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Health & Fitness

Is Justice Delayed Justice Denied?

Monmouth County and NJ State governments are delaying but not defeating a watchdog's work.

Monmouth County and NJ State governments are delaying but not defeating a watchdog’s work.

This story involves more than 4 years of government cover up but takes just 2 minutes to understand.

Here is the summary. Mark Lagerkvist is an investigative reporter whose work is funded by the Franklin Center for Public Integrity and Government. He began reporting that in 2008 then Monmouth County Sheriff (now Lt Governor) Kim Guadagno apparently violated state law when she was Monmouth County Sheriff by arranging for a top aide to sidestep rules and simultaneously collect a public salary and pension. The issues are important and involve both a lot of money (over $200,000) paid to Donovan and a potential charge of falsifying records for Guadagno. Since then Lagerkvist has been trying to obtain the relevant public records and the Christie administration trying to keep those records from being released publicly.

Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This is just one more example why watchdogs are necessary- at every level both inside and outside the government.

Here is the more detailed saga of a persistent citizen reporter trying to get public information from a resistant County and State Government.

Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In 2008, Guadagno hired Michael W. Donovan Jr, a retired investigator for the county prosecutor, as the sheriff’s “chief of the law enforcement division.” The appointment was announced in a memo to her staff. The sheriff's official website subsequently identified Donovan as “sheriff’s office chief,” supervising 110 subordinate officers and 30 civilian employees.

But Donovan faced a legal and financial problem. As a sheriff’s office chief — a position covered by the pension system — Donovan should have been required to stop receiving pension checks and resume his contributions to the state retirement fund.

So, in county payroll records, the oath of office, and a news release, Donovan was listed as the sheriff’s “chief warrant officer” — a similar sounding, but low-ranking position that’s exempt from the pension system. A chief warrant officer is responsible for serving warrants and other legal documents.

On Guadagno's organizational chart, Donovan was listed as chief of law enforcement. There was no position of chief warrant officer on the chart. And, needless to say, Donovan collected his pension, kept his paycheck, and campaigned for Christie and Guadagno in the next gubernatorial election.

Monmouth County Republican Freeholders and current Sheriff Golden have been essentially silent on the matter and Donovan is still in Golden’s office. But the New Jersey Watchdog has been pursuing the issue through various government bodies.

For example he filed a request for copies of the records under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) with the NJ Treasury and, after they refused, with the NJ Government Records Council (GRC).  As you might have guessed, after many months the GRC also refused to decide the matter and passed it on to the Office of Administrative Law (OLA) for handling. The governor appoints the GRC members and the judges in the OLA.  The chief administrative law judge presides over the office and reports directly to Christie.

This latest action will delay the process still further and almost certainly until after the November elections. But, stay tuned, I’m betting that the watchdog will win in the end.   

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