Fiore Playing Hardball With Middletown Library President
Randall Gabrielan. Photo Credit: visitmonmouth.com
Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore has asked for the resignation of Middletown Library Board President Randall Gabrielan because Gabrielan has been selling books to the library personally and signing the purchase orders for those books himself as president of the board, according to a report on Middletown Patch.
Gabrielan, a former insurance broker, is also the Executive Director of the Monmouth County Historical Commission, a pensionable position for which he earned $35,391 in 2010, according to APP.com’s Data Universe.
Middletown’s Vendor History report on Gabrielan reveals that he has sold the library $778.45 worth of books since 2007.
Gabrielan told Patch that he considered Fiore’s move to be “political retribution” for his opposition to the Library turning over $500,000 of its surplus to the Township in last year’s budget.
Fiore said that it is a matter of ethics and fiscal accountability. The mayor has turned the matter over to the state’s Department of Community Affairs’ Division of Local Government Local Government Services.
Library Board Trustee Sherry Miloscia also signed Gabrielan’s purchase orders. Yesterday, Library Director Susan O’Neal informed Fiore that Miloscia resigned effective January 20.
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Sad to say, but it appears that Mr. Gabrielan broke the law. Unless he can prove that Mayor Fiore took his hand and forced him to sign those purchase orders, he is 100% wrong and the township would only be aiding and abetting a crime if they didn’t ask for his resignation. Why would someone want a cut and dried case of criminal wrongdoing be dragged out publicly? The smart thing to do – shut your mouth, resign and let the whole sordid episode fade away.
That one announced resignation seems to indict Mr. Gabrielan.
This round goes to Mayor Fiore.
I like these Middletown Republicans. They don’t take no crap. I bet they would have tossed the Brookdale trustees.
Good work Mr. Mayor. Don’t stop there – do a forensic audit of that whole money pit. That library could be run for half the cost without any noticeable difference. I read that the Library Board lead by Randy Gabrielan gave the library staff a SIX PERCENT RAISE!!! They are on a spending and hiring spree in that place because the state forces the town to give them way more money than they need. The library is poorly run and the proof is their rush to spend every nickel so they won’t have any money to return to the taxpayers. C’mon mayor, don’t stop here – get rid of every one of those spend happy liberals.
Seems very similar to the pending ethics case in Marlboro involving Hornick and 2 of his council brethren. It will be interesting to see who throws whom under the bus first; the law partner or the high school sweetheart.
[…] thing that I found most disturbing about the Middltown Library story is that Randall Gabrielan, in addition to being president of the Middletown Library, is a […]