Ocean County Set To Pay 6-Figure Sexual Harassment Suit Settlement

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Ocean County has agreed to pay a six-figure settlement to a longtime Senior Services employee in a federal lawsuit accusing former Commissioner Joseph H. Vicari of years-long sexual harassment, officials confirmed.

The settlement of the lawsuit filed in May 2022 by Marie Elena Pine is for $725,000, Tracy Riley, Pine's attorney, confirmed to Patch. It was formalized in U.S. District Court in Trenton on July 9, according to court documents.

Pine alleged in the lawsuit Vicari subjected her to groping, sexual assault and persistent sexual harassment, cornering her in offices to rub up against her or assault her, over the majority of her 23 years working for the county. Much of that time was in the Division of Senior Services. Vicari was the liaison to the division in his role as a commissioner.

Pine also alleged Vicari threatened to fire her if she reported the harassment and assaults, the lawsuit said. When she did finally report the harassment to other county officials, nothing was done, the lawsuit alleged.

The settlement, the second six-figure settlement involving a lawsuit naming Vicari, was announced July 16 in a statement at the commissioners' meeting, the Asbury Park Press reported.

"The Ocean County Board of Commissioners confirms that a legal matter involving former Commissioner Freeholder Joseph Vicari has been resolved through a settlement, reached on July 9, 2025," Commissioner Director Jack Kelly said in reading the statement into the record. "The settlement was reached without any admission of liability or wrongdoing by any party and represents a mutually agreed-upon resolution, made in consultation with legal counsel, to avoid the cost and uncertainty of continued litigation."

"The County does not tolerate misconduct in any form and remains committed to maintaining a respectful and professional work environment," according to the statement, a copy of which was obtained by Patch. "As this matter has been legally resolved, the Board will not be providing further comment at this time. Additional information may be shared as appropriate."

The lawsuit also had named former Commissioners Virginia Haines and Barbara Jo Crea along with the county, but the claims against them were dismissed in January 2023.

Albert Wunsch III, Vicari's attorney in the Pine lawsuit, said the settlement was a business decision by Ocean County and its insurance company, one he did not have a say in. He said Vicari continues to "categorically deny any and all claims" made by Pine in the suit.

"My client was never deposed in the case," Wunsch said, and said Pine did not give a deposition in the case either, adding he was surprised that the county would settle given the fact that Pine had not given a sworn statement.

He called the allegations "ridiculous" as he had in 2022 when Pine's lawsuit was filed.

"It's ridiculous to think anyone would have withstood that kind of sexual assault case for that long. There is no way a professional woman in this world would have tolerated that kind of treatment and said nothing to anyone" for nearly two decades, Wunsch said in 2022.

Vicari first began serving on the Ocean County Board of Freeholders (as it was called before 2021) in 1981 and was re-elected 13 times before stepping down from the board at the end of his term in 2023.

Vicari also was named in a 2014 lawsuit by Rosemarie Mennona, who had been the county's director of building services, where she accused Vicari of enabling sexual harassment of her by a third party. The county settled that lawsuit for $550,000 in what officials called a "business deal." Vicari and county officials made no admissions of wrongdoing in that settlement.

Wunsch said the settlement allows Vicari to close the chapter.

"I'm glad my client can move on with his life and enjoy his retirement," Wunsch said, praising Vicari's public service that spanned not only the county board but included time as a teacher in the Brick Township Schools, superintendent of the Berkeley Township Schools and also on the governing body in Toms River, including as mayor. "He served honorably."