Washington Township Councilman Richard Bennett has been charged with two counts of harassment and two counts of forgery after getting caught on a surveillance video mailing venomous, anonymous letters to two women on the school board.
Bennett voluntarily surrendered to the Washington Township Police Department earlier today. A court appearance is pending. The charges were made in consultation with the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s office.
An investigation by a police detective found that Bennett allegedly mailed the letters from the Blackwood Post Office after purchasing metered stamps at the counter at about 2:47 PM on May 12.
The detective, Anthony R. Aquilino, was able to trace the transaction record on the stamp and pulled up video surveillance footage that showed Bennett mailing the letters. Bennett paid cash for the postage, but Aquilino said he was able to identify the individual as Bennett.
The letters were addressed to Connie Baker and Patricia Blome, both school board members, and used the name and return address of another board member, Julie Kozempel.
Bennett denied his involvement when contacted by the New Jersey Globe, even though the photo clearly identifies him.
The letter stated: “Evil, drunk at BOE meetings (boozing), stupid, personal agenda for Dems, forgetting about kids, shameful, dishonest, playing games with the superintendent’s job, time to step down, and you are a disgrace, did not even review line items on the budget or talk to Jonine (Wechter, the school business administrator), you are a disgrace, and God is watching your language.”
State Sen. Paul Moriarty (D-Washington Township) said he had a similar experience with Bennett, catching him hand-delivering an anonymous letter to his home in 2020. He said a similar letter was mailed to the home of then-Assemblywoman Gabriela Mosquera (D-Gloucester Township).
“He’s an embarassment to our town,” Moriarty said.
