NJ Police Chief Whose Nephew Faces Double Murder Charges Sued

WESTFIELD, NJ — A former officer with the Westfield Police Department filed a lawsuit on Friday alleging retaliation was taken against his career after he reported sexual harassment in the workplace.

After being employed by the Westfield Police Department since 2015 and serving multiple bureaus, Matthew O'Holla says he "was compelled to resign" in August. O'Holla said this followed "three years of sustained retaliatory actions by Chief Christopher Battiloro" and those under his direct supervision.

Battiloro is the uncle of Vincent P. Battiloro, 17 of Garwood, who is charged with double murder for the Cranford hit-and-run deaths of Maria Niotis and Isabella Salas on Sept. 29. Christopher Battiloro has since spoken out against the acts after rumors began circulating online about his connection to a suspect, saying he and his family are "absolutely heartbroken over this senseless loss of life."

In the lawsuit filed Friday in the Superior Court of Union County, one of Battiloro's former direct reports is now accusing him of damaging his career after he spoke up about sexual harassment from another employee.

In March 2023, O'Holla says he received messages from an unknown number asking if he would enjoy sexual advances made by another man.

According to the lawsuit, these were sent from a "burner phone" by Dominick Sandelli, current Emergency Communications Systems & Technological Services Supervisor for the Westfield Police Department.

This was the beginning of multiple advances by Sandelli, says O'Holla, that included showing up to a municipal garage while he was there alone working on an emergency vehicle.

At this time, Sandelli allegedly revealed to him that he was the one who sent the messages and that he had also sent others that were similar to other colleagues.

"I didn't put myself out there for no reason on the text messages," Sandelli told him as he was leaving the garage one day. "The offer still stands."

O'Holla says he again directly denied his advances and the multiple others that followed in the form of text messages.

"Any thoughts about my offer since you know who texted you now?" Sandelli said in another message just days later.

O'Holla says he quickly realized he was the victim of sexual harassment and took action.

Along with copies of the messages from Sandelli, O'Holla says he used the chain of command in place to report such situations within the Westfield Police Department and filed a sexual harassment report.

O'Holla, also a current officer in the United States Coast Guard Reserve, "comes from a military organizational culture that has zero tolerance for sexual harassment, retaliation against victims, and no tolerance for senior leaders that condone it," his attorney Christopher D'Alessandro says.

In July 2023, O'Holla was notified by Battiloro that a complaint was filed against him by Sandelli who was requesting video surveillance from multiple days on which O'Holla worked.

This was in reference to a Vespa scooter that had already been approved, according to O'Holla, by Battiloro to be stored and worked on at the garage during "down time."

Later that month, a determination letter was sent from Battiloro to O'Holla stating that misconduct had been carried out by Sandelli and that disciplinary action would be taken. He also noted evidence of retaliation was being referred further to Internal Affairs.

O'Holla believes this was never handled further, and that Sandelli was allowed to use vacation and days off to satisfy a "short suspension."

According to O'Holla, Battiloro dismissed Sandelli's OPRA request for the surveillance footage as "you guys retaliating against each other."

This was the beginning, according to O'Holla, of years of retaliatory acts taken against him and his career.

"The organizational culture at the Westfield Police Department... presents a nightmarish landscape of illegal, discriminatory retaliation by Chief Battiloro, condoned, aided, and abetted by Westfield Township," O'Holla's attorney claims.

In April, O'Holla was assigned to a welfare check for a resident in Westfield. After initially thinking the person was dead, it was determined they were not and were taken to the hospital.

An Internal Affairs case was later brought against him which resulted in O'Holla being placed on "modified duty" on May 16. According to O'Holla, there had never been any other officers that he had seen or heard of being placed on "modified duty" when under this sort of review.

Under this classification, he says was not allowed to leave police headquarters even during breaks under the directive of Battiloro. He also was told he was no longer allowed to work "side-jobs."

In July, Westfield Police told O'Holla that as a result of the Internal Affairs case, Battiloro was asking for a suspension or termination of his duties. He called O'Holla's actions an "egregious lapse of judgement" with an "indifference to human life."

O'Holla says he offered to accept a 90-day suspension, even though he felt it was unwarranted, in an attempt to save his job and potential impact to his future career in law enforcement. Battiloro allegedly rejected this acceptance and pushed for a longer suspension or termination.

On Aug. 4, O'Holla resigned from the Westfield Police Department.

He is seeking compensatory damages related to:

• Emotional stress
• Loss of earnings and other employee benefits
• Damages to reputation and career development
• Consequential, incidental, and punitive damages
• Attorney fees and costs of suit
• Injunctive relief requiring remediation of discrimination and retaliation through affirmative action
• Any other relief deemed equitable and just by the Court

"Mr. O'Holla looks forward to seeing Chief Battiloro in court where the truth has more authority than rank," said D'Allesandro.

The full lawsuit can be viewed below.

Battiloro and other Westfield officials have not responded to Patch's request for comment.

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MATTHEW O’HOLLA lawsuit vs. Westfield by Alexis Tarrazi