N.J. National Guard general fostered 'environment of white supremacy,' lawsuit says

Brig. Gen. James Grant

Brig. Gen. James Grant, shown here in a file photo from after Hurricane Sandy, fostered an "environment of white supremacy" in the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, a new lawsuit alleges. (Noah K. Murray | The Star Ledger)

TRENTON — A top general with the New Jersey National Guard "fostered an environment of white supremacy" through racial discrimination and retaliation against a former supervisor who worked under him, according to a new lawsuit.

George Anderson III, a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, claims the general, Brig. Gen. James Grant, systematically denied him promotions and job opportunities because he was black, and retaliated against him for complaining of wrongdoing.

Anderson joined the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which includes the National Guard, in September 2008 as commandant of the Youth ChalleNGe Academy, a program to help high school dropouts earn their GEDs.

A month later, Grant, a former major with the New Jersey State Police, was named director of the joint staff for the Guard, providing federal supervision to about 8,500 members of the force and monitoring state operations of the department.

In the lawsuit, filed April 2 in state Superior Court in Mercer County, Anderson alleges Grant on six occasions blocked him, directly or indirectly, from jobs, giving them instead to white employees who often had less experience and qualifications.

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Racial discrimination claims in N.J. National Guard

Anderson claims he was then unfairly blamed for shortcomings of the youth program identified during an inspection by the National Guard Bureau last month, fired March 23, escorted off the premises and replaced by a white employee.

An attorney for Anderson, Matthew Luber, declined to elaborate on the claims but said his client was an "exemplary employee" and a "decorated Air Force veteran."

"We believe the facts will demonstrate Mr. Anderson was subjected to repeated discrimination and retaliation, and that he was ultimately terminated because of the color of his skin," Luber said.

Spokesmen for the state Attorney General's Office, which will defend against the lawsuit, and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs declined comment.

The allegations echo several recent formal complaints filed by senior Guard officers accusing Grant and Gov. Chris Christie's hand-picked adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Michael Cunniff, of racial discrimination and retaliation against officers who speak out against wrongdoing or are not in their inner circle.

Cunniff told state lawmakers last week the National Guard's state inspector general and other agencies are investigating the complaints and would report back to him, but he was confident the allegations would be found to be baseless. A state Assembly panel also intends to hold a hearing on the matter in the coming months.

Grant retired from the State Police in 2006 after 27 years on the force, a tenure that spanned the State Police's racial profiling scandal.

In the midst of that, in the early 2000s, troopers claimed they were targeted by a secret group of rogue officers known as the Lords of Discipline who used beatings, threats, acts of vandalism and other harassment to exact revenge against fellow troopers who complained about racial discrimination, profiling or criticized State Police.

In a book published in 1993, Grant said, "That's called The Phantom. Nobody knows how or when it happens. But The Phantom keeps everybody in line."

He told the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2001 he regretted the comments and the culture in State Police had changed from the time he made them.

That same year, a state administrative law judge ruled in favor of a female State Police sergeant who accused Grant of gender discrimination, stripping her of duties, subjecting her to an internal investigation and blocking promotion.

The judge noted "the flagrant hostility of Grant" and ruled his testimony, including his denials in the matter, were "not credible," according to the decision.

Anderson alleges in the lawsuit the department chose Grant as the director of the joint staff knowing his history, and that he "with the help of others, continued his pattern and practice of discrimination and retaliation against minorities."

After his hiring in 2008, Anderson claims he improved the youth program in a number of ways and was often asked to assume the duties of the deputy director and director in their absence. Yet, according to the lawsuit, when he applied for the director position in September 2010, he was denied in favor of a white employee.

Anderson said that employee, Victoria Ragucci, was less qualified for the position and that the former director, John Nunn, told him he was "sure" Anderson would "never" become the director, according to the lawsuit.

As a result, Anderson moved laterally into the position of coordinator for recruiting, placement and mentoring for the program, working closely with counselors, mentors and community representatives to develop placement opportunities for cadets of the program after they completed courses and earned a GED.

He said in the lawsuit he again made several improvements, and, though he was no longer commandant, was still asked to take on the duties of the deputy director and director. Yet in 2011 and twice in 2013 he applied for other jobs and was denied, and the jobs were given to white employees by Grant or at his direction, he said.

In 2013, he asked to return as commandant because he often filled the role anyway and because of a rise in disciplinary issues among the cadets, but human resources denied the request because it would require a new job posting.

According to the lawsuit, Grant appointed a white employee instead.

When that person left shortly thereafter, the commandant job was posted. But when Anderson applied, he said in the lawsuit, he was told the job criteria had changed and he was no longer qualified, even though he had held the job in the past.

He said he was told Grant could waive the new qualifications, but when he applied, he was denied and the job was given to a white employee, according to the lawsuit.

"In many instances, the personnel selected instead of Mr. Anderson were incompetent, had no prior experience with at risk youths, and often quit or retired shortly after being hired as a result," the lawsuit states.

Anderson alleges white employees under Grant, Ragucci and the department's human resources director, Robert Hoyd, were provided more favorable work hours, more pay, more authority and more senior positions that similar black employees.

He accuses them of awarding white employees recognition for subpar performance while refusing to reward black employees, cutting his budget, staff and assistants, moving his department and usurping his authority over his staff.

On Oct. 7, the lawsuit states, someone working for Ragucci asked Anderson's wife, who also worked for the department, to assist in the recruiting office. Then, immediately after she was asked to help, someone in the department filed an anonymous complaint alleging impropriety because of her marriage to Anderson.

His wife complained about the conduct internally and then contacted the state Division of Civil Rights for help, according to the lawsuit. But when she received no assistance in response, she resigned, citing the false accusation, the hostility in the office and a failure to investigate her complaints, the lawsuit states.

Ten days after contacting the civil rights division, on Oct. 17, Ragucci wrote to the entire youth program staff stating, "If you are contacted by the Civil Rights Division you are not to speak with them, answer any questions or provide any information," according to the lawsuit.

On Nov. 6, Anderson said he received a "written warning" dated Oct. 24 stating he did not meet the minimum requirements of his job, even though all of his performance evaluations had been positive, including his most recent one in 2014.

After his wife again contacted the civil rights division, Anderson said he was called into a meeting and told his 2014 performance evaluation needed to be changed and that he would receive another, interim one to reflect the updates.

The new evaluation rated his performance in all areas as a "1", the lowest possible score. Hoyd told him Grant personally ordered the new review, the lawsuit states.

From March 10 to March 12, the National Guard Bureau inspected the youth program and found the recruiting office to be ineffective, according to the lawsuit.

Anderson said he was made the scapegoat and fired because of the problems even though they occurred on Ragucci's watch, and despite the fact that Grant and Ragucci had undermined him and stripped him of control and authority.

Christopher Baxter may be reached at cbaxter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cbaxter1. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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