MAKING PEACE IN PUBLIC?
By D ouglas D. M elegari
Staff Writer
MOUNT LAUREL—The Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC) Board of Trustees has finally reorganized and has a new chairman, who tried to both publicly distance himself from past tensions over an alleged nepotism in hiring scheme and strike a conciliatory tone during the board’s belated reorganization meeting on Feb. 18.
But it is what was among the Correspondence listed on the Feb. 18 agenda that the new chairman initially tried to have removed that is making waves, showing continued behind the scenes feuding over the college solicitor’s post, including over allegations of “tortious interference” and purported violations of the Local Public Contracts Law.
Sean Kennedy, who leads the New Jersey team for global IT firm CGI,
the very firm that College President Dr. Michael A. Cioce had reportedly recommended RCBC not contract with for website services last spring, which purportedly set in motion a cascading chain of events that led to calls for an investigation into Cioce in October, was elected the board’s new chairman.
Cioce had also previously called a prior appointment of Kennedy as a
By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer
PEMBERTON—A purported notice of eviction sent to “Mr. Elly,” proprietor of Elly Premium Laundry at the Browns Mills Shopping Center (which is owned by Pemberton Township) a mere couple days after he and his family had complained to Pemberton Township Council about a continuing leaking roof over his store, as well as the outage of an outdoor lamp where his unit is located, set off a firestorm on March 5 that ended with Mr. Elly suffering an apparent medical episode during a council meeting, his daughter being brought to tears, all five Republican members of council forcefully calling on Mayor Jack Tompkins to resign immediately, and the mayor, who has previously faced calls to resign, departing the session some two hours before it was over.
The shear anger of one councilmember
Photo By Alex Costa
RCBC College President Dr. Michael A. Cioce and Sean Kennedy (right), chosen as the new chairman of the RCBC Board of Trustees, pose for a picture together on March 11.
Southampton Land Use Board Indefinitely Postpones Application
from Bamboo Gardens Campground to Allow Mobile Homes, RVs Lawyer’s Request for Hearing to Be Put Off Follows Disclosure That Quota of Licenses for Mobile Home Parks in Municipality Is Already Filled
By Bill B onvie Staff Writer
SOUTHAMPTON—The Southampton Township Land Development Board has indefinitely postponed its scheduled review of an application for a use variance to allow the Bamboo Gardens Campground at 134 Landing St. in the Vincentown section of the township to accommodate mobile homes after being asked to put it off on the day before the board’s March 6 meeting by an attorney representing the property.
In the letter to Michelle Gittinger, the board secretary, attorney Jeffrey M. Brennan, of the Voorhees firm of Baron & Brennan, asked that the hearing be postponed “to provide sufficient opportunity to fully address the comments recently provided by the Land Use Board’s professional consultants,” and that no particular date be set for its rescheduling, but that the applicant would “provide new notice to the public” and agreed “to waive any entitlement to an automatic approval that may have accrued in the interim time.”
Any such automatic approval, however, appeared unlikely in light of a legal limitation on licenses for mobile home accommodations brought to the attention of the Pine Barrens Tribune , which specifies under the provisions of a township ordinance governing “occupied mobile homes in a mobile home park” that no more than two licenses for such facilities shall be issued and outstanding “within the township at any time,” and confirmation by both Board Chairman Philip Magazzo and Township Administrator Brandon Umba that two such operating permits have already been issued to existing facilities.
Given such circumstances, it would thus become necessary for the Southampton Township Committee to either revise that ordinance or adopt a new one expanding the licensing quota to allow the applicant to legalize the campsite’s use for “recreational vehicles, tents and residential mobile home dwelling units” not involving any site plan changes, new buildings or alterations to existing structures.
The application to the Land Development Board was prompted by the campground’s having become a quasi-permanent home to a number of individuals and families, which came to the attention of local officials when children living there were enrolled in local schools and the township inspectors subsequently cited it for code violations.
An explanation of how that situation evolved was subsequently given to this newspaper by Christopher Philbrick, an engineer and self-described conservationist who said he was in the process of acquiring Bamboo Gardens (Pine Barrens Tribune, March 1). But for just how long the lives of those de facto residents will be in limbo, and if they will be able to remain on the property, could not be immediately determined.
One local resident, who rose during
the public comment portion of the Land Development Board meeting to maintain that “there is a lot of illegal things going on there – it is operating totally illegal,” was subsequently advised that “this board has nothing to do with enforcement.” Its members were also instructed not to respond to anything he might say so as not to compromise any future proceedings on the application.
Whatever the eventual outcome, the township committee “has not been discussing whether or not to change any ordinances,” Mayor Ronald Heston maintained in response to a query from this newspaper.
Umba, returning a second call from this newspaper, said his office was not responsible for enforcing the township code and therefore was not in a position to comment on how the situation at Bamboo Gardens might be addressed prior to its now-suspended application being heard by the Land Development Board. He did indicate, however, that he was unaware of the existence of any water, sewer or electrical hookups being available to those currently residing there, noting that the campground’s website didn’t refer to any and that if they existed, were apparently both unauthorized and uninspected.
However, Philbrick’s daughter Anna, who currently serves as the caretaker of the property, when contacted by this newspaper, said she could confirm that its 57 parking sites were equipped with such hookups, and added that its website was in the process of being updated, a notice posted there saying that it is “under reconstruction”. (In fact, a photo purportedly depicting one of them shows a string of illuminated light bulbs outside of an RV parked there.) She also said her father had someone from the state come down and look at the facility.
In response to another question, Anna Philbrick said there were about 15 current occupants, including two families and individuals who worked in the area.
Southampton District $14M Referendum Appears to Pass, But by Narrow Margin, Superintendent Acknowledges Superintendent Expresses ‘Profound Sense of Gratitude,’ But Vows to ‘Ensure Every Voice is Heard’ in Recognizing Some Apprehension
By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer
SOUTHAMPTON—It appears that a Southampton Township School District $14,124,526 referendum on March 11 seeking to float a classroom expansion project for a new preschool program, among other things, has passed, according to unofficial election results posted by the Burlington County Clerk’s Office.
As of press time, 837 voters (about 52 percent) voted in the affirmative, while 772 voters (about 48 percent) were opposed. It is a difference of 65 votes, or some 4 percent. There was a some 17 percent voter turnout recorded in the special school election of 9,366 eligible voters.
Any provisional ballots have yet to be counted, and any outstanding mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day have 6 days to arrive at the Burlington County Board of Elections to be counted, according to state law, but based on the preliminary voter turnout figures, it appears unlikely that the result will change.
“I have to say thank you to everyone at the PTA, school district and in the community who worked so hard to make this happen,” declared Southampton PTA President Leon Carelli in a video message released the day following the special school election. “A special shoutout to our new superintendent,
passed to secure our kids’ futures.”
Carelli, who is also the current vice president of the Southampton Township Board of Education, explained how the PTA’s efforts have “made our future better for our kids,” before declaring, “Yesterday, we did just that in Southampton!”
The video was accompanied with a message that stated, in part, “To our parents, staff and neighbors —this victory belongs to you,” further exclaiming “your support will bring much-needed improvements to our schools, ensuring a safer, stronger and more vibrant learning environment for all.”
The Southampton district comprises three schools.
School #1, according to the proposal, will get a new media center/library, new flooring, new boiler (replacing one that is about 30 years old), an “extended playground” and security cameras, upgraded electrical outlets, among other things.
An unused bus garage will also be converted into a “Humanities Annex” for School #1.
School #2 will also have new flooring installed, as well as a new boiler (replacing another that is some 30 years old). In addition, it is here where seven new bathrooms will be added for the preschool program. A new playground is also proposed for School #2, in addition to various security upgrades.
Short of Extending Carns Family Formal Apology It Asked for, Medford’s New Mayor Recognizes Its Key Role in Community Township Manager Explains Advantage Offered by New Water Meters; Resident Urges More Active Solicitation of RFPs for Old Library Building
By Bill B onvie Staff Writer
MEDFORD—Brian Carns, one of two brothers whose family-owned 30-acre tree farm was at the center of a legal hassle with the Township of Medford that at one time resulted in their mother being socked with a $10,000 fine, may not have quite gotten the apology he has repeatedly asked local officials to give her, but did manage to get his family a token of respect and recognition from its new mayor, Erik Rebstock, at the March 6 meeting of the Medford Township Council.
The conciliatory comments offered by Rebstock, who also serves as pastor of a Moorestown church, came after Carns told the council members how he had managed to persuade his mother, Carolyn, to attend a council meeting for the first time since she had been threatened at a previous one with additional fines, and that he was “just hoping somebody up here has something maybe on their mind or something that they could say to our family, to our mother.”
In response, the mayor welcomed Mrs. Carns, then went on to describe how reading about the town’s history in a book written by a Shawnee High School teacher, which he had been given for Christmas, had made him cognizant of “the longevity of the Carns family.”
“I love the history of Medford, and as I am reading through this book, I keep coming across images and photos that a man named Brian Carns had submitted all through this book, page after page after page,” he noted.
The mayor then told Carolyn Carns that it was “really a privilege for us” to “have you in the courtroom (where the council convenes), and so to thank you and recognize your family has been a part of this town for a very long time.”
“And so, as I think about the last eight years of my time here on council, as a councilman, as deputy mayor, now as mayor, I recognize that period of time, two to three years ago, was perhaps the low point of my time here,” Rebstock acknowledged.
He went on to describe that period as having been both “difficult and challenging.”
But given Medford’s current change in leadership (Charles “Chuck” Watson, replaced by Rebstock in January after serving as mayor for nine years but still a council member, having been at the forefront of the legal dispute with the Carns family over citations it was issued for operating a commercial business and keeping commercial vehicles on its property), and having since hired a new manager, Daniel Hornickel, the township, he maintained, now can appreciate the opportunity “to move forward in a really positive way.”
“And so, we just wanted to say thank you, thank you for your patience, thank you for the opportunity to recognize your family tonight,” he told the Carnses.
Brian Carns, after offering his own apology to the council back in January for an untoward comment he had made to the wife of former Zoning Board Chairman Joseph Wolf, at the township reorganization meeting, had told its members that he and his brother David “would love to be able to present our mother, Carolyn, some kind of letter from the township saying, ‘Look, we got a few things wrong.’”
“An apology is what I am getting at,” he said at the time. “Not even to us. It would be to her, on behalf of Medford Township,” adding that he thought it was “something the community would like to see, too.”
Such an apology, he said, would not involve any “liability,” but “would mean a lot to us” and “would bring closure to this, with him adding, “We can move on, we can give my mom something and get on with it, and all get along again.”
But when he then asked Solicitor Timothy Prime whether that was something that could be done, Prime responded, “Brian, I am not going to comment on that,” causing Brian Carns to ask council if it could look into the matter. Rebstock, however, thanked Carns for his apology.
In his report to the council, Hornickel explained why residents using municipal water are currently having their analog water meters replaced by new ones that the township tax collector and Utilities Department have introduced, which utilizes
Browns Mills Congregation Hosts Its First-Ever Presiding Prelate, Marking Significant Chapter in Nearly 80-Year History of Church
For the Pine Barrens Tribune
BROWNS MILLS—In a momentous occasion that will be etched in the annals of the Friendship African Methodist Episcopal Church, the congregation gathered on Feb. 16 to witness an historic milestone under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Samuel L. Hayes, Jr.
On this day, the church proudly hosted its first-ever Presiding Prelate, the 125th elected and consecrated Bishop Samuel Lawrence Green Sr., marking a significant chapter in the nearly 80-year history of the church.
As the presiding bishop for the First Episcopal District – which encompasses seven districts across New Jersey, Philadelphia, New England, Western New York, New York, Delaware, and Bermuda – Bishop Green’s presence signified not only a personal achievement, but also a communal celebration of faith and unity.
The occasion coincided with Friendship’s inaugural annual Roots of Excellence service, an event designed to
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The third school, or School #3, will see major athletic field improvements, including a multi-use turf field, track, pickleball court and volleyball court. Officials also intend to enhance security here as well, in addition to making improvements to lighting.
honor individuals who have exemplified outstanding service to others. This year, the church bestowed the prestigious recognition upon Alexis Dominique Fooks, whose dedication and commitment to her community have inspired many.
The atmosphere within the beautiful sanctuary was electric, filled with joy and excitement as congregants filled both the main sanctuary and the balcony. Uplifting songs performed by the Atlantic City District Choir resonated through the church, creating an environment of worship that uplifted spirits and united hearts.
Additionally, the young dancers from Basic Steps Ballet, a program birthed out of Friendship and led by Nina Burnett, delivered a spiritually inspiring performance that captivated the audience.
Pastors from across the state, as well as representatives from Philadelphia and Delaware, joined in the celebration, reflecting the strong network of faith leaders committed to serving their communities.
The district will receive some 34 percent, or $3.5 million in state aid toward the proposed referendum projects.
“On behalf of the Board of Education, the administrative team, and myself, we have a profound sense of gratitude and responsibility,” Geibel told this newspaper in a March 12 phone interview. “We are acknowledging the recent passage of our school referendum by a narrow margin in the
section of Pemberton
The fellowship and camaraderie among attendees highlighted the strength and resilience of the AME Church.
As the service drew to a close, Bishop Green delivered a rousing sermon titled “It’s All Good,” a powerful message that resonated deeply with the congregation. His words served as a reminder of the blessings of unity and purpose found in faith, leaving attendees with a renewed sense of hope and commitment to service.
community, and I think we really do need to address both the supporters and those with reservations, their dedication and belief in our vision in enhancing the educational environment, with their active participation, their casting of their votes to help us pave the way for our students.”
The referendum had turned controversial, particularly over the ballot question also asking voters to fund the “removal of a solar
Overall, the day was not just an event, according to church leaders, but a historic gathering of worship, inspiration, and community, setting a positive tone for the future of Friendship AME Church and its mission to serve others.
The legacy of leadership exemplified by Rev. Dr. Hayes and Bishop Green continues to inspire and uplift, promising a bright future for the congregation and its outreach efforts, church leaders added.
array,” installed on district grounds back in 2013, with the district having initially maintained to voters that there would be a “cost savings to the district with removal.”
As it turned out, district officials still do not know how much, if any, cost savings the solar array has actually provided the district towards its electric costs following
Worship Guide
Photo Provided
Sean Kennedy (left), sworn in to the Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC) Board of Trustees and elected its new chairman, confers with College President Dr. Michael A. Cioce, who is seated next to Attorney William Burns, sitting in the solicitor’s chair as special counsel, during a Feb. 18 RCBC Board of Trustees meeting.
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Trustee “fatally flawed,” given an initial Search Committee appointed by the allDemocratic Burlington County Board of Commissioners contained elected officials, which is not permissible under state law. Ultimately, on the third try, Kennedy’s appointment was accepted by RCBC officials as the county changed the makeup of the Search Committee to no longer include elected officials.
It made for a somewhat awkward scene, however, as Kennedy sat next to Cioce at the dais upon his being chosen as chairman of the Board of Trustees, at times even consulting with Cioce.
Kennedy, as previously reported by this newspaper, has very strong ties to Democratic lawmakers, and is also a purported close associate of Adam S. Malamut, attorney and managing partner of Malamut & Associates, a firm that had been serving as college solicitor from 2019 up through last year (there is a dispute over whether Malamut & Associates remains in that capacity for 2025).
Malamut, who is reported to also have strong Democratic ties and having wanted to expand his foothold in Burlington County amid a Democratic party takeover of county government, is known to be close friends with powerful 7th District State Senator Troy Singleton. Sources previously claimed to this newspaper that the complaints against Cioce were allegedly filed by the college’s Chief Financial Officer Kevin Kerfoot, a purported relative of Singleton. James Kerfoot, who had been serving on the Board of Trustees as its vice chair, the father-in-law of Singleton, resigned last October amid the feuding.
Sometime during the course of the feuding, Attorney Malamut had cut ties with Glenn Paulsen, the former powerful head of the Burlington County GOP, who when Burlington County government had changed hands from Republican to Democratic control seven years ago, had switched to working for Malamut & Associates. Paulsen’s wife, Jeanne, serves as executive assistant to Cioce, and came to the college president’s defense in October. That is when she shed light on allegations of a nepotism in hiring scheme.
Back in 2022, as Jeanne Paulsen previously pointed out, Malamut’s wife, Nicole L. Tavares, also got hired as the college’s chief administrative officer. She has since left that position, with Kevin Kerfoot having succeeded her in the post.
Since the October 2024 Board of Trustees meeting fireworks, the Trustees had not met up until Feb. 18, with multiple meetings canceled and two members resigning in the interim.
Tyler J. Burrell, a new commissioner on the all-Democratic Burlington County Board of Commissioners, swore in three new members on Feb. 18 to the Board of Trustees, Kennedy, as well as Jannine Veasy (sister of Evesham Democratic Mayor Jacklyn “Jackie” Veasy) and Patricia Kolodi (a former Democratic councilwoman from Delran).
It brought an end to the wrangling between Cioce, Cioce’s office and the commissioners over the selection process that was used to replace those who resigned from the college board in recent months, to also include Lorraine Hatcher and Gina Reed.
Once the three new Trustees were seated on Feb. 18, and before the election of a new chairman, Kennedy said he had “missed the election” of a Board of Trustees secretary being listed on the agenda and “would like to add that.” Cioce, while recognizing some
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County Commissioner Tyler J. Burrell swears in three new members to the Board of Trustees, including Sean Kennedy (top), who leads the New Jersey team for global IT firm CGI and has strong Democratic ties, as well as Jannine Veasy (middle) (sister of Evesham Democratic Mayor Jacklyn “Jackie” Veasy) and Patricia Kolodi (bottom) (a former Democratic councilwoman from Delran).
Photo By Andrew King
Photos By Andrew King Democratic
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caused him to reveal that Tompkins is allegedly no longer a member of the Pemberton Township Republican Club, and the county GOP – word that has followed a tumultuous two years for the mayor, who had ran on the Republican ticket back in November 2022, and since becoming mayor in January 2023, has faced a multitude of allegations involving retaliation.
Elly Premium Laundry is one of two remaining tenants of the Browns Mills Shopping Center, the other being Dr. Lorraine Varela, a podiatrist. The Browns Mills Dairy Queen closed in December after owner John Harp decided to call it quits. The shopping center is dilapidated, and recently, a proposal by New Horizon Properties to tear down the center and replace it with what would be known as Pemberton Commons was approved by the township Planning Board.
But in recent months, it had been revealed that there was a purported change in plans from a prior promise by officials to build the center in phases, which would have allowed any remaining tenants to smoothly transition to new storefronts in any redeveloped center.
Mr. Elly, in light of this change in plans, has been pleading with the township to sell him a vacant Browns Mills Ambulance Squad building just a few blocks away that
has reportedly been empty for 18 years. But while the council maintains it would move to approve the sale, Tompkins reportedly refuses to sign off on any such deal.
The laundromat proprietor, at several council meetings over the last few months, has therefore emotionally pleaded with the mayor to sell him the former squad building.
A high ranking official, who requested anonymity for this story, told the Pine Barrens Tribune on March 6 that Mr. Elly has plans to revitalize the building and would split it with Varela.
Additionally, according to the high-level source as well as another source, the notice of eviction, reportedly giving the tenants 30 days to vacate the premises, was sent to both Mr. Elly and Varela all while the township still owns the center, and any sale of the complex is still some time away, raising questions about the intent behind the timing of the issuance of the notices.
Mr. Elly, in approaching the dais on March 5, declared “I am evicted” from the center “and my time is one month.” He then asked Pemberton officials to observe whether he can “move all those machines in one month,” a reference to the washers and driers in his store.
He contended that they are “computerized” machines, and it is not just as simple as removing some bolts and taking them elsewhere. The machines, he maintained, cost him almost $340,000, have a 15-year warranty
Classified Ad Form
and have only been in use for seven years, with him declaring, “I got eight more years of life on them.”
“I don’t have any place to move to,” the proprietor declared. “I have no problem of moving, but I don’t have any place to move to.”
Township Solicitor Jerry Dasti contended “this was not my idea,” to which Mr. Elly recognized, “I know this was not your idea – I know 100 percent this was not your idea!”, before the proprietor asserted, “Somebody has a screwed mind.”
GOP Council President Joshua Ward responded to Mr. Elly that “we know about
the one month,” but that the council decided during a preceding executive session, “We are going to give you until June 1.”
“I can’t do it!” Mr. Elly snapped. “I got to have a place to move to.”
The proprietor then contended “I have a building” in mind to relocate to, before charging, “Mr. Mayor hates my face, and he doesn’t want to give it to me!”
“All of you have requested (he sell it to me),” Mr. Elly said. “All of these people have requested him (to sell it to me), but he is not going to say ‘yes.’”
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sort of “debate back and forth” prior to the reorganization meeting, contended “in the bylaws, the college president serves as secretary to the Board of Trustees.”
Ultimately, the Trustees did not challenge Cioce’s interpretation of those bylaws and chose to reappoint him as secretary to the board.
The Board of Trustees next voted to elect Kennedy as its new chairman.
Kennedy replaces Dr. Anthony Wright as Board of Trustees chairman, who was absent from the meeting and has been the subject of votes of no confidence by the college’s two largest unions after attempting to get the Board of Trustees this past October to retain the services of a law firm with alleged connections to Attorney Malamut to conduct the investigation into Cioce.
“I had the honor of teaching here history, both Western Civilization and U.S. History, for several years,” said Kennedy upon his being made Board of Trustees chairman.
“It was one of the greatest things I got a chance to do. And then I also was the vice president for six years at Rowan University. And I have been a Burlington County resident for about 25 years. So, I have a deep appreciation for what this institution does.
And I appreciate what you do, Mr. President, and your staff and the faculty. So, it is an honor to be here. So, I want to make sure that whatever perceptions may have existed in the past, that we move forward.”
Kennedy then thanked Jeanne Paulsen and Cioce “for helping me try to get up to speed as quickly as possible,” before calling on the three committees of the Board of Trustees, or what he maintained is the “backbone of this board,” to “try to meet as soon as possible” to catch up on business from the last several months.
“That is not an indictment on anybody who served here before, but I want to make sure that anything that I have something to do with, we are doing the best that we can for the students, and for the residents of Burlington County,” Kennedy declared. “That is all that I care about.”
Kennedy later maintained “I understand that there has been some frustration that existed, I guess, over the past however many months or year, however long it is,” but that “I had nothing to do with that.”
“I was not here,” Kennedy further maintained.
But Kennedy, just eight minutes into the reorganization meeting and before becoming chairman, had moved to “remove” Correspondence from the Board of Trustees’ agenda. He did not explain why he sought its removal.
However, this newspaper, in receiving a news tip, subsequently obtained the correspondence Kennedy sought to have removed from the agenda through an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request.
The Pine Barrens Tribune previously reported that RCBC’s executive staff, following the acrimonious October board session, issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the position of college solicitor, and that Attorney Malamut had objected to the college doing so, claiming his firm has a two-year contract with RCBC. Cioce, this newspaper also previously reported, maintained that the Board of Trustees would have had to award a contract
“renewal” to Attorney Malamut’s firm in November (when the Board of Trustees is supposed to annually reorganize, commencing a new year for the college) and it was simply an “option,” but that the board never met to do just that, and thus the Malamut firm is no longer the college solicitor.
The correspondence contains the backand-forth emails over the dispute, including one that Attorney Malamut labeled Attorney-Client Privilege, but was previously released to this newspaper through an answered OPRA request because, as Cioce had maintained in one of the exchanges, such confidentiality is no longer applicable because Attorney Malamut’s firm is no longer the college solicitor.
However, there is a new letter marked “Attorney-Client Privileged” material from Attorney Malamut, dated Jan. 29, that was included in the Correspondence that was part of the Feb. 18 board session, in which Attorney Malamut apparently wrote to “members of the board” that, “Malamut & Associates, LLC, submitted a proposal for the award of a contract to serve as the Solicitor of Record for the Rowan College at Burlington County, RCBC RFP No. 25-15, notwithstanding the illegal nature of that RFP and the efforts of the college executive staff, without the authorization of the Board of Trustees, to publish such a procurement, and to terminate our firm’s contract with the college.”
He prefaced his email to the board, writing in both all bold typeface and caps, “PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL.”
Also included in the correspondence is an email from Cioce, in which the college president advised the board members, “you should already be aware that a competitive procurement is underway to secure a solicitor of record for the college based upon the full support of the Finance and Facilities Committee in November” and “any unsolicited and unstructured engagement can also lead to procedural irregularities.”
“Accordingly, any outreach from any prospective vendor (including Mr. Malamut or any other member of his firm) to any member of this board would be improper and could lead to disqualification of that vendor and potential ethical charges against the vendor as well,” Cioce wrote.
The board, on Feb. 18, did not take action to appoint a solicitor from amongst the proposals it received. Rather, seated in the college solicitor’s chair was Attorney William Burns, of Hartman Duff, LLC, who works as a special counsel to the college and has known GOP connections. (Burns also serves as solicitor of Woodland Township.)
The board did, however, on Feb. 18, “exercise the one-year option” to appoint Hartman Duff as “special counsel to the college for specific legal matters,” in addition to Weiner Law Group and Madden & Madden.
Attorney Malamut, in his Jan. 29 correspondence, charged that “the president and his executive staff” are trying to “circumvent the authority of the board as retaliation against our firm for terminating a business relationship with the husband of the president’s executive assistant.”
Attorney Malamut goes on to allege that the president and his executive staff have made “repeated” comments “about me and our firm” that are “defamatory, libelous and slanderous,” asserting, “interestingly, the president in his libelous communication(s) discusses our firm’s fees for legal services,
which were reduced by almost half after the termination of the husband of the president’s executive assistant.”
He then pointed to the present RFP package containing a “conflict of interest disclosure.”
“Transparency is of course paramount, and I had no reservation signing this disclosure,” Attorney Malamut wrote. “Ironically, it appears that the college executive staff was receiving legal advice from William F. Burns, Esq., of the law firm of Hartman Duff, LLC, notwithstanding that Mr. Burns is the personal legal counsel for Jeanne and Glenn Paulsen, the president’s executive assistant and her husband, my former employee. Mr. Burn’s involvement with the executive staff over this RFP, and other matters, was not legal services that he and his firm performed for the benefit of the college, but instead for his own benefit, and for the benefit of the college president and his executive staff.”
Attorney Malamut continued that since serving as college solicitor since 2019 with the present firm, and in years before that in the capacity of another law firm, the Board of Trustees “never” questioned renewing or extending solicitor’s contracts, but it was only in 2024, or after an attorney’s services (an apparent reference to Glenn Paulsen) for Malamut & Associates were terminated, did “the college executive staff suddenly question our firm’s ability to continue to serve as counsel to the college,” reiterating that the “attorney’s wife is currently employed by the college as the executive assistant to the college president.”
“We believe that the actions of the college executive staff, utilizing public resources, are inextricably linked to that private contract termination matter,” Attorney Malamut charged. “Those actions further amount to the tortious interference with our firm’s contract with the college, and as a vendetta being carried out by the executive staff in response to a private employment matter.”
He went on to charge that “the actions of the executive staff not only create a potential liability for the college, but where the actions of the executive staff are unauthorized and ultra vires (defined as acting or done beyond one’s legal power or authority), they render officials in the executive staff liable in both their official and personal capacities.”
(Burns later told this newspaper, when asked if he had a response to the allegations, “The legal services and representation I have provided to Rowan College at Burlington County - whether in my former role as college solicitor or in my current capacity as special counsel — have always been carried out in furtherance of the institution’s best interests as a whole.”)
The board members, according to Attorney Malamut, should “be concerned” with what he described as “multiple and various attempts by the college president and the executive staff” to “circumvent the board’s authority in this matter,” including “the issuance of an unauthorized procurement for professional services and the failure to notice and address the continuation of our contract with our firm and let it expire on a time basis.”
He also maintained there is “unclear validity of any contract between the college and Mr. Burns and his law firm, and the authority under which he continues to serve the interests of the college president, which are in direct conflict with that of the college.”
Attorney Malamut further charged the “actions of the college executive staff, by its terms, has left the college and its Board of
Trustees without the services of legal counsel, which is improper from any perspective.”
He concluded his letter by calling on the board, “under the circumstances,” to withdraw and/or cancel the RFP for legal services, vowing that, “under the circumstances, our firm will continue to serve the college in the second year of our contract, and without the tortious interference of the college executive staff.”
Cioce, however, in responding to an earlier communication from Attorney Malamut, wrote, “In his communication, Mr. Malamut seemingly contends that in order for a procurement to proceed, the Board of Trustees must first authorize the advertisement for any such procurement, including one for legal services,” but that, “Mr. Malamut cites no statute, regulation or bylaw articulating that requirement, nor can he, because none exists.”
He added for the Trustees to “note” that at the November Finance and Facilities Committee meeting, “Trustees considered and declined to recommend exercising the one-year extension option in the Malamut contract, thereby necessitating the procurement which is now underway.”
Cioce continued that, “Furthermore, notwithstanding the fact that there is no duty to do so, relevant Malamut staff was advised of the pending procurement and promptly responded to obtain a copy of the RFP so that a proposal could be timely crafted and submitted on behalf of the Malamut firm.”
An attorney who claimed to be representing Cioce at the raucous October Board of Trustees meeting, Scott Coffina, also a former Burlington County prosecutor, apparently responded to Malamut’s Jan. 29 correspondence, on Jan. 31, as Malamut memorialized in a follow-up Feb. 3 letter he also marked as an “Attorney-Client Privileged” communication sent to the board. In that letter, Attorney Malamut charged Coffina is the “personal counsel for Dr. Cioce” and therefore “he does not represent the college president in his official capacity, and he has no authority to offer legal advice either on behalf of the college president, nor to the college board, neither of whom is his client.”
Attorney Malamut goes on to charge it was “improper” for Coffina, “in the context of advocating for his client in his personal capacity, to attempt to serve as kind of (a) ‘fact-finder’ concerning any issue in this matter, and likewise it was improper for him to communicate directly to you, when you are represented by counsel (me and our firm).”
He went on to decry attorney-client privileged material being “leaked” to a “media outlet,” alleging it was “most likely by the college president and his staff,” asserting “the decision to waive any such privilege ultimately rests with the Board of Trustees.” Not included in the Correspondence for the Feb. 18 session was Coffina’s letter. No public objections to Burns sitting in the solicitor’s chair as special counsel to the college were heard at the Feb. 18 proceedings. At the Feb. 18 Board of Trustees reorganization session, Kennedy appointed new members to the Board’s committees, including the Finance and Facilities Committee that will presumably make recommendations in the matter, appointing Veasy to it, as well as Gino A.
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The proprietor went on to assert “we are dealing with that kind of person as mayor,” pointing out “we already have many lawsuits,” before warning “many more are going to come!”
In recognizing that the legal filings emanating from other claims of sexual harassment and retaliation at the hands of the mayor will likely pose a significant cost to the township, Mr. Elly, in questioning how the township plans to be able to pay for them, declared, “Maybe God dropped some money from the sky.”
“Now, I am here!” Mr. Elly asserted. “I need a place to move to! And I am not going to move and put my machinery in a storage room because with the weather conditions, those machines can get mildew and mold, and those machines will (no longer) be good.”
He added the machines would have to be “dumped” should the water lines develop mold while in storage.
Mr. Elly declared the mayor was acting like a “dictator,” and imposing a “dictatorship,” before asserting that “everyone knows” the “difference” in leadership between Tompkins and his predecessor, David Patriarca.
“That man (Patriarca) will come and ask you at the store what is going on,” Mr. Elly contended. “But this man (Tompkins) will avoid you!”
The proprietor then became animated in maintaining that following the election in which Tompkins defeated Patriarca, the current mayor allegedly said, ‘“Mr. Elly, without you I would not have done it” and ‘“When I go into that building as ‘a boss,’ I will get you anything you want,”’ but then upon him commencing his mayoral term, purportedly told him, ‘“I am not going to give you anything for free.’”
Mr. Elly further maintained “I am a Christian” and “I don’t give anybody bribes.” Mr. Elly then turned to the public, declaring, “All of these councilmen say, ‘Mr. Elly, we are going to help you.’ They cannot help because his voice is too loud! They are all scared of him! All of them are afraid to say anything!”
It led Councilman Matthew Bianchini to maintain, “We are not scared.” The proprietor, however, only became more vocal, proclaiming of the council, “Mr. Mayor, let them do their job!” Mr. Elly then charged that Tompkins would not get re-
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the unit’s installation. It is the result, Geibel previously recognized late last month, of the district having changed accounting systems, as well as having added chillers around the same time the solar array had been installed (with the likely additional draw of electricity from the chillers perhaps having potentially been responsible for negating any possible cost savings).
At one point, Geibel recognized that there may be some validity to the claims of some, including solar experts, that there may actually be a savings being realized, and hence, the school board initially voted to maintain the solar array if the question passed, but then, after some
elected, before turning to the audience to ask how many would re-elect him. All that was observed was apparent snickering from the audience, with no hands seen raised.
Tompkins, having faced repeated criticisms and calls to resign over the past two years during council sessions, has been observed to simply stare straight ahead or look down on his cellphone, appearing largely unphased by the comments or events. But for the first time in all of this, the mayor, a veteran, seemed to be visibly jolted by what Mr. Elly had to say to him next.
“You have only military experience,” Mr. Elly declared. “Shoot(ing). And you’re shooting people! You don’t know the public – how it works. Public dealing is different than the military, shooting!”
Ward told Mr. Elly to yield to Bianchini, also a retired colonel who reportedly at one time was a supervisor to Tompkins when the mayor was in the service. Bianchini then offered a public apology for a “slight outburst” that occurred in executive session which he maintained is “very uncharacteristic for him.”
“I had the outburst, but I meant what I said,” declared Bianchini, pointing to the mayor. “You need to resign! You don’t care about these people!”
Bianchini pointed to “Dr. Varela” who has “patients,” before repeating, “You don’t care about them! You need to resign!”
Bianchini, in referring to resident Vicky Adams’ push to try once again to mount a recall against Tompkins (after being unsuccessful the first time), asserted, “if I went out to get signatures with Ms. Adams, we would get those signatures.”
“Jack, I sat in a meeting with you yesterday,” Bianchini said. “You are a different person outside of being the mayor! You are not qualified for this job! You need to step down, period!”
It caused Mr. Elly to shout, “You are right! You are 100 percent right!”, while the audience largely applauded Bianchini.
Republican Councilman Dan Dewey then provided Mr. Elly “advice,” telling him to contact his attorney, declaring, “I will guarantee you that I could probably get up five guys to help you with your deposition,” an apparent reference to the five GOP councilmen.
Dewey, who appeared visibly agitated, in referring to the mayor, also asserted, “whatever you want to call him over there,” before adding of Tompkins, “he shouldn’t even be there!”
Republican Councilman Harry Harper
backlash about ballots already being out on the streets, reversed course and vowed to proceed with the removal, but yet reevaluate the situation once an independent auditor weighs in upon reviewing the complete financial history, still reportedly being collected. Also, it was revealed in the process of the election already being underway that the district learned that the holding company for the array is purportedly responsible for the cost of its removal.
The district sought $200,000 through the referendum for the removal of the solar array, though the superintendent has emphasized that amount reflects just a “small portion” of the proposed referendum projects, and this was also an item that was not eligible for state aid. Additionally, an electric rate increase, recently approved by the state Board of
also laid into the mayor, contending, “we have tried to work with the mayor,” but he “only wants to work with us when it is something he wants!”
“He doesn’t want to work with us when it is something the people need, or the businesses want,” added Harper, while Mr. Elly could be heard shouting in anguish. “If it is not on his agenda, it is not going to happen!”
Harper called on Tompkins to “resign immediately, if not sooner!”
“He does not care!” the councilman charged. “That is all there is to it.”
Harper, however, continued that the five Republican councilmen “want to make this town the best place it can be, but we cannot do it” because of “that guy over there,” and despite having held closed door conversations with him, “when a conversation turns not his way, he shuts us off.”
Dewey, meanwhile, accused Tompkins of being an “outsider,” declaring, “he is the worst outsider who ever moved to our town!”
Republican Councilman Perry Doyle told Mr. Elly “you have five votes up here to get that building,” or the old squad building, but “unfortunately, the one vote that you need, the only vote that you need, you are not going to get.” He then said of the mayor that he is “stubborn” and “rude,” and charged his behavior is “disrespectful to the residents.”
Harper maintained that Tompkins “says he has got bigger plans for that building,” or the old squad building, but charged, “he has no plans!”
“And guess what?” Harper said. “Those ‘plans,’ even if he does have them, come to council. And I will tell you what, right now, I know there is one ‘no,’ if not five ‘no's’ up here, for anything else you think you'll bring up for that corner up there!”
Public Utilities and due to commence in June, might have since changed the calculation, Geibel previously acknowledged.
“To those who have concerns, we recognize and respect their apprehensions regarding some of the initiatives,” Geibel told this newspaper on March 12.
She said of those with apprehensions that “their perspectives are invaluable,” adding, “we are committed to addressing them with transparency and inclusivity,” and vowed that “our goal is to ensure that every voice is heard, and we will consider them as we move forward.”
As previously reported by this newspaper, 511 mail-in ballots were already received by county election officials when the new information pertaining to the solar array had come to light. With a preliminary turnout figure of 1,612 voters, it has meant that about 32
Harper then alleged that the mayor even tried to “illegally” tear down the old squad building “last week.”
(The high-ranking official who later spoke to this newspaper on a condition of anonymity claimed that Tompkins had sought a permit from the Community Development Office prior to the council meeting, to have the building demolished, and was allegedly planning to have Public Works do the work, but that the director of Community Development purportedly did not sign off on issuing a permit.)
Harper, in referring to the alleged attempt by the mayor to have the building of interest to Mr. Elly torn down, declared, “We are not going to let this stuff happen!”
Once again, Mr. Elly shouted from his seat. When he spoke at the dais, his daughter was overcome with emotion and had to leave the room twice.
Local Jonathan Duff, who recognized that Mr. Elly’s daughter was in tears, pointed out that the township had acquired the Browns Mills Shopping Center through eminent domain, and therefore he maintained, the township is “required to provide relocation assistance to Mr. Elly.”
“It is a shame, it is a disgrace, and God has judgment in store for you and me, sir,” said Duff, a former GOP candidate for the Burlington County Board of Commissioners, to Tompkins.
Meanwhile, regular council meeting attendee America Phillips declared of the old squad building that the “building is owned by all the residents in Pemberton Township,” and at prior council sessions, “all the residents” had expressed a desire
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/ Page 11
percent of ballots were cast before the new information had come to light.
While the result of the special election got a mostly positive reception on social media March 12 (there were some gripes about rising taxes and athletic facilities already being provided by the township), at least one local surmised whether someone might possibly mount a legal challenge in an attempt to invalidate the results given what had taken place.
Otherwise, as Geibel maintained on March 12, this will be the first time in Southampton’s history that a school referendum question passed on the first try.
“Thank God,” reacted resident MaryKay Smith-String on social media. “In my opinion, somehow … how this benefits our children got left out of the conversation. I don’t mind my taxes going up $29, if it is for them. Thank you all who didn’t forget our kids.”
Photo Provided
Residents and councilmembers attend to “Mr. Elly,” proprietor of Elly Premium Laundry, after he suffered an apparent medical episode that followed his having confronted Mayor Jack Tompkins, looking on, during a March 5 Pemberton Township Council meeting.
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COMMUNITY
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software that is able to be read remotely.
These state-of-the-art “radio read” meters are currently in the process of being installed throughout the municipality, he told the Pine Barrens Tribune
“It is not going to change anybody’s bills,” Hornickel said.
He added that residents will continue to get their bills at the same time as before.
“Our billing is just going to become more efficient,” he contended, explaining that “now we can drive by and be able to read (the meters)” rather than having to send somebody out to look at them.
A resolution adopted as part of the consent agenda, “authorizing a request for proposals (RFP) for the redevelopment of the former township library property” at 39 Allen Avenue, prompted Zach Wilson, a member of the Medford Village Subcommittee, to offer a criticism of the way the council was going about promoting the availability of the property and to urge it to “rise above” simply authorizing a contract.”
“I think that if you ask around town, there are still people that have their reservations and concerns about the last time we did an RFP for a public property, that they wanted more openness, even if acknowledging that you followed the absolute minimum that was required,” Wilson told the council. “I have stood up here and asked for more than the minimum, for you to proactively engage the public around us. And every step of the way
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with this building, you haven’t really done anything beyond just putting it on the agenda and bringing it up in the council meeting.”
Wilson told officials, “I ask you to do more than just the bare minimum … to treat it like the important town matter that it is,” noting that he had “asked this of you every time I have seen it on the agenda since it's come up.”
The response of town officials to Wilson’s admonition was a positive one, beginning with Rebstock commenting that “we certainly affirm everything that you have said.”
“We recognize that you have been incredibly faithful to come and remind us of these things,“ he added, asserting that “we have taken many of your items to heart.”
The mayor also pointed out that while 30 days is the minimum time for an RFP to be put forth, the township had extended it for this particular one to 60 days to provide “an additional layer of access for everyone.”
Hornickel further noted that approval of the resolution would allow a sign to be posted at the front of the building and enable people to respond to the request at the township website.
Solicitor Tyler Prime then explained that once authorized, the RFP could then be advertised on the township's Facebook page, website, newsletters or “whatever you want.”
Wilson, for his part, called the township’s reaction to his criticism “a positive improvement,” adding “you don’t always see that in a government.” He said he appreciated what the council was doing.
“Well, you are a giant part of it,” Rebstock replied. “So, we appreciate your comments.”
He then thanked Wilson for serving on the committee.
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SPECTACLE
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that they “wanted to pass it on to Mr. Elly.”
As she asked, “What are we doing?” and made several assertions, including, “Please pass on this building. He has got the money,” Mr. Elly, seated in the front row, showed signs of what many attendees believed were symptoms of some sort of medical episode. It was enough for Bianchini to jump up from his seat, leave the dais and tend to the proprietor, while resident Marie Reynolds rushed a bottle of water to him. Bianchini then left council chambers, quickly returning with another bottle of water,
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Pasqualone (also chosen as the Board of Trustees’ new vice chairman) and Board Member Dorion Morgan.
Pasqualone’s LinkedIn profile page identifies him as a “business rep” for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), while Morgan, a sevenyear board member, is an attorney at
Reynolds & Sons Tree Service
while other members of council and the public came to Mr. Elly’s aide, observing the proprietor was “shaking” and “holding his left arm.” Ward ultimately paused the meeting. Doyle grabbed his phone and dialed 911. But Tompkins, as several observed, simply looked on at the unfolding scene.
Two nurses in the crowd were among those who tended to Mr. Elly, while the proprietor’s daughter returned to her father, eventually rubbing his head and back.
Tompkins ultimately got up from his seat, and motioned for Dasti to come into a side conference room with him. After a brief time behind the scenes with the township attorney, the mayor returned to council chambers, grabbed his belongings and left the room.
After several minutes had passed, Mr. Elly was able to walk on his own out of the meeting room, though he was escorted outside to where an ambulance was reportedly waiting. He was evaluated on scene, eyewitnesses said, but ultimately went home to rest and not to the hospital.
When council finally resumed its proceedings, flashing red emergency
law and former agent for the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office who worked in its Victim/Witness Unit in the 90s.
Kennedy, in maintaining on Feb. 18 that he was not part of the squabbling, tried concluding the meeting by maintaining, “I look forward to working with the president and his entire team here at RCBC, and doing what we can to make this an even greater institution than it already is,” further declaring, “I am here now, and I want to make this as positive and as productive as possible.”
lights could be seen for a short time from the windows of council chambers. And Tompkins, when the meeting was reconvened, was not present. He never returned.
Doyle, during council comments at the end of the wild proceedings, spoke of the mayor’s “reaction tonight when we had a medical issue here,” declaring, “he walked out on us.”
“He took the time to look back at me at the door as he exited, so that I saw him leaving,” Doyle alleged. “That is a disgrace, and that is not the way you leave your residents!”
Doyle charged that Tompkins has “turned his back” on the residents and that “he took a position he is not qualified for!” The councilman, who previously appeared to defend the mayor somewhat during an early February council session, this time around, asserted, “I am going to politely appeal to the mayor and ask him to please step down from his position.”
“He does not have the best interests of our residents at heart, our businesses,” Doyle claimed. “We have two businesses, right now, that are literally going to be, as they said tonight, out on the streets and (there is) zero reaction (from Tompkins).”
In addition to the laundromat dispute, the council members expressed angst on March 5 over Tompkins’ purported refusal to review more than one application for the business administrator post, which is currently vacant.
Several of the council members vowed
The new chairman also spoke of his “prerogative” to “allow the students to go to one of the best institutions in New Jersey” and “allow the taxpayers to get what they are paying for.”
But it was Morgan, also the board’s Treasurer, who got the last word, reminding the board of an October vote among its then-makeup to “do an investigation into several investigations” (the board had voted to have Cioce investigated, claiming it has a responsibility to follow up on all complaints it receives about the college’s
not to act on any additional requests of the mayor, in moving forward, following the business administrator dispute and the laundromat situation, unless it is necessary to keep the town running.
“He is in over his head, and I would really, really appreciate it if he would step down,” said Doyle to applause.
Ward then revealed that “the Republican Club of Pemberton Township asked him to, and then “they pretty much said ‘get out.’”
“So, he is no longer a member of the Republican Club or the county GOP,” Ward charged.
Bianchini, meanwhile, thanked those who came to Mr. Elly’s aid, declaring, “He was in need of help,” before charging, “The one person, our leader, our CEO, left, as Mr. Doyle had said. That speaks to his character, which is none.”
“We have all tried to work with him,” Bianchini declared. “I tried to leverage my relationship as a fellow veteran. Perry tried to leverage his relationship as a former police officer and township employee. We have tried. We are out of options. There is nothing else that we can really say. He needs to resign. Period. No discussion. That is the end of it. Will he? Probably not.
So, short of bringing this township to a standstill, nothing is going to move in this township unless it is just to keep the township moving. We will not work with him going forward. And I want that on the record.”
executive officers).
“That RFP went out,” Morgan said. “We did not receive appropriate applicants, so we re-submitted that, and the deadline, I believe, for that is next week. So, we will be ready at the March meeting, I believe.”
The RCBC Board of Trustees is due to meet again on March 18 at 5:30 p.m.
On March 11, Alexander Costa, a Pemberton community activist and student at RCBC, observed Cioce giving Kennedy a tour of the college, and the two posing for a photo. He also grabbed one for the newspaper.
