ASBURY PARK PRESS :: MONMOUTH EDITION

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HASKELL INVITATIONAL

Get ready for the grandest day of racing on the Jersey Shore. Sports, 1C

SUNDAY 07.31.16

Press on Your Side: Maiden name kept woman from medical marijuana. STORY, 6AA
ASBURY PARK PRESS EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION

CROOKS WITH
STATE PENSIONS
List of those profiting from taxpayer-funded retirement
checks reads like whos who of New Jersey corruption

40+

Former Ocean Township

Mayor Terrance Weldon:
4 years for extortion;
$57.4G pension.

Former Monmouth
County official Anthony
J. Palughi: 8 months in
prison; $28G pension.

State pension payments were sent to

a prison inmate for
27 months, our
exclusive report
found. More than
40 convicted criminals out of prison
are collecting state
retirement checks.

After conventions,
Jersey politicians
turn to govs race
BOB JORDAN
@BOBJORDANAPP

The national political conventions of the past two

weeks were all about showcasing Donald Trump and
then Hillary Clinton, but for New Jersey they also highlighted the sharp contrast of where Democrats and Republicans are in preparing for political life after Gov.
Chris Christie.
Christies second term will keep him in office until
January 2018 unless he leaves earlier to be part of a
Trump administration. Hes barred from seeking a
third consecutive term.
While several announced and potential Democratic
candidates for governor are moving ahead with organizing efforts, its a different story for state Republicans handicapped because their side is not unified
behind presidential candidate Donald Trump, and
fighting a conventional wisdom that Christies unpopSee GOVERNOR, Page 14A

Former Monmouth
County official Patsy
Townsend: 6 months for
bribery; $51.3G pension

beachedition
YOUR WEEKEND GUIDE DOWN THE SHORE

$83G
One convicted
former official
receives a pension
of $83,000 a year,
the Press found.
Thats about four
times higher than
the average New
Jersey retiree's
annual income.

Heavyweight battle
Former Brick Mayor
Joseph C. Scarpelli: 18
months in prison; $3.2G
pension.

Former Hudson County

Freeholder Nidia
Davila-Colon: 3 years in
prison; $11.2G pension.

Former Assemblyman
and Mayor Mims Hackett
Jr.: Accepted $5,000
bribe; $54G pension.

Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist and Preakness winner

Exaggerator headline a talented field at the Haskell
Invitational, Monmouth Parks premier annual event.

Vacationers-in-chief
The Ocean Historical Museum exhibit
commemorates the history of presidents
from Ulysses Grant to Teddy Roosevelt
vacationing at the Jersey Shore.

$870G
More than 30 people convicted of
state official misconduct charges
took home $870,000
in pensions last
year. Another 15
convicted of federal
corruption charges
received $390,000.

Former Hoboken Mayor

Anthony Russo: 30
months in prison for
fraud; $23.4G pension.

A Sublime tribute
Former Hudson County
Executive Robert
Janiszewski: 41 months
in prison; $11.9G pension.

Former Essex County

Executive James
Treffinger: 13 months in
prison; $5.7G pension.

Inked up in Asbury

ANDREW FORD @ANDREWFORDNEWS

ozens of convicted criminals are collecting more than a million dollars in taxpayerfunded retirement checks, including at least one who still is behind bars, an Asbury
Park Press investigation found. The list of convicts profiting from state pensions
reads like a whos who of New Jersey corruption: former mayors, an assemblyman,
county executives and other politicians convicted of tainting their offices, the Press
found. And while state law bars convicts from receiving a pension check while behind bars, the Press found that wasnt the case for convicted corrections officer Bobby Singletary, 58, of Paterson. He was paid an annual pension of $51,278 for the past 27 months while in
prison. He is serving seven years for smuggling drugs to prisoners. See PENSIONS, Page 15A

Left: Former Jersey City police official William C. Braker was charged with extorting bribes in
December 2002. Above: Stephen D. Kessler, former chairman of the Ocean Township
Sewerage Authority, was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for accepting $15,000 in
bribes.

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SUNDAY BEST
WEATHER

New England-based Badfish celebrates alternative rock bands

legacy with show at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Doors
open at 7 p.m. today. Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

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VOLUME 137
NUMBER 182
SINCE 1879

Visionary Arts Tattoo Fest wraps up.

More than 150 of the worlds finest
tattoo artists have been inking up
the beach and boardwalk at
Convention Hall in Asbury Park.

All this and more inside! 2A