Politics & Government

Acropolis Files Ethics Charge Against Toth

Complaint from mayor's office filed with state DCA

Brick Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis has filed a formal ethics complaint against councilman and Republican mayoral primary candidate Dan Toth for what he alleges is Toth's seeking expedited zoning and permit approvals for his business clients in town.

The complaint was filed with the Local Finance Board, an arm of the state Department of Community Affairs, which has the power to adjudicate ethics complaints against municipal council members. A copy of the complaint was also sent to the Ocean County Prosecutor's office.

The complaints were filed March 20 and 21, respectively.

Find out what's happening in Brickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Acropolis' allegations against Toth surfaced in September following a township council vote that would have restructured township government. Toth eventually abstained from a second vote after receiving a warning from a township conflict attorney, Robert Shea, causing the restructuring measure to fail.

Shea's legal analysis, accompanied by a detailed complaint written by Acropolis, accuses Toth of pressing individual township employees, who are identified by name in the documentation, on the status of various permits of two liquor stores in town, Joe Canal's and Tinali Wines on a host of occasions between 2011 and Feb. 2013. Toth suggested the permitting process be "expedited" in the case of Tinali Wines, since the owner had already ordered supplies for the store and had not yet received a temporary certificate of occupancy.

Find out what's happening in Brickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The complaint alleges Toth stood to benefit from the expedited permitting since he is in the business of selling liquor to retailers and restaurants, and the two businesses may have been among his clients. An e-mail from Assistant Business Administrator Juan Bellu sent on June 11, 2011 indicates Toth told Bellu Tinali was his client.

The complaint also alleges Toth improperly inquired about building permits at Nick Catone's Mixed Martial Arts Academy, which is a conflict because is a member there.

The complaint states Toth was instructed by Business Administrator Scott Pezarras and Bellu, as well as Acropolis, to refrain from contacting employees regarding individual zoning and building permits, but he continued to do so through February 2013. The documentation also states Bellu felt his job was threatened by Toth over the situation, and other employees felt pressured since a sitting councilman was contacting them.

The failed restructuring measure would have eliminated Bellu's position.

On Tuesday, Toth brushed off the complaint, which was also forwarded to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office with a request by Shea for an investigation into whether any criminal laws were broken.

"It's his little bully pulpit," Toth said, of Acropolis. "You can allege anything you want. I could bring 20 things up against him in 20 seconds, but I choose to be civil. There was no wrongdoing, and I welcome each and every one of those places to look into it."

"Steve just does not get that I did nothing wrong, and it seems he just has a personal vendetta against me," said Toth. "I don't know what I did to him, the only thing I ever disagreed with him on is policy."

Acropolis said it's nothing personal; he agreed he and Toth have only had their differences on policy matters.

"I'm not going back to the Scarpelli days, it doesn't matter whether it's a Republican or Democrat," said Acropolis. "If it appears you're in conflict, you're in conflict."

"He recuses himself publicly when the liquor license comes up for Wine World, but he advocates for [the owner] on permits behind closed doors," Acropolis added.

The Local Finance Board, if it finds credible evidence of an ethics violation, has the power to open an investigation and determine whether to levy punishment, such as a fine, if guilt is found.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here