by Matt Calicchio, a familiar figure on the Hoboken political scene.
Board member Theresa Minutillo said she first filed the harassment charges against Calicchio last October.
A trial set for Thursday was postponed due to a scheduling conflict with another case. The trial has been rescheduled for Thursday, June 7 at 1 p.m. Several members of the Board of Education were in attendance, and some confirmed they appeared under subpoena.
All nine members of the Board of Education are believed to have received subpoenas to appear in the case.
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School board member Irene Sobolov and Vice President Ruth McAllister, who were also present at the trial, said they believed that all nine members of the Board of Education had received subpoenas to appear at the courthouse. Both Sobolov and McAllister said that they had “no idea” why they were told to appear, but indicated that they were there in support of Minutillo.
Board member Maureen Sullivan echoed Sobolov and McAllister’s sentiments.
“I have been subpoenaed to appear as a witness, though I have absolutely no knowledge of what happened between Matt [and] Theresa,” said Sullivan in an email.
Sullivan also said the board members were advised by the school board’s attorney that they were not compelled to give testimony because the subpoenas were apparently not delivered at least five days in advance.
Nancy Pincus, a member of the Hoboken Zoning Board and local blogger, was also present. Pincus said she did not receive a notice to appear.
“I’m here for my friends,” said Pincus.
Allegations Minutillo told The Reporter that she filed charges against Calicchio after he allegedly began screaming and yelling while she was picking up her daughter at Wallace Elementary School, where she attends kindergarten.
“He was [allegedly] screaming that he was coming after me,” said Minutillo, “[allegedly] saying that he was going to get me and that he was going to take me down.”
Minutillo said that there had been prior incidents with Calicchio in which he allegedly acted in the same manner. However, the alleged incidents never occurred with her daughter present.
“This case is filed primarily because my daughter has every right to go to school and be picked up without somebody [allegedly] attacking or screaming at her mother and making her feel afraid and fearful,” said Minutillo.
Minutillo also said that people have suggested that she is filing the charges for political reasons.
“This is something that I’ve been keeping under wraps for seven months,” said Minutillo. “People [are trying] to say I’m [doing] this for political reasons, and if [that was the case], it is something that I would have brought out months and months ago.”
Minutillo also said that she had “no idea” what precipitated the alleged conflict between Calicchio and herself.
Calicchio and his attorney, Elise DiNardo, could not be reached for comment.
Stephen LaMarca may be reached at slamarca@hudsonreporter.com.
With the credability of the reporting anything surrounding Councilwoman Mason and her staff in the Hoboken Reporter again being questioned, it would be in the best interest of the paper to be as transparent and complete as possible in the future.
- Councilman Mason should be changed to Councilwoman Mason (first paragraph).
- Credability should be spelled "credibility."
- The first clause in the first sentence of the second paragraph should be rewritten. It is unclear as to what the author is trying to say.
- Does this contribute to the discussion? - In short, no. The comment on the bottom of this article echoes a point that this same exact author has already made. Even the same words were used, giving the reader the impression that this comment provides nothing new to the conversation. While considering a final grade for this comment, it should also be noted that this author has already written 6 comments on this story.
Final Comment Grade: D
Sincerely,
The Watchdog
Thank you for reading my posts so carefully and providing your spell check services.
I think you like HeyBro have truly added to the discussion ?
That's what I would say since knowing those two is not exactly something to be proud of and paying them to do anything more complex than shining shoes raises serious questions about both ethics and judgment.
The same newspaper has repeatedly falsely stated that Mayor Zimmer appointed Nancy Pincus to the zoning board. I guess the standard of proof varies depending on the size of the ad buy.
When you go to bed with dogs you wake up with fleas and everyone near finboy has been scratching themselves quite a lot lately.
I will go slower this time one more time for you. My guess is the newspaper does not follow Beth around 24/7 and constantly think and write about her the way the anti-Beth blogger SmartyJones does. Therefore they probably did not have proof of what you are refering to in time before the story was written. Smarty follows her around so maybe he does have enough proof, so I ask the question again, do you have written proof? If so, please tell us. Put up or shut up.
An earlier position as a security guard for Hudson County ended in January leaving work as a political operative for Mason his sole employment since.
No one has ever disputed this at any time, neither Beth Mason nor her employee. The duo are seen together at various government related and unrelated functions on a regular basis ranging from council meetings, County meetings to the OLG spaghetti dinner.
The Reporter should ask Beth Mason to account for the relationship in any follow up story. MSV would note there were others attending the Union City court also in the pay of Beth Mason: a videographer, a director to the videographer and a woman who may have been a witness but may be testifying on behalf of the defendant who worked in Beth Mason's civic storefront at 12th and Washington.
She also penned a letter in the Hudson Reporter thanking Mason and MORTe for their work "saving" the hospital.
After six months of hearings MSV reported the case was going to trial late April. It can be found here:
http://www.hobokenhorse.com/2012/04/beth-mason-operative-matt-calicchio.html
Thank you for reading my posts.
You might also find the Hudson Mile Square View coverage of the story of interest.
www.hobokenhorse.com
Again the credibility of the reporting in the Hoboken Reporter has been called into question.
Perhaps Councilwoman Elizabeth Mason should also be subpoenaed to testify because (allegedly) Mr. Callichio is her employee ?
Again, I am sure Mrs. Mason would be egar to be as transparent to the court and the people of Hoboken as possible.
It has also been reported but not mentioned in this story that Mr. Calichio is now a paid member of Councilwoman Mason's staff and is often seen accompaning her to political events and mmetings in Hoboken.
Perhaps that in the follow up story Councilwoman Mason should be asked about the totality of her involvement with Matt Calicchio.
I am sure Councilwoman Mason would want to be totally transparent.