Clark mayor forfeits office, faces $15k fine in official misconduct plea deal

Former Clark Mayor Sal Bonaccorso pleaded guilty to misconduct charges on Friday in a plea deal that required his resignation as mayor. 

Bonaccorso pleaded guilty to forgery and conspiracy to commit official misconduct in the third degree. As part of his plea deal, the 64-year-old will be barred from holding public office, face three years of probation, and pay a $15,000 fine.

Prosecutors charged Bonaccorso in November 2023 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. He also faced official misconduct charges for running a tank removal business out of the mayor’s office.

Bonaccorso was sworn in for a seventh four-year term as mayor on Jan. 1. He was re-elected Nov. 5 with 59% of the vote against Democratic challenger Michael Shulman.

“Anyone who betrays the public’s trust by placing their own interests ahead of their duty as a public servant to New Jersey residents will be held accountable,” Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a release. “Let me be clear: I will never stop rooting out corruption in New Jersey, no matter how powerful the offenders may be.”

Bonaccorso and his company, Bonaccorso & Son LLC, will be barred from holding public contracts for five years. The company is also barred from conducting storage tank removals for three years. Prosecutors said Friday morning that the plea deal took effect immediately.

His official sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 7 at 9:30 a.m.

The mayor’s tenure has long been marred by controversy. He faced criticism for a series of racist rants. In 2022 it came to light that Clark paid a $400,000 settlement with a police lieutenant who secretly taped Bonaccorso using racial slurs against Black people. The mayor apologized but refused to resign despite calls from Gov. Phil Murphy and Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) to do so.

In a statement, Bonaccorso’s attorneys said the former mayor decided pleading guilty was the “best course forward” for his health, family, and town of Clark. Robert G. Stahl and Andrew C. Olesnycky, his attorneys, said Bonaccorso was diagnosed with an aortic aneurism that will require surgery.

“Today, to avoid further disruption and stress to his family, to his health, and to the town he loves and has dedicated his life to, Mayor Bonaccorso has pled rather than exercising his right to a trial,” his attorneys’ statement read. “As part of the plea, the Mayor has agreed to forfeit public office but knows that his administration’s policies and practices will continue to benefit the citizens of Clark.”

Council President Angel Albanese will become acting mayor until the Clark Republican County Committee can meet within two weeks of the resignation to submit three candidates for interim mayor.  The all-Republican township council can either pick one of the names or return the list to the party organization to pick one.

Bonaccorso entered his plea Friday morning in the Union County Courthouse before New Jersey Superior Court Judge Lisa Miralles Walsh.

He was initially scheduled to appear before Judge Regina Caulfield on Nov. 20, but she called in sick.

The state was prepared to have Bonaccorso plead guilty before the Nov. 5 general election, but Caulfield apparently could not find a place on her calendar until November 6; she later rescheduled the hearing for today.