Phantom candidate petition circulator doesn’t want to answer questions

Several Gloucester County residents claim they never heard of phantom candidates Giuseppe Costanzo and Maureen Dukes-Penrose even though they signed their nominating petitions.

It’s the latest in a series of red flags surrounding Costanzo and Dukes-Penrose, who are on the ballot for state senator and assemblywoman, respectively, as independent Conservative candidates in the closely-watched 4th district race.

One of the circulators of the petition, Angela McGeehan, initially denied any involvement during a ten-minute telephone call with the New Jersey Globe this morning.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.

But when McGeehan was reminded that her signature on the petitions was notarized, she pivoted.

“I am not answering any questions,” said McGeehan, a Democrat whose father was the longtime Washington Township Democratic chairman.

Some of the petition signatories witnessed by McGeehan were hesitant to speak, and others took a more aggressive tone.

“I was told if you called not to answer any questions about why I signed the petition,” said one signatory, whose name is being withheld by the New Jersey Globe.  “You are causing a lot of problems for people.”

But Kacey Strock, a former teacher at the Salem County Vo-Tech schools who lives across the street from McGeehan, said she supported the candidates but could not name them.

When asked why she signed on behalf of candidates she didn’t know, Strock hung up.

Then she sent a text message: “I don’t feel it’s any of your business on why I support or don’t support someone.  Have a good day.”

Asked over text if she’d like to explain why she signed a petition for a seemingly fake candidate, Strock responded: “This is harassment; I suggest you stop calling everyone.”

At no point was she told that other petition signers had been called.

Costanzo is the beneficiary of a mailer attacking his GOP opponent, former Washington Township Councilman Christopher Del Borrello, in a bid to move Republicans to a conservative candidate – votes that could make a difference in a close race with Democrat Paul Moriarty, a nine-term assemblyman.

The mailer was sent out by Jersey Freedom, a political committee formed last month using a post office box in Jamaica Queens.  The group has not yet disclosed its donors.

McGeehan’s father, Frank Cianci, is a longtime Moriarty political ally.

But Moriarty told the New Jersey Globe that he had never heard of Costanzo and had no knowledge of any effort to get him on the ballot.

Still, there is no evidence that Costanzo and Penrose were recruited by South Jersey Democrats, and the dark money group is not illegal: they filed for tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service and, under New Jersey’s new Election Transparency Act approved earlier this year, are not required to disclose their donors to the Election Law Enforcement Commission until October 27.  48-hour reports are no longer required under the new law — 72-hour reports begin on October 25 and 24-hour reports on October 31 —  which could leave a full picture of the funders in the dark until late November.