EDISON – An Edison man has been charged in connection with the theft of an election campaign sign.
On Oct. 25, Rajendra Joshi, 71, of Edison, was served with a complaint-summons and charged with one count of disorderly persons theft by unlawful taking, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said in a statement.
An investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office determined that on Oct. 21, Joshi removed a campaign sign from the lawn of a residence on Dolores Drive without receiving permission of the owner to do so, according to the statement.
The investigation is closed, Ciccone said in the statement.
Samip “Sam” Joshi, a Democratic candidate for Edison mayor, who currently sits on the Township Council, said in a post that his uncle was involved in the incident but was not arrested, and instead charged with a disorderly person’s complaint.
“First, I want to apologize to the Edison property owners who were subjected to this stressful process. Also, my apologies go to the Edison police officers who had to respond to this call, to the county Prosecutor’s Office who had to assign resources to this incident, and to the many residents of Edison who were once again misled by my opponent’s information.
“It is so disheartening that will all the serious issues facing Edison Township, my opponent chose to make this minor misunderstanding involving my 71-year-old uncle, a volunteer with my campaign, into a manufactured hysteria. My opponent’s recklessness with township resources in this one phantom incident only demonstrates how he would undermine the best interests of our taxpayers,” Joshi said of Republican candidate Keith Hahn.
Hahn, who had posted updates about the investigation over the past few days, was contacted for a comment.
“This says more about the character and integrity, or lack of, on the part of Sam Joshi,” he said. “His uncle was working under his direction. The people of Edison deserve a mature, responsible and ethical mayor. Sam’s involvement should be a disqualifier.”