AJ McDougall | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Jackson Township has settled a lawsuit filed by Police Chief Matthew Kunz, ending a long-running legal and political dispute just before he retires at the end of the month.
Town officials did not release the agreement’s full financial terms Wednesday when they announced the settlement in a statement. But a person familiar with the terms told NJ Advance Media that the payout exceeds $1 million, a figure confirmed by another person with knowledge of the agreement.
The feud with Kunz was a hangover from the previous municipal administration, Council President Mordechai Burnstein told NJ Advance Media.
“This was one of the messes we inherited,” he said. “The reality is that the chief was wronged.”
The issue had been “addressed and remedied,” Kunz said in a statement through his attorney, John Nulty.
Kunz, a 36-year law enforcement veteran, has served as Jackson’s police chief since 2008. He is scheduled to retire Feb. 1.
In late 2024, Kunz sued the township in Ocean County Superior Court, claiming its leadership had repeatedly retaliated against him and undermined his authority over the police department.
His lawsuit accused then-Mayor Michael Reina of orchestrating a power grab inside the department by creating a civilian “director of public safety” position and appointing Joseph Candido, a sitting police lieutenant, to the role.
Reina and Candido, who were also named as defendants in the lawsuit, did not respond to requests for comment. Reina abruptly resigned as Jackson’s mayor in September after 17 years in office.
Kunz’s complaint lays out a long list of alleged intrusions on his authority, including claims that Candido dictated uniform rules, overruled staffing and detective assignments, took control of budget and purchasing approvals, issued directives to supervisors and required that major crime-related social media posts be cleared through his office.
Kunz also alleged retaliation tied to past run-ins with Reina and his adult children, according to the filing. And he accused Reina and the township of withholding his contractually required raises starting in 2017, even as his subordinates continued to receive annual increases.
Roughly a quarter of the settlement constitutes back pay for the chief, according to Burnstein.
The town council initially disclosed that a settlement had been reached on Dec. 18 at its year-end meeting, although it did not release a figure at the time.
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