Ocean Township Employee Alleges Sexual Harassment and Property Tax Fraud

Mayor Christopher Siciliano downplays the allegations as greed and politics

In a law suit filed on April 22, Meredith Nelson, the Deputy Director of Finance of Ocean Township, alleged that her supervisor, Stephen Gallagher (no relation to the editor of this website), the Director of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of the Township, habitually harassed her and other female employees of the Township.

Ms Nelson charges that the Township Manager, Michael Muscillo, took no action when she first brought the situation to his attention last August, six months into her employment, other than ordering her to take a “pre-employment drug test.  When she complained of the ongoing harassment again in January of this year, Gallagher retaliated by ceasing all communication with her, “intentionally ignoring her existence,” thereby preventing her from doing her job.  Three months latter, in March, Gallagher met with Nelson and and Muscillo to deliver a 12 page employment improvement plan which included instructions on which calculator to use, where her computer monitor and other business equipment was to be placed in her work area and instructions to seek certification as a Tax Collector…a position she explicitly declined in her pre-employment negotiations with the Township.

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Middletown Police Arrest Naked Burglar

Jacob Gerges

Jacob Gerges, 35, of the Leonardo section of Middletown, was arrested by Township’s Police Department this morning, according to an announcement by Det. Lt. Paul Bailey , the department’s public information officer.

Gerges was naked when he was  found hiding under a deck of a Hunters Pointe home by K9s Jax and Koda, as well as Sgt Brian McGrogan and  Ptl. Stephen Greenwood.  The officers had initiated a search after responding to a to a residence on Phillips Mills Drive for a report of a burglary at 5:45 a.m.  Gerges was only naked from the waist down..he was wearing a sweater…when he fled the Phillips Mills Drive home on foot.

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Arnone Report: Taking Care of Kids In Need, Tourism and the Dump

Freeholder Director Tom Arnone

By Monmouth County Freeholder Director Tom Arnone

Happy May! After this rainy and cold spring, I am looking forward to the summer months ahead.

I know I always say that it has been a busy couple of weeks but it truly has been. I’d like to take some time to share with you what I have been up to and a few important dates to come.

Last week I, along with my fellow Freeholders, attended the 10^th anniversary celebration of the opening of the Monmouth County Child Advocacy Center. The center was established with the intention to create a single “one-stop” location for abused children and their families to receive the services they need. The building was designed to be a child-focused facility in order to reduce the trauma to the victims. In 2015, the center saw an expansion with the addition of a medical suite where exams can be conducted, as well as space for art therapy and mental health counseling. Read the rest of this entry »

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Disabled Vets To Play Hook-e From PTSD In Millstone

The third annual Take A Veteran Fishing Day is Saturday, May 4 from 9 am till 2pm at Lake Julianna, Ponderosa Estates Farm,  in Millstone Township. The goal of the day is to provide  fun and relaxation for disabled veterans and to relax while enjoying the peaceful surroundings of Lake Julianna with other veterans.

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The event is sponsored by Cardinale Enterprises LCC and supported by Vietnam Veterans of America Shore Area Chapter 12, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Boating Education and Rescue and the Jersey Coast Anglers Association. Read the rest of this entry »

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Gilmore Angling to Retain Power In Ocean County

George Gilmore, NewJerseyGlobe photo

Despite resigning from his public and party positions, former Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore is actively participating in the Toms River Republican primary and in the special election campaign to elect his replacement, according to several GOP sources.

Frank Sadeghi, a candidate for the Ocean GOP Chairmanship in the May 15 special election, told a gathering of Republican men enjoying cigars and cocktails at Shogun Legacy on April 23 that he speaks to Gilmore 20 times per day and “George Gilmore wants me to do this,” according to two people who were in the room of municipal elected officials, mayors and councilmen, and municipal party leaders, as well as Joe Coronato, the former Ocean County Prosecutor who is running for Mayor of Toms River.

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Kossack of Little Silver Honored as 2019 Monmouth County Superintendent of the Year

By Andrew Walsh

Dr. Carolyn M. Kossack and Andrew Walsh, President of the Little Silver Board of Education

Carolyn M. Kossack, Ed.D. was appointed Superintendent of the Little Silver School District in October 2007. She has been a transformative leader for the past twelve years by creating an inspiring vision of the future for our students. Dr. Kossack is a leader who motivates, inspires and helps the community, parents, staff and students to become engaged with Little Silver’s vision. With her passion and commitment, Dr. Kossack has brought about positive changes in support of the district mission to inspire critical thinking, foster intellectual curiosity, and promote acceptance of individuals, allowing children to achieve their full potential as responsible, contributing citizens of an ever-changing global community.

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NJ Congressional Delegation Joins Smith’s Fight For Braeden Bradforth

Joanne Atkins-Ingram, center, her attorney, Jill E. Green, and Congressman Chris Smith, held a press conference on April 7, to demand an independent investigation into the death Braeden Bradforth, Atkins-Ingram’s son.

New Jersey’s 11 Democrat members of the House of Representatives joined the delegation’s sole Republican, Congressman Chris Smith, this week in the battle to achieve justice for Braeden Bradforth, the 19 year old Neptune, NJ  football player who died suddenly at Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas last August.

The 12 members of Congress jointly signed a letter to Ryan Ruda, president of the college, demanding an independent investigation into the young Monmouth County man’s death.

Bradforth died on August 1, 2018 following a football practice on his second day on the GCCC squad.  The team’s coach, Jeff Sims, attributed Bradforth’s death to a blood clot.  The local medical examiner ruled the cause of death extreme heat stroke.  The college administration destroyed surveillance video.

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Hey Governor Murphy, There’s a MAGA Hat on Your State Flag

By Thomas DeSeno

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Hello Governor!  I noticed your latest bout of uncontrollable virtue signaling (you should see someone about that).  You have removed the state flag of Mississippi from New Jersey’s display of all 50 49 state flags at Liberty State Park.  You are predictably triggered because Mississippi’s flag bears the Second Confederate Navy Jack in the upper flagstaff canton.

So, you oppose secession of the southern states?  Virtue signal received, Governor.  I suspect we all knew that without rekindling the civil war or vacating amnesty given to southern soldiers.

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Greg’s List: Things to Do in Monmouth County This Weekend, May 3-5, 2019

By Greg Kelly

Friday, May 3

• Vintage Computer Festival East at InfoAge (Wall Twp.) – MORE INFO
• Spring Festival (Oceanport) – MORE INFO
• “Arsenic and Old Lace” by South Street Players (Spring Lake) – MORE INFO
• The Belle of Amherst at TRT (Red Bank) – MORE INFO
• “The Ghost of Ella” by BBAC (Bradley Beach) – MORE INFO
• Above & Beyond: Medal of Honor Exhibit at NJ Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial (Holmdel) – MORE INFO

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Acerra: Siciliano “should consider” getting out of the Ocean Township Council race

Rob Acerra and Victor Ashkenazi

Ocean Township Councilman Rob Acerra responded to the news of Mayor Christopher Siciliano’s threat to a constituent on social media by demanding that Siciliano apologize and consider resigning.  Acerra said that Ocean Township “voters should strongly consider turning the page on the Siciliano era” in the municipal election on May 14.

“Here in Ocean we have a rich history of non-partisanship and civil political discourse,” said Acerra in a statement released early on Monday afternoon. “To see the Mayor acting like a schoolyard bully toward a constituent he is supposed to be representing raises doubts about his ability to lead. He is responsible for the commentary posted on his facebook profile in his name, period. At the very least Chris needs to apologize for these remarks, if not consider dropping out of the race. Voters don’t deserve a Mayor who solves challenges and bridges divides by threatening Ocean residents. We can and must do better.”

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