LONG BRANCH — The days before Tuesday’s mayoral election were intense, even for the last few days of a political campaign.
Charges were traded, apologies were demanded before a single ballot was cast, and the uproar was touched off by testimony of federal witness and disgraced local real estate tycoon Solomon Dwek who threw a curveball into the final days of the threeway race for mayor.
According to media reports, last week Dwek told a jury in the U.S. Attorney’s Office corruption case against former Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt (R-9th District) that Dwek used a middleman to bribe officials, including the mayor of Long Branch and some council members.
Based on that testimony, mayoral candidate Councilman Brian Unger connected Mayor Adam Schneider to the allegations, leading Schneider to threaten legal action.
“I issued a letter yesterday [May 9],” Vincent Manning, the attorney representing Schneider, said Monday. “The letter simply asks them [the Unger campaign] to issue a public apology and a retraction to Adam Schneider for alleging that he accepted a bribe and to stop making such accusations in the future.
“That kind of language can result in a civil lawsuit that can have substantial damages attached to it,” he added. “It is sort of like a pre-suit warning.”
Manning, of Manning, Caliendo and Thomson, Freehold, said neither Unger nor his campaign consultant Pat Politano had issued an apology yet.
“Nobody called me to say tell Mayor Schneider we are sorry,” he said. “As far as I know, they have not apologized and have not indicated they will stop making the accusations.”
In an interview Unger said the letter was meaningless.
“It’s all nonsense,” he said, “all of it — acts of desperation, silly and meaningless.
“They are desperate to hold on to power,” he added. “It is a meaningless document, that has no meaning or factual basis in law. It is not worth the paper it’s printed on.”
Manning said whether the complaint moves forward to state court is Schneider’s decision, but there is basis for the complaint.
“There is a good faith basis for filing a lawsuit for civil damages,” he said. “It’s not my call; that’s his call.
“All I can do is alert them that this is inflammatory and serves as the basis for a civil lawsuit.”
Manning described the mailer Unger sent out that led to him drafting the letter.
“It states clearly in black and white ‘Mayor Schneider bribed,’ ” he said. “That is a very serious allegation to make about somebody, particularly a public official.
“The only recourse Mayor Schneider has is to file a lawsuit against the people responsible and take the case to trial,” he added. “Put it in the hands of a jury to make a decision.”
Manning addressed the allegations Dwek made.
“If Solomon Dwek lied under oath, then that’s perjury,” he said. “I know Solomon Dwek, and I don’t think Solomon Dwek has told the truth.
“It wouldn’t be inconsistent with his past behavior to lie,” he added. “Maybe it was taken out of context; either way I think Mr. Unger should have done some due diligence to discover whether this is the kind of guy they want to rely on.
“They are relying on Solomon Dwek to say whether Mayor Schneider took a bribe; that is a weak foundation,” he added.
In light of the controversy surrounding Dwek’s testimony and the May 11 election, City Attorney James Aaron said he had requested written confirmation from U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman that there is no investigation under way in Long Branch.
“I’m looking for the United States Attorney’s Office to confirm that there is no active investigation of the city of Long Branch or the mayor based upon any testimony of Mr. Solomon Dwek,” he said.
As of Monday afternoon, Aaron said he had no response from Fishman’s office. He added that he has had no indication that there is an active investigation in Long Branch.
“We know of no investigation because no subpoenas have been issued, no documents have been issued, no people have been subpoenaed, no records have been subpoenaed, which is how federal investigations start,” he said. “I am looking for written confirmation of what we know are the facts.”
The controversy led mayoral candidate Bob Krebs to seek federal monitors for the election.
“I have indicated that I may want federal monitors there,” Krebs said the day before the election. “I just want to make sure everything is on the up and up, and that is why I think they should have monitors there.”
Krebs said the negative campaign between Schneider and Unger had hurt the city.“
The truth is eventually going to come out one way or another,” he said. “These two sides are throwing mud at each other, and I think that is distorting the campaign. I am the only one talking about this issue.”
Rebekah Carmichael, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said late Monday there would be no comment on the requests by Aaron and Krebs.
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