The sad saga of former Monmouth County Freeholder John Curley’s career implostion is hopefully over.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit dismissed Curley’s federal lawsuit against his fellow freeholders and the County Administrator and County Counsel on Wednesday.
He ended the year, and his career as a freeholder, with a whimper during a statement at his final meeting as an elected member of the Monmouth County governing body.
Realty Data Systems, LLC, the property inspection company that in April accused disgraced Freeholder John P.Curley of corruption and official misconduct, said they became aware of new evidence of Curley’s malfeasance this month.
Michael Panter, one of RDS’s founders and owners acting as the company’s in-house lawyer, made the new allegations against Curley in a Notice of Claims filed with Monmouth County Counsel Michael Fitzgerald and County Administrator Teri O’Connor on Thursday October 25. The notice includes a draft lawsuit against the County of Monmouth as Curley’s employer.
Monmouth County Freeholder Deputy Director Lillian Burry said that she is one of the many people who have been abused by disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley. “Don’t lose sight of that Freeholder Curley has a history of abusing people, individually and collectively,” Burry said during a meeting of the Board last week.
Burry said that she was personally threatened by Freeholder Curley during a closed meeting in 2013. “With pointed fingers he said, ‘I will get you,’ I mean it was really unnerving and everybody sitting there could feel that way.”
Where is John Curley getting $300,000 to $500,000 to pursue his ridiculous lawsuit?
Angelo Genova, $850 per hour
Disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley’s attorneys, Genova Burns, submitted an invoice for $30,483.92 for their work on Curley’s contempt motion only yesterday in federal court. Curley sued Monmouth County taxpayers, his fellow freeholders, County Administrator Teri O’Connor and County Counsel Michael Fitzgerald late last year in an effort to keep an investigative report into his alleged conduct of employee harassment, sexual and otherwise, from becoming public.
U.S. District Court Judge Brian R. Martinotti dismissed Curley’s 12 count suit (not covered in the $30,483.92 invoice), but held the freeholders in contempt for revealing parts of the report in their Censure and Reprimand Resolution of Curley in December. Judge Martinotti ruled the County must pay Curley’s legal fees associated with the contempt motion. The County has appealed the contempt ruling, arguing that the information in the Censure and Reprimand did not come from the investigative report prepared by retired Acting Supreme Court Justice Mary Catherine Cuff.
The Monmouth County Republican Organization released a video on social media this afternoon featuring headlines concerning disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley’s censure and reprimand for sexual harassment and his corrupt practice of taking full time Cadillac health benefits for his part-time position.
U.S. District Court Judge Brian R. Martinotti ruled yesterday that Monmouth County taxpayers will have to pay disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley’s legal bill from Angelo Genova.
Even though Curley’s legal gymnastics to keep the report of his sexual harassment and bigotry secret was ruled to have no basis, Judge Martinotti ruled that Genova is entitled to get paid by the taxpayers.
Genova should be awarded no more than $2600, the maximum allowable contribution to Curley’s reelection campaign. Curley’s lawsuit was all about his reelection prospects. He even charged his ride to Court in Trenton to his campaign.
In their opposition to disgraced Curley’s contempt motion, Monmouth County argued that Curley did not have “clean hands” in the matter.
Disgraced Freeholder John Curley’s lawsuit to supress hi Censure and Reprimanded for sexual harassment was dismissed
U.S. District Court Judge Brian R. Martinotti dismissed all 12 counts of disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley’s lawsuit against Monmouth County today, ruling that Curley failed to make a legal claim.
Curley sued Monmouth County, his fellow freeholders, County Counsel Michael Fitzgerald and County Administrator Teri O’Connor last December, claiming that the investigation employee sexual harassment complaints against him and his subsequent censure by the Freeholder Board violated his Constitutional rights to free speech, due process, and property rights to his elected office. Judge Martinotti ruled that the defendants did not violate Curley’s Constitutional rights, and that he does not own his office. Judge Martinotti further ruled that Curley’s claim of reputational damage which would negatively impact his chance to be reelected is without merit.
Monmouth County Freeholder Director Tom Arnone immediately called upon Curley to resign.
In an uncharacteristic outburst, Monmouth County Freeholder Director Tom Arnone confronted his disgraced colleague, John P. Curley for disparaging two County employees with a gay slur. “Deny you said it,” Arnone shouted at Curley during a public comment by David D’Amico, a representative of Garden State Equality.
Disgraced Freeholder John P. Curley survived a challenge to his nominating petitions for reelection, according to a letter from Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon dated June 13, which was obtained by MMM via OPRA request.
After noticing irregularities in the Curley petitions, Monmouth County Republican Chairman, Sheriff Shaun Golden, submitted a formal challenge to the petitions requesting that Hanlon’s staff review the signatures before certifying Curley’s candidacy for Freeholder as an Independent.
Hanlon found that over 120 signatures were invalid because the signers were not registered to vote in Monmouth County or the signature on the petition did not match the signature in the state voter records. The censured freeholder still has over 100 valid signatures, making his overall petition valid.
