Ethics Complaint Filed Against Doherty Over Helicopter Landing

Belmar Mayor “Lawless Matt” Doherty commemorates the anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. photo by Tim Larsen/Governor’s Office

Former Belmar Councilman Jim Bean filed an Ethics Complaint with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ Local Finance Board against Mayor “Lawless Matt” Doherty  on Friday, August 19, alleging that Doherty did not have the authorization of the Borough Council to grant a campaign donor permission to land a helicopter in the Borough or on Borough property.  Additionally, Bean alleges that Doherty did not provide public notice nor notify Monmouth County officials of the temporary landing permit, as is required by the Department of Transportation when applying for said permit.

On July 7, a $2500 donor to Doherty’s campaign for Monmouth County Freeholder landed a helicopter at Silver Lake, a park in the Borough.

A copy of the Ethics Complaint can be found here.

Bean said that Dirty Doherty used “public resources to allow a campaign donor special privilege to land a helicopter in Belmar’s small but very populated Green Acres Silver Lake Park.”

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Sabrin Filed Ethics Complaint Against Sweeney For Lobbying

Murray Sabrin, PhD raised questions about Senate President Steve Sweeney’s potentially conflicting roles as a labor leader and state legislator months before he considered running for U.S. Senate.  If his ethics complaint is politically motivated, the complaint itself was not made to boost his Senate candidacy. But the fact that he is shedding a public light on it now, over three months after he first raised the issue, is an effort to raise his public profile to support his candidacy.

But if Sabrin thought his efforts against Sweeney would help him garner support with the GOP establishment for the Senate nomination, he is mistaken.  Former Acting Govenor/Senate President Don DiFrancesco, still a power player in the establishment, defended Sweeney in the Chasing New Jersey report (video below) that brought Sabrin’s complaint to public light.

Sabrin says that Sweeney’s employment as General Vice President of the International Association of Iron Workers, where he earns over $200,000 per year, is a conflict with his role as Senate President because he lobbies senators that he overseas.

DiFrancesco told Chasing New Jersey’s Sibile Marcellus that Sweeney is “not lobbying the legislature, he’s in government relations.”

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HANDLIN PROPOSES STRONGER PENALTIES FOR LOCAL OFFICIALS WHO PROFIT FROM ABUSE OF PUBLIC OFFICE

BILL WOULD INCREASE MAXIMUM ETHICS FINES TO $10,000 – AS  RECOMMENDED BY RECENT COMPTROLLER REPORT

Assemblywoman Amy H. Handlin introduced legislation yesterday imposing larger  fines against unethical local public officials after a recent State Comptroller  investigation showed current penalties did not deter a local official from  improperly using his government position and gain substantial profit in a land  deal.

            “It’s no longer a shock when public officials act in their own interests  instead of the public good. With penalties set so low, it’s more surprising that  we don’t see officials improperly profiting from public service more  frequently,” Handlin, R-Monmouth, said. “To an unscrupulous official with $1  million at stake, a $500 penalty is just a sunken cost that would barely budge  the bottom line.”

            A recent Comptroller’s report determined a Chesterfield Township committeeman improperly used his  government position in facilitating a private land deal that brought him  substantial profit. The report recommended increasing maximum fines for  violations of the Local Government Ethics Law from $500 to $10,000. Handlin’s  proposal would implement those increased penalties.

            “I agree with Comptroller Matt Boxer’s call to bring ethics penalties for  local officials in line with those for state employees, especially now that New  Jersey is undergoing a massive rebuilding effort mixing planning decisions and  tens of billions of federal funding,” Handlin, R-Monmouth, said. “Rebuilding our  state after Hurricane Sandy is too important to be tainted by corruption. We  need a loud message and strong deterrents against self-serving politicians who  violate the public’s trust to earn a buck.”

Comptroller’s press release:

http://www.nj.gov/comptroller/news/docs/investigative_press_release_chesterfield_01_29_13.pdf

Comptroller’s  report:

http://www.nj.gov/comptroller/news/docs/investigative_report_chesterfield_01_29_13.pdf

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Ethical question

Is it unethical to clear the cookies on your computer in order to gain access to information on a website that limits free content?

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