TOMS RIVER – A councilman was censured and asked to resign over accusations that he leaked information to the public, which spiraled into an argument over who is being appointed to high profile township positions. The argument took place during the May 12 meeting of the Township Council.
At the heart of the issue is a February 11 executive session of the Township Council. In executive sessions, the governing body discusses issues like personnel in a private forum.
During this Feb. 11 executive session, the governing body discussed eliminating health benefits of the Municipal Utilities Authority’s commissioners. Not the employees of the MUA, just the commissioners appointed by the council. Within an hour of the end of that meeting, that information was leaked to a member of the MUA.
At that meeting was Business Administrator Donald Guardian, assistant township attorney Anthony Merlino, Township Clerk Alison Carlisle, and every member of the Township Council except for Laurie Huryk.
The council hired an independent investigator to determine who was the leak. As the township started losing money due to COVID-19, the investigation was instead handed over to Township Attorney Kenneth Fitzsimmons.
Fitzsimmons interviewed four people, which led to his conclusion that the leak was Councilman Daniel Rodrick.
The rest of the council voted to censure Rodrick, which is just a formal statement denouncing his behavior. They also called for him to resign. Rodrick had also been censured last year for his behavior during a very tumultuous mayoral race.
“You’ve already censured me. I’m not going anywhere,” Rodrick said.
Fitzsimmons detailed a list of commissioners who learned about the leaked information, which included commissioner Carmen Memoli, and commissioner Alfonso Manforti, a former member of the Township Council.
Rodrick denied that he was the leak, and instead said it was Assemblyman Gregory McGuckin, also a former member of the Township Council and the leader of the mayor’s transition team.
His version of the events is that Memoli and McGuckin had met prior to the Feb. 11 meeting.
This entire argument was being hashed out via an online meeting due to social distancing. At one point, Rodrick said that Memoli texted him that Memoli told Fitzsimmons that he had met with McGuckin. Rodrick held the phone up to the screen to show the text.
“A commissioner at the Municipal Utilities Authority told me that Assemblyman Greg McGuckin had taken him out to breakfast on February 5th, 6 days before our February 11th meeting, to discuss Commissioner health benefits and the MUA director position that was being vacated by Bob Dibiase,” Rodrick had said in a previous statement.
Robert DiBiase is the former president of the Regular Republican Club of Toms River. He stepped down from this position in 2018 when he became the head of the MUA.
Rodrick’s source said that McGuckin asked him not to reappoint the Executive Director position until he got word from the Assemblyman. Rodrick felt that McGuckin was trying to pressure commissioners to appoint someone to the position.
When asked to rebut this accusation, McGuckin sent an email to this newspaper on April 29.
“To distract from his own misconduct, as is par for the course with Dan, he seeks to divert, distract and attack others,” McGuckin said. “With Dan it is always about his political agenda, not the facts.
“The simple fact is I was not in attendance at the February 11th Council meeting, so it would be impossible for me to leak confidential information from a meeting I did not attend,” McGuckin said. “Second, it is likewise impossible for me to have leaked a confidential discussion of the Council on February 5th, since, according to Mr. Rodrick himself, that discussion didn’t occur until six days later on February 11th.”
McGuckin said Rodrick’s motives are always political and urged him to admit that he was the leak.
McGuckin was hired as the director to the Toms River Township Department of Law during the May 12 meeting as well.
Rodrick, and some members of the public, questioned the appointment.
McGuckin’s appointment was not bid upon and there is no cap to his salary, Fitzsimmons answered. Professional services don’t have to be bid upon.
Mayor Maurice Hill said there’s an expected savings of about $300,000. There are two retirements coming up this year, a secretary and Fitzsimmons.
Alex Davison, the township’s chief financial officer, said that the cost fluctuates given the amount of litigation the township is involved in. During a typical year, the township would see a savings. In a worst case scenario, the township will break even.
Rodrick held up a copy of the ordinance that created the position. That ordinance had a stamp on it from McGuckin’s law firm.
“The guy who’s getting the job tonight wrote the ordinance,” he said.
Business Administrator Don Guardian noted that there was a request for proposals earlier and McGuckin applied then. The RFP is an open and fair process.
Rodrick said he couldn’t understand how someone can apply for a job months ago that didn’t exist yet.
You can watch the video playback on YouTube.
