Strong words for Victor
PBA speaks out and witnesses speak up to help the case
for Cumberland County Local 231 State Delegate Victor Bermudez
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
As the fight against the suspension of Cumberland Coun-
ty Corrections Local 231 President and State Delegate Victor
Bermudez continues, his attorney, Stuart Alterman, sees more
and more evidence of exoneration coming.
“Ultimately, Victor will be the victor,” Alterman stated as he
laughed over the pun intended. “Warden Richard Smith is on
the ropes, and I think the Cumberland County Freeholders
Board will be embarrassed in the end.”
Exhibit A came on Nov. 27, when NJ State PBA members once
again came out in force to support Bermudez at the monthly
freeholders meeting. There was an even greater presence this
time at the Cumberland County Administration Building than
a month earlier, when so many PBA members came to the
meeting that they overflowed into two adjacent rooms.
For the November meeting, members came from Burling-
ton County Corrections Officers Local 249, Middlesex County
Corrections Officers Local 152, Hudson County Corrections
Officers Local 109 and all points of the state. Some drove as
much as three hours to get to a place that is not the easiest to
get to.
Among those in attendance were NJ State PBA President Pat
Colligan and Executive Vice President Marc Kovar. They sat in
the front row and both stepped up to the microphone to direct
a definitive message to the freeholders.
“The message we gave the freeholders is that Victor will be
back,” President Colligan recapped. “I told them that if they
fire somebody for a reason that makes no sense, they’re going
to be coming back, and it’s going to cost you money.”
Colligan also noted that the room was filled with PBA mem-
bers who came to emphasize an argument about employers
fussing with one of their own in the manner that Cumberland
County has with Bermudez. And to protest what the county
did to Local 231 Vice President Jaré Brooks, when Smith sus-
pended him after the last meeting.
“It’s an absolute anti-union action,” Colligan continued.
“The warden has to understand that he cannot do anything he
wants to do. Our members have certain rights, and we will do
whatever it takes to protect those rights.”
The stand from PBA members plied Bermudez with the
strength needed to sustain him through the holiday season.
That, and his unfailing faith, according to Alterman, have en-
abled Bermudez to rise above being suspended without pay
in May due to a charge stemming from an incident when he
was making a trans run with an inmate from the Cumberland
County jail to an addiction treatment center in Paterson.
His case seemed to get some positive impact at a Dec. 7
hearing, when Paterson Local 1 President Alex Cruz testified.
He confirmed that he and Bermudez had a happenstance
meeting on the day he made the trans run and called Cruz to
ask for a suggestion about where to go for lunch.
Cruz confirmed that when he received the call and found
Front row, from left, Burlington County Corrections Officers Local 249 State
Delegate Terrance Benson, NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan, attorney
Stuart Alterman and NJ State PBA Executive Vice President Marc Kovar
attend the Cumberland County Freeholders meeting on Nov. 27 to speak
on behalf of Victor Bermudez.
PBA members pack the Cumberland County Administration Building on
Nov. 27 to show support for Victor Bermudez.
out he was around the corner from Bermudez the meeting
evolved into a discussion about the opioid crisis. Apparently, a
close friend of Cruz’s had lost a daughter to an opioid overdose
that morning. He added that their conversation being posted
on Facebook was a mistake, and he took it down immediately,
according to Alterman.
“If the IA investigator had done this, he would have found
out the truth instead of trying to investigate his way to the
conclusion,” Alterman added.
Alterman also noted that the attorney arguing the case for
the county called himself as a witness to testify that he had
administered intense training to Local 231 members about
engaging in such conduct.
“The intense training consisted of six minutes with no Pow-
erPoint or no handout,” Alterman confirmed.
As a result, the hearing seemed to confirm the conclusion
that seems even more evident now.
“Ultimately, Victor will be exonerated,” Alterman said.
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ DECEMBER 2018 75