A former director of the Passaic County Juvenile Detention Center in Haledon is suing current and former county officials for allegedly forcing her to take the blame in an auto accident cover-up by threatening her job and loss of retirement benefits.

Delores Ferguson of Paterson, who resigned in March 2005, filed a four-count civil complaint in Superior Court in Paterson on her own behalf on March 30, although many of the defendants said they were only served with court papers this week.

In addition to the county of Passaic, the lawsuit names County Administrator Anthony DeNova, Freeholder Director Elease Evans, former Freeholder Clerk Charles Thomas, former Republican Freeholders Michael Mecca and Walter Porter, as well as "John Does 1-10."

The complaint is rooted in a June 27, 2004, automobile accident in which Frederick E. Brewer, a janitor at the detention center, crashed a county-owned 1993 Ford Crown Victoria into a Ford Taurus at 12:20 a.m. on a Sunday in Paterson.

At the time of the accident, Brewer had no driver's license or auto insurance, and 64-year-old Daisy Ward, who was driving the Taurus, suffered a broken leg and was hospitalized, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleges Thomas, who was responsible for the county vehicle, and Evans demanded that Ferguson validate a story that she had authorized Brewer to use the car.

When DeNova also demanded Ferguson write a report of the incident, Thomas turned in an account in which Ferguson accepted responsibility for Brewer having the car, and had her sign and submit it as her own, the lawsuit said.

Although Ferguson refused at first, Evans indicated that, based on conversations with DeNova, she was informed that she would be fired if she didn't sign the report, according to the lawsuit.

Ferguson signed the account, but later explained to DeNova that it was false, the lawsuit said, although she stuck to a part of the story when she was interviewed by investigators from the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office.

Despite Evans' assurances that Ferguson would be protected for participating in the alleged cover-up, the false report was used to force Ferguson's eventual resignation, to which she reluctantly agreed out of fear of losing her retirement benefits, according to the lawsuit.

Evans said that the county's response to the allegations leveled in Ferguson's lawsuit would be determined at a Personnel and Finance Committee meeting on May 11.

Attorney William J. De Marco, who is representing Mecca and Porter, said that it was unclear why they were named as defendants since there was no specific allegations made against them.

In July 2004, Mecca and Porter filed criminal complaints against Ferguson, Thomas and Brewer after the county prosecutor decided not to pursue criminal charges against them concerning responsibility for the use of the county vehicle.

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