The mayor of Penns Grove, New Jersey, says she has been a victim of attacks from a local law firm employee who threatened her and called her racial slurs.
At a news conference on Dec. 11, Mayor LaDaena Thomas played audio of the February 2021 voicemail allegedly made by The Lento Law Group’s office manager, John Groff, according to NJ.com.
Groff is accused of being the man threatening Thomas in the recording as well as calling her a b***h and the N-word.
“I’ll be damned if I’m gonna have some black f***ing n****r b***h, OK, tell somebody that’s it’s my f***ing fault that she don’t know what the f**k she’s doing. But I’m gonna tell you right now … I’m going to destroy her. I’m going to f***ing destroy her,” the New Jersey Globe reported the recording as saying.
Penns Grove is a borough located in Salem County. Thomas, a Black woman who won her first office bid in 2019, was recently re-elected as mayor in November. She is the first woman to hold the position.
During her campaign, ex-Mayor John Washington challenged Thomas’ decision to be listed as an independent, resulting in her being considered a write-in candidate in the race, according to NJ.com. The Lento Law Group represented Washington when he filed the motion. Additionally, the firm also backed a Republican candidate who is attempting to reverse her election win.
The voicemail and a string of other concerning calls were left for Richard Rivera, currently the town’s police director. Rivera said he notified the state Attorney General’s office and the FBI following the incident more than two years ago; however, he didn’t get a response from the AG’s office until earlier this month.
The alleged calls came after Thomas cut ties with The Lento Law Group, which served as Penns Grove’s attorney, in 2021, citing Groff’s criminal past as a determining factor in her decision. According to reports, the accused has multiple fraud convictions. Thomas said she’s speaking out about the matter because she feels like she’s being targeted.
“After I made that decision, I was threatened by John Groff, the firm’s office manager, that if I did not provide the Lento Law Group with a contract that he would, indeed, destroy me,” Thomas explained at the conference, per NJ.com. “He made this threat to then police practices consultant Richard Rivera, who is now our police director. He also made those comments to others.”
Groff remains an employee, but the law firm said they are looking into Thomas’ claims.
“The Lento Law Group is currently investigating news reports of a purported voicemail that was made public despite it being confidential and covered by attorney-client privilege,” the statement said, the outlet reported. “Because these news reports concern both the firm’s work with previous and current clients and an employment matter, we cannot provide further public comment at this time.”
