By charles w. kim
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — A melee between two drivers at Freehold Raceway on May 10 means three separate investigations, according to officials.
A panel of judges at the track will decide Thursday if any disciplinary action should be taken against driver Anthony Nunziata, 59, of Freehold, following an altercation with another driver in the stable area.
"He may face fines, a suspension, or both," New Jersey State Racing Commission Executive Director Frank Zanzuccki said Monday.
Nunziata is also facing criminal charges after allegedly striking fellow driver Mike Lachance, 52, of Millstone Township, with a helmet following the second race at the track on May 10.
According to Freehold Township police Lt. Robert Brightman, police were called to the track’s stable area on Trotters Way at 1:30 p.m. on a report of an assault.
Officer James Burdge responded to the call and found Lachance with "a severe head laceration" at the scene.
Lachance was taken to CentraState Medical Center, West Main Street, for treatment, according to police.
The wound to the head required 15 stitches to close.
After interviewing several witnesses in the stable area, Burdge arrested Nunziata and charged him with aggravated assault, according to police.
Nunziata allegedly struck Lachance sometime after the second race. Nunziata drove the favorite Sonny N Matt to a third-place finish in that race. Sundowner Bobcat, a longshot, won the race. Police said they did not know what led to the altercation between Nunziata and Lachance.
Lachance did not drive in the second race.
Nunziata was released on $1,000 bail and the criminal charges will now go to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office for possible grand jury action, according to Brightman. Nunziata could face jail time if convicted, the lieutenant said.
Nunziata filed counter charges against Lachance and his son, Pat Lachance, 27, of Allentown, charging the pair with assault and making terroristic threats.
Those charges were filed with the court and not by police, according to Brightman.
The elder Lachance said Monday that he could not comment about the incident.
In addition to the criminal and disciplinary charges being investigated as a result of the incident, Nunziata also alleges that the second race on May 10 was fixed.
"We are in the process of investigating that," Zanzuccki said, adding that such charges are rare, and proving such allegations difficult.
"There are not very many accusations," Zanzuccki said.
He said he could not tell how long that investigation would take.
"It is hard to say. We have to see where it leads," Zanzuccki said.
Don Bielak, a spokesman for the raceway, said track administrators will wait and see what happens with the investigations before commenting on any of the allegations.