A New Jersey towing company has lost two valuable contracts after video showed a company rep using the N-word during a contact with a customer.
Ajaco Towing has been dropped by the New Jersey State Police and the town of Parsippany after video of the outburst spread online. The video showed a white man yelling at a Black man recording the video following a dispute about a towing bill.
“Earlier this morning the township was made aware of an incident occurring at Ajaco Towing Recovery, a business contracted with the Parsippany Police Department,” the town administration and police said in a joint statement on Aug. 18. “After reviewing the video, [we have] decided to no longer use Ajaco Towing, effective immediately.”
The towing company is no longer on the city’s roster of contracted businesses and has been removed from a list referenced to when carrying out municipal operations.
The New Jersey State police followed suit earlier this week. The state police said in a statement on Monday, Aug. 23, that the department would no longer be working with Ajaco.
“The New Jersey State Police is aware of the incident and has suspended operations with Ajaco Towing,” NJSP spokesperson Lt. Jeffrey Flynn said Monday. “The matter remains under internal review.”
The video was shared to Instagram by user @mr_str8money on Aug. 17, shows the white man standing outside of a set of doors using profanity and demanding the man recording from a distance be removed from the property as police try to get the upset man to go back inside the building.
“Go inside, go inside!” an officer yelled at the man.
“Get him out of here now!” the white man repeated, before accusing the man of “pulling the racial card.”
“You threatened me right in front of the police!” the man recording replied.
“You know why? Because I can. Freedom of speech,” the white man said.
Before finally entering the building, the white man called the customer a “f—ing n—er.”
An invoice shared by the man shows he visited the towing company on Aug. 16 after his vehicle was towed the day prior. He was there to retrieve his vehicle.
Jason Cleffi, described by NBC New York as the owner of Ajaco, told the station the man who recorded the incident had argued with employees for an hour over a towing bill before the video started. Cleffi said the man initially left then returned with police. According to Cleffi, the man threatened the Ajaco rep.
“Two men got into a heated argument that never should’ve happened,” he said. “I take it very serious. I have to apologize for my employee’s action, I have to apologize to anyone who had to be subjected to that. I do not tolerate that.”
He also said both men used racist language. The man arguing with the Black man has been identified as Vincent Cleffi, Jason’s brother, who is identified by the Better Business Bureau as the president of Ajaco, with Jason as vice president, although a lawyer for the company said he’s merely part of the real estate holding company that owns the Ajaco property.
The Parsippany Police Department is investigating the conduct of its officers to make sure proper procedures were followed.
An Ajaco manager who identified himself as Brian told the Daily Record, “That employee is currently suspended pending further investigation into everything,” adding, “We don’t condone any of the actions that the employee is being accused of.”
The man filming the incident has not been identified but said he would be consulting with an attorney, according to a police report. However, the Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Alex Bennett has said “the circumstances did not meet the requirement for a bias incident,” the report says.
The attorney for Ajaco said he will file a notice of claim against the NJSP and Parsippany because the company was removed without following proper procedure. He added that employees at the company have received death threats following the incident.
“It’s not a laughing matter,” he said. “People are afraid for their lives here.”
