Dwayne Horner. photo via facebook
Dwayne Horner of Little Elm Texas was arraigned in Monmouth County Superior Court on Identity Theft Charges stemming from a 4am robo call purported to be made on behalf of State Senator Joe Kyrillos, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Amy Handlin in the early morning of the primary election in the 13th legislative district on June 4, 2013.
Horner was the campaign manager for Leigh-Anne Bellew, Kyrillos’s challenger in the Republican primary.
Horner, 45, was indicted on the fourth degree charge on August 11. He plead Not Guilty before Superior Court Judge Ronald Lee Reisner. Horner was released on his own recognizance.
A recording of the call can be heard here. Horner’s voice can be heard on the voice mail greeting of the Bellew campaign here.
The indictment charges that Horner impersonated another person or organization for the purpose of obtaining a benefit for himself or another or for the purpose of injuring or defrauding another.
If convicted, Horner faces 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine. He is represented by Robert Bonney of Lomurro-Davidson.
Posted: September 15th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 13th Legislative District, Crime, Crime and Punishment, Monmouth County, Monmouth County Court, Monmouth County Prosecutor, News | Tags: 4 am robocall, 4am robocall, Amy Handlin, Declan O'Scanlon, Dwayne Horner, Joe Kyrillos, LD 13, Leigh-Ann Bellew, Little Elm Texas, New Jersey, Wake up call | 1 Comment »
Bayshore Tea Party Group member Frank Gonzalez, husband of the group’s co-founder, Barbara, installs homemade lawn signs on Rt 35 in Middletown during the 2013 Monmouth County Republican primary campaign
Bayshore Tea Party Group co-founder Barbara Gonzalez told HuffPost that her group has nearly 1000 members and that they are staunch supporters of former Highlands Mayor Anna Little’s quest to unseat Congressman Frank Pallone, in an article posted last evening.
“If you don’t get someone in who is totally willing to fight the establishment, it will never change,” Gonzalez told HuffPost.
Little lost to Pallone in 2010 and 2012 with BTPG’s support, but Gonzalez thinks it will be different this year.
Gonzalez said her membership roll has grown by “a couple of dozen new members” since earlier this month when the Bridgegate controversy broke.
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Posted: January 30th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Anna Little, Barbara Gonzalez, Bayshore Tea Party Group, Monmouth County, Monmouth GOP | Tags: 4 am robocall, Anna Little, Barbara Gonzalez, Bayshore Tea Party Group, Bob Gordon, Bob Walsh, Bridgegate, Declan O'Scanlon, Frank Pallone, Gary Rich, Joe Kyrillos, Leigh-Ann Bellew, Lillian Burry, Monmouth GOP, Monmouth GOP Freeholder Nomination, Serena DiMaso, Shaun Golden, Tom Arnone, Wake up call | 17 Comments »
It’s been two months since 13th district Republicans were awakened by a fraudulent 4am robocall urging them to get out to vote for Senator Joe Kyrillos, Assemblywoman Amy Handlin and Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon in the Republican primary, but the perpetrators are not off the hook.
Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni told MMM that the incident remains under active investigation and that subpoenas will be issued. “Stay tuned,” Gramiccioni said.
Kyrillos, who was awakened by the call, which he publicly blamed on the campaign of his opponent in the June 4th primary, Leigh-Ann Bellew, said he has been interviewed by investigators from the Prosecutor’s Office.
The voice on the 4 am call, which can be heard here, sounds very much like the voice on the recorded message on the Bellew campaign’s voice mail. Listen to the Bellew for Senate voice mail greeting here.
The New Jersey Democratic Party was fined $42,000 for making fraudulent robocalls in the 2009 gubernatorial election. Among Republicans, Kevin Collins plead guilty, paid a $1000 fine and received a year on probation for violating the Fair Campaign Practices Act with a fraudulent robo call in a 2009 legislative primary. More serious charges against Collins were dropped in plea negotiations.
Posted: August 7th, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 13th Legislative District | Tags: 4 am robocall, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni, Christoper Gramicconi, Dwayne Horner, Joe Kyrillos, Leigh-Ann Bellew, Wake up call | 1 Comment »
Despite waking up thousands of Monmouth County voters at 4am on primary day, the Bayshore Tea Party Group and the Bellew Brigade have apparently not lost any sleep over their crushing defeat last week. The architects of the 20%-80% defeat in the Monmouth County and LD 13 GOP primaries have endorsed Dr. Alieta Eck in the Special U.S. Senate Primay and are angling to run that campaign.
Congratulations Steve Lonegan!
Neither BTPG nor Leigh-Ann Bellew’s campaign have admitted to commissioning the 4am robocall on June 4 that announced it was being made on behalf of Senator Joe Kyrillos , Assembly Members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon and faked the caller ID to a number belonging to the Monmouth County Republican Organization. They are exercising their right to remain silent to the extent that they have yet to congratulate their opponents.
MMM first reported the call (click here to listen) and that it appears to have been recorded by the same person who recorded Bellew’s voice mail greeting. (Click here to listen to Bellew’s voice mail greeting.)
Kyrillos and O’Scanlon publicly accused the Bellew campaign of making the call. Monmouth County GOP Chairman John Bennett lodged a complaint with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. Bennett said yesterday that he will not let up on pursuing prosecution of the dirty trick.
Bayshore Tea Party Group co-founder Barbara Gonzalez complained about this website on facebook, saying she was going to report its owner to the FBI because he finds out, and acts on, what she is writing about on the social media site without the help of the NSA or the Obama Administration.
Charles Webster, spokesperson for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, confirmed that there is an active investigation into the 4am robocall.
Webster was not at liberty to discuss the investigation, so MMM’s investigative team got to work to find more evidence of the call’s origin.
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Posted: June 13th, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 13th Legislative District, 2013 Election, Barbara Gonzalez, Bayshore Tea Party Group, LD 13, Leigh-Ann Bellew, Monmouth GOP, Primary Election, Senate Special Election | Tags: 4 am robocall, Amy Handlin, Barbara Gonzalez, Bayshore Tea Party Group, BTPG, Declan O'Scanlon, Dwayne Horner, FBI, Joe Kyrillos, Kevin Collins, Leigh-Ann Bellew, NSA, Obama Administration, Wake up call | 18 Comments »