Passaic County sheriff's officer indicted in threat allegations

Passaic County Sheriff’s Officer Rafael “Rae” Galan was indicted Tuesday on charges that he threatened a former colleague who had accused him of corruption, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s office said.
The indictment follows a grand jury hearing last week. Galan, 40, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the charges, which included making terroristic threats and tampering with a witness.
The 20-year veteran of the sheriff’s office was suspended without pay in November after an ex-officer, Darren Woolridge, filed two complaints against him in Totowa municipal court. Woolridge accused Galan of trying to intimidate him over the phone about a pending investigation, saying, “You’re going to get yours.”
The complaints did not specify the investigation. The case was sent to Superior Court in Paterson, where Galan made a brief appearance in late December.
In 2009, the county prosecutor’s office accused Galan of tipping off a Paterson drug dealer about an impending bust in 2004. Galan was suspended without pay. The charges eventually were dropped by the prosecutor’s office and Galan was reinstated that summer.
Curtis LaForge, Galan’s attorney, was confident Tuesday that his client would be vindicated.
“We wish very much to address this at trial,” he said.
Woolridge had put Galan at the center of a 2009 lawsuit claiming broad drug-related corruption within the Sheriff’s Office. The suit has since stalled without a settlement, though Woolridge’s new lawyer said he was filing an amendment to the complaint Wednesday that would present new allegations.
“We’re happy to have a second bite of the apple with what we’ve got,” said Gerald Saluti, the lawyer representing Woolridge. “I don’t want to be super specific about that yet.”
Bill Maer, spokesman for the sheriff’s department, said Galan was placed on unpaid suspension upon being charges.
“His status will remain unchanged until this matter is fully adjudicated,” he said.