At the October 8, 2009 freeholder meeting CHAIRMAN MIRABELLA, approved the settlement of pending litigation entitled Lynette Baker-Blevins v. UC, et als, Docket No. UNN-L-0297-09. This is the first time this litigation appeared on the radar.

You won’t find anything about this case on the prosecutor’s press release web page or the freeholders; these taxpayer-funded sites only report good news about successful cases - your tax dollars, about 1-million in salaries, at work for them.

The county used in-house counsel on this case, if they didn’t they would have had to pass resolutions to appropriate funds, thus drawing public attention to it. The name of the litigation hasn’t shown up in executive meeting minutes either.

An OPRA request for the actual settlement is pending. I even stopped by the court house on Friday to ask to review the case file, a law clerk told me it was in Judge Cassidy’s chambers and she’d be back in 10-minutes with it. 20-minutes later she came back and said she was having a problem obtaining it and I should try back in the afternoon. I did, it still wasn’t available.

I suspect it won’t be until after Election Day. This has been kept secret long enough so, I’ll report back on how much the case was settled for, I don’t think that’s the point anyway.

The complaint alleged that Lynette had to have her toes and parts of her heels removed due to frostbite because even though she was found to be a threat to herself and others the county wrongfully released her from custody in bedroom slippers and no coat in the dead of winter on January 16, 2007. She was found 3 days later on the side of Newark City Hall. This case follows a long list of prisoners in the recent past that suffered bodily harm and even loss of life. These incidents only come to public view when the prisoners have family members looking out for them, it stands to reason that so much more abuse and neglect is swept under the rug.

This happened an entire year before Jose Espinosa and Otis Blunt made international headlines on December 15, 2007, with their escape by scraping away the mortoar around the cinder blocks making up the cell walls. The Union County Prosecutor and Sheriff held a press conference where they released details about a note left by one of the prisoners alleging that a prison guard helped him. This caused the media to focus their attention on the guard instead of management. The guard soon fatally shot himself leaving behind a wife and young daughter.

On June 29, 2009 the County Watchers broke the story that a prisoner was working on the cleaning crew and just walked out the front door of the jail. One week and approximately 17 hours later, his father, who was on parole, turned him in by notifying his parole officer that he was at a house on Eagle Street in Newark. Officers went to the location and found the escape hiding in the basement and arrested him. Nonetheless, the county press release trumpeted “This is a successful end to a determined effort. Several law enforcement departments on the municipal, county and state level contributed to this investigation.”

Through both embarrassing incidents, the county along with the Prosecutor and Sheriff, had been keeping this the Baker-Blevins incident a secret, and who could know what else?

The complaint, Lynette Baker-Blevnis vs Union County et, al which was field on 1/15/09 reads in part:

In or about November, 2006 plaintiff, was arrested for violating a retraining order and placed into custody.

The Union County Prosecutor’s Office assigned Assistant Prosecutor Natalie Candela, Esq., to handle the prosecution of the case against plaintiff.

The Union County Public Defender’s Office assigned defendant Neal Daugherty, esq. to handle the defense of the claims against plaintiff.

Shortly after plaintiff was incarcerated, her sister, notified the Union County jail that plaintiff had a long standing history of mental illness. Eventually, plaintiff was placed in the hospital section of the jail.

Plaintiff’s sister claims that calls to the Union County Public Defender’s Office and the Prosecutor’s office to inquire regarding plaintiff’s status and to advise them of plaintiff’s long-standing history of mental illness. The calls were not returned.

On or about January 16, 2007, while plaintiff’ sister and son, were on their way to the Union County facilities to address their concerns about plaintiff’s being a danger to herself and others and her overall mental heath and well being, Assistant Prosecutor Natalie Candela, Esq., contacted plaintiff’s sister informing her that she felt it was acceptable for plaintiff to be released. Plaintiff’s sister pleaded with Candela to understand the extent of plaintiff’s mental illness. The conversation ended with defendant Candela informing plaintiff’s sister that plaintiff would have a mental health evaluation and if found to be incompetent, plaintiff would be taken to the next available mental health facility.

Thereafter, at around 4:00 pm, Candela, contacted plaintiff’s sister informing her that the mental health professionals at defendant Outreach Corporation had found plaintiff to be incompetent and plaintiff was going to be admitted to Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth.

Shortly thereafter, a social worker, from one of the Union County divisions, The Union County Prosecutor’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, Probation Department and/or the Jail, contacted plaintiff’s sister informing her that she received plaintiff’s transfer papers for her release but she could not provide any additional information.

Assistant Prosecutor Natalie Candela, Esq., left work on January 16, 2007 with the understanding and belief that plaintiff had been evaluated by defendants Outreach Corporation and was found to be incompetent and was being transferred to Trinitas Hospital.

Neal Daugherty, Esq., appeared at a hearing concerning plaintiff’s release, informed the Court that there was no reason for plaintiff to remain incarcerated, without verifying the status of her most recent mental health evaluation. Another Assistant Prosecutor signed off on plaintiff’s release without verifying the status of plaintiff’s most recent mental health evaluation or contacting Assistant Prosecutor Natalie Candela, Esq.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office and the Union County Jail, received correspondence from the defendant Union County Prosecutor’s Office advising that plaintiff was to be transferred to Trinitas Hospital and later received correspondence from one of the defendant Union County divisions aforesaid indicating that plaintiff was to be released on her own recognizance. Upon information and belief, said defendants never questioned the discrepancy between the two directives and released plaintiff to her own recognizance.

At the time of plaintiff’s release she was wearing bedroom slippers and no jacket. It was the coldest night of the year.

The following day, January 17, 2007, Assistant Prosecutor Natalie Candela, Esq., called plaintiff’s sister to inform her that plaintiff had been released on January 16 and she did not know at the time what had happened.

Note: There were no county press releases or news reports of the missing woman.

On January 18, 2007, plaintiff’s son received a call from a physician at University Hospital in Newark telling him that his mother had been found on the side of City Hall in Newark.

Plaintiff was subsequently treated for frostbite, thereafter requiring amputations to several of her toes and heels.

There are six charges in the complaint which charges that the plaintiff was deprived of essential supervision, medical care and rights secured to her by the Constitution of the United States, including the right not be deprived of liberty and the pursuit of happiness, without due process of law and her eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of 42 U.S.C. 1983.

The full complaint can be viewed HERE.

Tina Renna is the president of the Union County Watchdog Association. She can be reached at tinarenna@unioncountywatchdog.org.