A former mayor of a small Jersey shore town who admitted to stealing money from parking meters and selling government property on the internet and pocketing the cash was sentenced to three years in state prison today.
Paul Kennedy was serving as mayor of Ocean Gate in 2022 when he was arrested for selling a borough-owned 2008 Honda Pilot in an auction on a website called GovDeals.com. He then deposited the $6,021 check into his personal account. He also sold other government-owned
“This is a textbook example of public corruption: the leveraging of one’s official public position to gain unlawful personal benefits,” said Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer. “The overwhelming majority of public officials perform their duties with integrity and honor. Mr. Kennedy, however, took advantage of the very citizens he was sworn to serve.”
Billhimer said that Kennedy prioritized his personal interests and greed over the needs of his constituents.”
“This is unacceptable conduct – conduct that only serves to undermine the public’s faith and confidence in public officials,” he said. “My office will continue to investigate and prosecute such breaches of public trust to the fullest extent of the law.”
Kennedy also stole thousands from a campaign account set up for him and his running mates, using money to pay his own expenses.
On behalf of Ocean Gate, Kennedy set up an account with Tri-State Recycling to deliver scrap metal; he was paid in cash and kept the money.
Kennedy lost his mayorship in May 2022, two months after his initial arrest, after he stopped attending borough council meetings. Under state law, public officials can be removed after eight weeks of unexcused absences, which the Ocean Gate Borough Council did.
Once Kennedy was formally removed as mayor, Council President David Kendrick became acting mayor. Then, after a special election, Bob Curtin mounted a successful off-the-line mayoral bid in the GOP primary and won the general election.
As part of his sentence on pattern of official misconduct charges, he is permanently barred from holding any public office or job in the future.