BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE – The township Ethics Board found Councilman Dennis Maher guilty of failing to include information on his financial disclosure statements for land owned by him and his wife.
At a hearing July 11, both Maher, along with his attorney, and Councilman Richard Greene, who filed the ethics complaint, laid out their cases. The board went into closed session and ruled that Maher was guilty, fining him the minimum amount of $100.
“We provided testimony and … the board found that there was no intent to mislead anyone,” said Maher, who is a Democrat. “I will fill out amended financial disclosure statements and pay the $100 fine and move on.”
Greene, a Republican, said the decision sends an important message about the seriousness of making sure financial disclosure statements are accurate.
“To me, it was a slap on the wrist,” Greene said. “What mattered to me was a finding that it was wrong. I think it was intentional. I guess, overall, I’m satisfied.”
After obtaining Maher’s financial disclosure statements from the past five years, Greene discovered missing pieces of information, he said. Aside from failing to disclose information regarding the land, Maher also omitted a company he owns called Consulting Time Services, Greene said. According to Greene, Maher wrote checks from this company to make payments to the Old Bridge Municipal Utilities Authority (OBMUA).
Greene voiced disappointment about the board focusing on the two years when Maher did not disclose information about the property, instead of also looking at the omission of information about the company. The business was included in only one out of the five years, Greene said.
Maher declined to comment on the company.
Regarding the property, Maher pointed out that it was disclosed for five of the seven years he and his wife have owned it. One of the years he failed to include the information, Maher said, and the next, he only partially included it due to an error.
“It was an oversight on my part,” Maher said. “There was no intent to mislead anyone.”
Greene said he plans to contact the New Jersey State Ethics Commission about the board’s comments saying they thought Maher’s failure to disclose was not intentional.
“Certainly, it was out of line for any board to make judgment to say it was done inadvertently,” Greene said.
The complaint was the second lodged against Maher by Greene. In January, Greene objected to what he called a conflict of interest when Maher nominated Nicholas Smolney as commissioner of the OBMUA at the Township Council’s reorganization meeting.
Greene’s issue with the nomination stemmed from the fact that Maher and his wife had an application for water and sewer approvals before the OBMUA for the property they own, which is to be subdivided and sold for development. He also said that since Smolney served as campaign treasurer, political adviser and fundraiser for Maher’s election to the council, the nomination was suspect.
“Maher should have been aboveboard and never voted to begin with,” Greene said.
The board ruled in Maher’s favor in June, saying he had followed the recommendation of Township Attorney Jerome Convery. Despite Greene and Councilwoman Lucille Panos’ objections to the nomination during the meeting, Convery stated that he did not see Maher’s action as a conflict of interest. He cited the doctrine of necessity, saying the OBMUA is a monopoly, and residents have no other choice but to obtain water and sewer services from them.
Greene, who said he will appeal the Ethics Board’s decision in that matter, has also called for Maher’s resignation from the council. He also called on Mayor Jim Phillips for support in replacing Maher.
Phillips said he would follow along with the decision of the Ethics Board.
Maher, along with fellow Democrats Phillips and Council President Pat Gillespie, have said Greene’s actions are little more than a political ploy being executed in time for elections. Greene is running against Phillips for mayor this November.
Councilwoman Lucille Panos backed Greene on his complaint and his call for Maher’s resignation. Greene and Panos are the only two Republicans on the council.