UPDATE: On Sept. 2, 2025, Symphony Towers’ attorney, Kevin H. Marino, notified U.S. District Court Judge Philip M. Halpern that this dispute is subject to arbitration. Following a hearing on Sept. 4, plaintiff Bernard Borghei voluntarily dismissed his complaint.
The former CEO of a White Plains cell tower business claims that the company is unlawfully blocking his efforts to get a new job.
Bernard Borghei demanded that Symphony Tower Infrastructure release him from a non-compete agreement, in a complaint filed on Aug. 21 in U.S. District Court in White Plains.
Restrictive covenants in his employment agreement “are so broad and onerous,” the complaint states, that they prevent him from “obtaining gainful employment anywhere in the United States in the industry in which he has developed a career’s worth of expertise.”
Symphony acquires, manages, and leases cell towers throughout the U.S. It is operated by Omar Jaffrey, the founder of Palistar Capital LP, a Manhattan firm that invests in communications infrastructure.
Borghei says he was hired in April 2024 with a directive to “turn the business around.”
He was given a $425,000 base salary and eligibility for an annual bonus of 75% of the base salary ($318,750), according to the employment agreement. He could also receive equity in the company, subject to approval by Jaffrey, if he was in good standing at the end of 2024.
But if his employment ended, he could no longer participate in the industry – as an owner, investor, manager or consultant for any competitor in the U.S. – for two years.
This past June, 14 months after he was hired, Borghei resigned, effective Aug. 22, citing Symphony’s failure to award him equity.
If not for the opportunity of receiving equity, he claims, he would not have agreed to restrictive post-employment terms.
On July 18, Symphony fired Borghei, 35 days before his proposed last day. On July 21, Symphony issued a cease-and-desist letter.
Borghei had made false and disparaging comments about Symphony at industry events, according to the letter, asserting that the company lacked focus and leadership and that his outsized contributions were rewarded with an inferior compensation  package
Borghei also had made it clear to the company that he intended to pursue cell tower opportunities, despite the post-employment restrictions, according to the cease-and-desist letter.
Borghei argues that Symphony breached the employment agreement when it did not award him equity, therefore the restrictive covenants are not enforceable. And he is asking the court to declare that the restrictive covenants are unenforceable as a matter of law because they are unreasonably broad and do not advance a legitimate business interest.
Jaffrey, Symphony’s owner, did not reply to an email asking for his side of the story.
