Asbury Park Press
February 24, 2005
By Andrea Alexander
MIDDLETOWN -- The Township Committee Wednesday called for Committeeman Raymond O'Grady to step down following his arrest the previous day on a federal extortion charge because they believe he has lost the confidence of the public.
Their call for O'Grady's resignation was joined by Freeholder Amy H. Handlin, a Middletown resident and former Township Committee member. She called for O'Grady to step down after the Board of Freeholders asked O'Grady, director of the county motor pool, and other county employees arrested in the bribery sting to resign from their jobs.
The FBI arrested 11 officials throughout Monmouth County, including three mayors, in an early moring raid Tuesday.
Family members Wednesday said O'Grady declined to comment on the charges or the calls for his resignation.
O'Grady hired Mitchell Ansell Wednesday as his attorney. Ansell said he would issue a statement soon on his client's behalf after reviewing details of the case.
A day after O'Grady's arrest, residents and officials were divided over how much the scandal should define the Middletown politician's career.
"I am not saying what he did was right but he has been a valued member of the community," said Assemblyman Joseph Azzolina, R-Monmouth. "He has done so much for the community it ought to be weighed heavily."
O'Grady is a past commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2179, a trustee of Middletown Helps Its Own, and a past president of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monmouth County.
"We are just very sad and shocked to hear what is going on," said Debi Heptig, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monmouth County. "He has always cared about our mission and is involved in a lot of charitable organizations."
Gilda Healy, 50, of Middletown, said she wasn't surprised corruption hit close to home.
"It's too bad people can't do their jobs honestly," Healy, an insurance broker, said, adding she was sorry to hear O'Grady was implicated. "I had a lot of faith in him. I don't anymore."
Carl Stainagle, 54, of Middletown, said he wasn't surprised to learn about the charges. "What surprised me is that they think they can get away with it," said Stainagle, a security supervisor.
Some officials said O'Grady's years of public service will be meaningless if he is found guilty.
"Being involved in a billion civil and charitable affairs cuts no ice with anyone if you have got your fingers in the till," said Township Attorney William F. Dowd, former Monmouth County Republican Party Chairman.
Dowd also called for O'Grady to step down because of comments attributed to him in the federal complaint. O'Grady bragged in October to an agent, who he thought was a contractor, that he "could smell a cop a mile away," according to the complaint.
"The inference is this is nothing new to him," Dowd said.
"While we feel sympathy for his family, we feel restoring people's confidence in Middletown's government is far more important," the Township Committee said in a statement Wednesday. "His continued presence on the governing body casts a cloud over all of our deliberations and proceedings."
Mayor Thomas G. Hall said he checked in town hall Wednesday to see if the township did business with the contractor referred to in the complaint and found nothing. He said he also plans to review the township's vendor receipts.
O'Grady has been at odds with Republicans during the past few years over his support for the $150 million town center development Azzolina's family has proposed for 137 acres along Route 35. O'Grady is the only Township Committee member who voted against ordinances designed to stop the project.
"This raises real questions in regards to the town center and Ray O'Grady's position on it," said Middletown Municipal Republican Party Chairman Peter Carton.
"He never asked for a dime and the family never offered a dime either," Azzolina said.
"Supporting the town center was his decision after he heard the facts. He thought the thing out, he studied it and he thought it would help the town."
Andrea Alexander: (732) 888-2621 or andrea@app.com . Nina Rizzo contributed to this story.
