Clark Mayor Salvatore Bonaccorso was charged with using township property and employees to run his landscaping business, and filing forged permit applications in about two dozen towns to remove underground oil storage tanks, Attorney General Matt Platkin alleged today.
Bonaccorso also faces official misconduct charges for running a tank removal business out of the mayor’s office. If convicted, he would face a mandatory five years in state prison.
“Any elected leader who abuses his power and position and misuses public property and public employees for his own benefit, at taxpayers’ expense, betrays the public’s trust,” Platkin said. “In this instance, the complaint charges that the defendant also abused the trust of officials in other towns, allegedly submitting fraudulent documents with forged signatures to enrich his company while circumventing New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regulations.”
Platkin also released a scathing report alleging misconduct by Clark officials, recommending two police department officials, Police Chief Pedro Matos, and Sgt. Josep Teston, the internal affairs officer, was fired. The probe found that police officers used racist, sexist and anti-Semitic statements, and that Matos lied to investigators.
He said a review showed that 44% of people arrested in Clark were Black, even though 93% of the township’s residents are white.
But criminal charges are not being pursued, Platkin said. The report will be referred to the state’s Division of Civil Rights.
The attorney general’s office found that Bonnorcorso, Matos, and Teston had used “racist, sexist and antisemitic slurs when discussing hiring practices and police actions.”
Platkin also referred an issue related to the former township attorney to the state’s Office of Attorney Ethics.
In July 2020, the attorney general’s office and the Union County Prosecutor took over the local police department.
“There is a social contract that imposes an expectation that officials in positions of governmental and law enforcement leadership will do the right thing, act not in self-interest but in service to the greater good, and treat all people with respect and dignity as equals,” said Platkin. “These are not naïve ideals or lofty ambitions, but rather the bare minimum expectations communities should have in their leaders. The leaders in the Clark Police Department, and the Township more generally, failed to keep up their end of that bargain.”
The Republican mayor is accused of tampering with public records, and witness tampering.
“Our complaint alleges the mayor was committing criminal acts for many years to enable his company to offer services it was not authorized or permitted to perform,” said Thomas Eicher, director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. “The people’s faith and confidence in government is eroded when public officials act improperly, and my office will continue its diligent work to root out corruption.”
Update at 7:45 — statement from Bonaccorso attorney Robert Stahl: Mayor Bonaccorso denies each and every allegation contained in the criminal complaint. The Attorney General’s Office has been investigating Clark Township and its various officials for years. What they now bring are criminal charges that the evidence will demonstrate are faulty and incorrect, and a report that did not lead to any criminal charges but rather only besmirches Mayor Bonaccorso, the town, and the police force. Mayor Bonaccorso will vigorously defend this case and will ultimately clear his name and reputation. Mayor Bonaccorso has devoted himself to the betterment of all the citizens of Clark for many, many years of public service. We are disappointed the Attorney General’s Office brought this case and look forward to vigorously defending our client in court.”
Clark Report 20 Nov 2023