Good morning, beautiful people,
The most amazing piece of news this week -- yes, even more amazing than the fact that we’ll finally have a Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court -- is that racism-spouting Sal Bonaccourso is still mayor of Clark Township.
Last week, we told you how Clark Township spent over $400,000 squashing and then covering up a whistleblower lawsuit that included recordings of the mayor, the police chief and others calling Black people names like “spook” and bemoaning the “(expletive) disaster” of female police officers.
Classy fellas running that town, for sure. At first, the mayor denied having ever used the N-word and said he was offended by the accusations. He refused to even listen to the recordings when a reporter offered to play them, to confirm or deny it was his voice.
But others listened. Boy, did they listen, making Clark the subject of headlines and the target of well-deserved derision. Our Riley Yates and Sean P. Sullivan have been unearthing a series of mind-blowing facts about this case, including the fact that Clark has already spent $763,000 (and counting!) to pay the salaries of the suspended police chief, a sergeant and an officer involved in the case.
Confronted with the receipts, rather than do something quasi-honorable like quit in disgrace, the mayor instead made another recording.
In this one, he sort of apologizes for saying all those things he said he’d never said, though the word “sorry” never comes up. Bonaccourso says he’s “embarrassed and ashamed,” which he certainly should be. But as of this writing, he’s also still mayor, which is shameful and embarrassing on a cosmic level. Prosecutors who took over Clark’s police department two years ago are facing criticism for how they’ve handled that case. Gov. Murphy and others are calling for the mayor’s resignation, and we’ll keep you updated as the story continues to develop.
It’s going to take a long time and a lot of sunshine to wash this stink this off of Clark.
Also this week, farewell to a teen idol, Todd Frazier calls it a career, show us the COVID money, bad eats, and no to “President Murphy”:
EVERYTHING IS HUGO: Rest in peace Bobby Rydell, golden-voiced, golden-haired teen idol of the late ‘50s and ‘60s, who passed this week at age 79. From those “Wildwood Days” to “Bye Bye Birdie,” he was a true star and a local favorite.
FRAZIER OUT: It’s making me feel downright elderly to see Todd Frazier, 36, who as a freckle-faced kid won a Little League World Series with Toms River East, say his baseball career is over. He starred at Rutgers and had 11 years in the major leagues. Wishing him luck with whatever’s next!
COVID MONEY: Why is Gov. Murphy hoarding $3 billion in unspent federal COVID funding, and why is he trying to remove legislative oversight of how the money gets spent? Lawmakers want to know, and so do I. With inflation rising, these folks had better hammer out their problems before the time limit to budget the money runs out in 2024.
BAD FOR PETS: A South Jersey raw pet food company faces a temporary, state-ordered shutdown after repeated health violations including listeria and salmonella contamination. Bravo Packaging makes “raw dog food and raw food for large exotic cats, such as lions, tigers and panthers, according to the federal suit.”
IT’S A NO FROM US: Should Gov. Murphy run for presidents? According to one poll, New Jerseyans say “nah, we’re good.” The Monmouth University poll also showed most of us don’t think Murphy even has presidential ambitions, so there’s that.
Finally, don’t miss Matt Stanmyre’s riveting piece about a possible cancer cluster at one North Jersey high school. Is there a common thread among all the rare cancer cases diagnosed in graduates of Colonia High School? You’ll need to be a subscriber to read it, and you know what I’m going to say: Journalism like this is worth the price.
Have a great weekend!
P.S.: Rest in peace, Mr. V.
