Marlboro wants corrupt individuals to pay damages
Mayor calls move a win-win; his opponent calls it a political ploy
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

MARLBORO - Republican Mayor Robert Kleinberg and the Township Council are going after people who have done Marlboro wrong.

At its Sept. 20 meeting, the council hired a special attorney who is expected to file lawsuit and seek damages from individuals who have been caught up in a net of corruption involving activities in Marlboro.

Kleinberg said in a press release, "Corrupt public officials robbed from the people of Marlboro for decades. Now we are using every weapon at our disposal to bring them to justice and reclaim money that belongs to the taxpayers. We will similarly sue any developer found guilty of giving bribes in exchange for favors from public officials."

The announcement of the planned lawsuit brought a swift rebuke from Democrat Jonathan Hornik, who is Kleinberg's opponent in the Nov. 6 mayoral election. Hornik called the move to seek damages from former officials a political ploy by Kleinberg.

According to the press release, Kleinberg and the council "have hired (attorney) Stephen N. Dratch (of Livingston) to prosecute the lawsuit on a contingency basis to recoup the ill-gotten gains of former corrupt public officials, including former Mayor Matthew Scannapieco, former Marlboro Township Municipal Utilities Authority Chairman Richard Vuola, former Western Monmouth Utilities Authority Executive Director Frank Abate and former Planning Board member Stanley Young. And indicted local developers Anthony Spalliero, Steven Meiterman, Bernard Meiterman and Edward Kay. The Meitermans, Kay and Spalliero are all awaiting trial on federal bribery charges."

"The time to go after Scannapieco was three years ago. This is Robert Kleinberg giving the appearance of fighting corruption," Hornik said. Kleinberg said Dratch was successful in similar case in Essex County. Dratch confirmed that he prosecuted case known as the County of Essex v. First Union National Bank, which was decided before the Supreme Court on Jan. 26, 2006. He explained that the case stemmed from Joseph Galluzzi, a former treasurer of Essex County, who had an unlawful kickback arrangement with George Tuttle, who was a senior vice president of First Fidelity Bank.

The bank was renamed First Union National Bank and later Wachovia.

In the arrangement between the two men, the bank was selected to be the underwriter on three municipal bond issues.

According to court documents, the county prosecuted against the bank, Joseph Galluzzi, a Lorraine Galluzzi, and Tuttle. The court ruled that the bank was required to disgorge the profits made in the three bond deals, Dratch said.

Kleinberg said in a telephone interview that he broached the idea of this type of lawsuit two years ago, but all of the lawyers he spoke with wanted an hourly rate. He said it would not have been fiscally wise to pursue it in that manner.

"This innovative lawsuit will not cost Marlboro residents a penny, but it has the potential to return tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to our town. I will continue to pursue every opportunity to restore honesty and integrity to our town government and help us recover from decades of public corruption," Kleinberg said.

The mayor said there are not a lot of attorneys with experience in these matters and that is why he wanted to work with Dratch.

Hornik said action should have been taken when Scannapieco still had a home in Marlboro. Scannapieco pled guilty several years ago to taking money from developers and is awaiting sentencing in federal court.

Hornik, who is an attorney, said that had such a case been pursued earlier, a judgment could have been attached to Scannapieco's home. When the residence was sold, Marlboro would have received money, he explained.

"I would have done it on a contingency had I been asked and Frank LaRocca (one of Hornik's running mates) would have as well," Hornik said.

He called the move an obvious political ploy, brought about on the eve of an election.

Upon hearing of Marlboro's plan to try and make corrupt individuals pay for their bad deeds, Edward Kay, a developer who has been indicted on charges of alleged corrupt activities in Marlboro, told the News Transcript, "It's election year fodder with no real basis."

Speaking about the pending lawsuit, Kleinberg described it as being a win-win situation for the township, while Hornik described it as being too little, too late.

Dratch said it would be difficult to say how long a lawsuit such as this might take to resolve. He said his firm is drafting the complaint and summonses will follow.