A New Jersey judge will decide next month whether stealing political signs is a crime, potentially opening the door to legalizing the theft of lawn signs in future campaigns.
Readington Councilman John Albanese was arrested in May after stealing six signs belonging to a rival faction in the Republican primary. Apple Air Tags had been attached to the signs and were tracked to Albanese’s home.
Now Albanese, a former mayor, asks that theft charges be dismissed under the state’s de minimis law when a judge finds that the offense was “too trivial” to merit prosecution. In court filings, he equated the charges against him to be akin to a 1984 ruling that dismissed shoplifting charges against a defendant who stole three pieces of bubble gum valued at fifteen cents.
“A review of all the factors in this case demonstrates that the prosecution of this trivial offense serves little purpose,” Albanese’s attorney, Scott Wilhelm, said in court filings. “Mr. Albanese is being charged with theft for taking six political signs, to which, again, he caused no damage and were promptly returned to their rightful owner. No persons or property were harmed as a result of this incident.”
If Superior Court Judge Kevin Shanahan agrees, overzealous volunteers might have little incentive to leave a political sign in place.
“This is a clear case of theft,” Brian R. Clancy, the chief municipal prosecutor in Ewing Township, said in a court filing. “The instant case does not fall within the scope of triviality. While the monetary value of the property is not substantial, a victim was nonetheless deprived of their property.”
Clancy said the stolen signs were “related to an open public election involving political adversaries.”
“This conduct falls well within the established understanding of a crime of moral turpitude. In assessing the risk of harm to society, as required under the law, the court cannot fail to take into account the effect of this conduct on the fair and open election process,” Clancy argues. “Allowing a dismissal under the de minimis statute in this instance undermines the public trust and fails to serve as a deterrent for any such future conduct.”
Albanese has admitted to taking the signs.
“I removed six political signs from two roadside public locations in Readington Township that do not belong to me and stored them in my garage at my home. In so doing, I did not damage the signs. Rather, I kept them safe and secure. I did not use any threats of harm or violence,” Albanese said in court filings. “I simply removed the signs in a weak moment of poor judgment.”
Albanese said he “believed that the people who posted the signs did not have the right to post signs in the locations that they were posted and that that the postings were hazardous to the community.”
“In retrospect, I recognize that regardless of how I felt or what I was thinking, I did not have the right to remove signs that I did not own,” he said. “I did not intend to malice or harm anyone…I recognize my mistake. I am sorry. I take full responsibility for my actions.”
But Clancy argues that Albanese failed to acknowledge that if not for the monitoring of tracking devices – and prompt action by the Readington Police Department – “the signs would likely have never been returned to the victim.”
The case was transferred to Ewing to obviate the Readington municipal court’s conflict of interest. The de minimis defense is being argued in Superior Court; if Shanahan rejects Albanese’s motion, the case would be returned to Ewing Municipal Court Judge Kimberly M. Lacken.
Readington Republicans have been sharply divided between a conservative faction and a group of moderates that include Albanese. The two groups have been engaged in a local civil war since 2022 when three-term Township Committeewoman Betty Anne Fort, a Republican rabidly opposed to Donald Trump, lost the primary by a 2-1 margin to conservative Vinny Panico, a former president of the Hunterdon Central Regional Board of Education who ran off the line with the blessing of party leaders.
Fort had endorsed Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) in 2020 over Republican Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) and contributed $7,900 to his 2020 and 2022 campaigns. That cost her re-election.
In the June primary, incumbents Juergen Huelsebusch and Adam Mueller easily defeated two candidates backed by Albanese, former Mayor Benjamin Smith and Jacqueline Hindle, a planning board member.
There have been allegations of sign stealing over the last few years – some Republicans were informally caught swiping Kean placards in 2022 after a hunting camera was used to keep watch.
The conservative faction grew tired of playing the game and built out an independent sting operation.
They decided to attach Apple AirTags to repurposed signs from Kean’s 2022 race with a severe anti-Malinowski message and position them adjacent to the Smith and Hindle signs.
AirTags allowed the group to ping the sign to determine its exact location.
The opposition followed the signal to Albanese’s home. Panico telephoned a police sergeant to report the theft. They found the six anti-Malinowski signs there and arrested Albanese.