Failure To File NJ ELEC Paper Work Puts Middletown Republican Organization In Financial Jeopardy: Should Tony Perry Resign?

It came to light yesterday that the Middletown Township Republican Executive Committee (Middletown GOP) has failed to file required New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) paperwork for the past 16 quarters, going back to October 2016. The last report on file with the NJ ELEC is for the 3rd quarter of 2016. 

This is bad on so many levels and furthers the argument that myself and others have been making over the years, Middletown Republicans are corrupt to the core. Where are they getting their money from? Who are they giving money to? Pay-to-Play comes to mind as well as the wheeling of campaign donations and expenses and potentially money laundering isn't out if the question.

As for the last report on record with NJ ELEC all the way back in 2016, the Middletown Republicans had $39,439.11 on hand after reporting. How much money did they have on hand afterwards to end the year? We don't know because a 4th quarter, year end report was never filed, neither were subsequent reports thereafter for the next 15 quarters leading up to October 2020.

We know the Middletown Republican Executive Committee has been active during this time because expenditures of $19,650 have been reported by outside candidates and committees in their NJ ELEC filings, the most recent being a $650 donation to Sheriff Shaun Golden for his reelection campaign, made in February of 2020.

Maximum fines associated with this non-compliance can be as large as $8,600 per incident. 16 quarters  of failing to file reports with NJ ELEC could cost the local Republicans upwards of $138,000. Interestingly however, the organization is not responsible to pay these fines. As punishment, it's the organizational Treasurer and potentially the Organizational Chairman who are on the hook for payment.

What's so interesting and intriguing about that little fact is that the organizational Treasurer for the last report filed back in October 2016, was the wife of current Middletown Mayor, Tony Perry. Mrs. Perry also happens to be the daughter of former mayor, now LD 13 Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger.

There is a major conflict here and it just might behoove  Perry to resign from the mayorship of the Township as well as step down from the Township Committee itself.  Since Scharfenberger appointed his son-in-law to the Township Committee back in 2017 and his daughter failed to file the proper paperwork with NJ ELEC, he has some explaining to do himself .... Stay tuned for further developments.