BY TOM CAIAZZA
Staff Writer
Three days after John Westlake pleaded guilty to tax evasion in federal court, he still held his governor-appointed post as president of the Monmouth County Board of Taxation.
According to Patricia Nally, the Monmouth County Assistant Tax Administrator, Westlake had not resigned from his position on the Board of Taxation as of Monday, leaving the decision up to the governor as to whether he will compel Westlake to resign, revoke his appointment or allow him to sit on the board from prison.
Westlake, 76, pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion on Friday alongside business partner and former Democratic state Senate President John Lynch. Westlake failed to declare $350,000 in income.
Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-Monmouth/Middlesex) and Monmouth County Freeholder Anna Little released a joint statement calling on Gov. Jon Corzine to either revoke Westlake’s appointment or compel his resignation from the position.
“Mr. Westlake’s actions have jeopardized the public’s trust and his behavior has no place in public service,” Handlin and Little wrote in the release.
Handlin said that the legislation that sets procedure for removal of appointed officials is unclear but that a second statute allows the state attorney general to present an order of forfeiture in federal court that would require the removal of any appointed official who is convicted or pleads guilty of a crime in federal court.
Handlin called for other elected officials to join her and Little in demanding the attorney general present the order of forfeiture against Westlake. She also plans on introducing legislation that would make the removal procedure in cases like this more efficient.
“I will draft legislation that would plug the holes in the mechanism that makes it easier to remove any official, appointed or elected, whose actions have compromised their integrity and the public’s perception of the face of government,” Handlin said.