BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer
The mayor’s indictment hasn’t hurt his popularity.A day after news broke of Keyport Mayor John Merla’s indictment on bribery charges, many residents voiced their support of the man who faces a federal prison term.
At the Oct. 4 Borough Council meeting, Councilman George Walling asked the mayor to step down from his position, but his request was not supported by any other council member. Councilman Joseph Wedick, who has also called for Merla’s resignation, was not present.
“In lieu of what happened in the last few days, I think you should step down and remove this dark cloud from our community,” said Walling.
“I appreciate your concern, but I respectfully decline,” said Merla.
Merla is charged with four counts of accepting corrupt payments, one count of conspiracy to obtain corrupt payments, and two counts of defrauding the public of honest services. Added together, Merla faces a maximum of $1.75 million in fines and 100 years in prison, if convicted on all seven counts.
Merla repeated his commitment to staying on the job.
“I have evaluated the situation and spoken to my attorney,” said Merla. “If I was going to resign I would have done it the day I was arrested. If I thought for one minute that I was hurting Keyport, I’d have stepped down. I’d be man enough to do it.”
Again, Walling asked the mayor to resign.
“You keep saying, ‘Keyport first, Keyport first.’ I really think you should put Keyport first and step down,” Walling said.
“You are entitled to your opinion,” Merla responded.
Although not present at the meeting, Wedick said he also intends to ask Merla to step down.
“As long as he stays in that office, the stigma of corruption hangs over the community,” Wedick said last week. “It isn’t the county prosecutor he’s up against — he’s up against the entire U.S. government. It’s not like last time.”
In 1992, Merla was indicted by Monmouth County officials for accepting bribes from a trailer park owner in exchange for sewer connections to the development. He was acquitted on all charges in 1993.
A handful of residents echoed the councilman’s request for the mayor to resign while others voiced their support for Merla, calling him “a strong leader.”
“I applaud your strength,” one resident said. “How long do you have to wait till you get your day in court?”
Merla said he did not know.
Larry Sengstack also supported the mayor.
“You’ve shown strong leadership,” said Sengstack. “I’m behind you.”
But not all comments were supportive.
Resident Michael Lane asked if the borough was incurring any legal fees due to the indictment.
“To my knowledge, no,” said Councilman Robert Bergen.
Lane then asked Merla to step down “in light of what happened with the bulkhead project.”
The bulkhead project is included among the seven counts filed against Merla in the federal indictment. In 2003, the council passed a resolution authorizing an emergency bulkhead replacement project to be completed by Steffer Demolition, later discovered to be a decoy company for the FBI. Merla allegedly accepted cash payments in exchange for steering the project to Steffer.
“Whether it was an issue of corruption or just poor judgment,” said Lane, “I think you should step aside.”
Councilman calls resident ‘cuckoo’
Merla wasn’t the only government official who was asked to resign at the meeting. Resident Robert Ludwig asked Councilman Bergen to step down for “making false statements” regarding the recent hiring of Borough Administrator Thomas Antonucci.
“Why don’t you leave?” asked Ludwig.
Bergen refused to leave, saying, “There’s no law that says I have to sit here and take your abuse. You’re out of your mind.” Bergen continued, calling Ludwig “a cuckoo bird.”
Bergen was instrumental in the hiring of Antonucci, who is the son-in-law of Councilman Richard Hassmiller. Since the appointment, some residents have been vocal in their opposition to the decision, questioning Antonucci’s qualifications and $87,000 salary.
Ludwig spoke for 20 minutes, lobbing various accusations of misconduct against Bergen to intermittent laughter from the public.
“I don’t have to listen to some nut like you,” said Bergen. “You’re off your rocker.”
The councilman then challenged Ludwig to a public debate and a lie-detector exam.
“Take me up on my offer,” said Bergen. “I’ll pay for it.”
Two weeks earlier, Bergen left a council meeting early, walking out after a resident compared the appointment process to the borough’s past dealings with Steffer Demolition, the company hired for the bulkhead repairs in 2003.