A Hoboken lawsuit filed by a medical cannabis license business just over two years ago alleging that then-Mayor Ravi Bhalla took a “bribe” to quash their license will depose former Health and Human Services Director Leo Pellegrini from federal prison.
“1. Leave of Court to Take the oral deposition of federal prison inmate, Pantaleo Pellegrini, at the Federal Correctional Institution – Fort Dix, is provided and same shall be served upon the facility Warden and Legal department,” Hudson County Superior Court Judge wrote in an August 14th order.
“2. The deposition shall be completed by October 15, 2026. If any counsel cannot appear they must obtain coverage. 3. The Court recognizes the deponent as an essential witness to the case at bar for the purposes of granting this Order but makes no findings as to the statements to be provided.”
Nature’s Touch filed suit in July 2024, spurned by claims made by Pellegrini in his own litigation with the city in May 2024, alleging quid pro quo, retaliation, and defamation before pleading guilty to embezzlement last December, all as HCV first reported…