Couple Files Ethics Charges Against Mayor, Others

A Brooklawn Drive couple sent to the State of New Jersey Ethics Board Tuesday a formal complaint against Mayor James Barberio and other Parsippany officials in connection with the .

between town leaders promoting the controversial proposal while sitting on panels that helped create the plan—and having the right to help decide whether the proposal will go forward.

The Ritters, respectively, a corporate finance executive and a decorated Navy veteran, will present their complaint before the Township Council at its Tuesday night meeting.

Named in the Ritters' action in addition to the mayor are the Township Council's respective president and vice president, Brian Stanton and Vincent Ferrara, and member Sharif Shamsudin, who is the chairman of the BOE's Sports Committee.

Specifically, the Ritters are charging the officials with violating the Local Government Ethics Law.

Per the letter sent to Eileen Brennan, of the state Department of Community Affairs, and to the state ethics board:

Several concerned parties feel that:

1. The Open Space Trust Funds cannot be used for this purpose and that several elected officials are using loopholes to disingenuously use the monies, and
2. That there is rampant conflict of interest among the Town Council members, Mayor and BoE members who are in the capacity to vote on this initiative, and have voted, yet they sit on boards and/or actively participate in the private entities who would directly benefit from this project proceeding.

The Ritters' letter also referred to the . 

"The vote netted a result of 3 for and 3 against, which means a no vote. Despite that result, the project has moved on and the town attorney has advised, what we feel to be, back door approaches and moves that compromise the process and policies that currently exist."

T.J. Ritter told Patch he was particularly shocked to see that the Open Space Committee was chaired by Barberio and that the mayor did not recuse himself from the vote.

Barberio told Patch that he did vote during the Open Space Committee's Fields of Dreams polling.

"Yes, I voted to include the high school fields on the list of properties to be acquired because I believe the project should progress through the public process," he said. "The Open Space Committee should not attempt to decide the project."

The mayor also went back to the committee at its Feb. 2 meeting and told the members that  its vote and instead add the Fields of Dreams project to the approved list.

The couple says actions such as the , which they fear demonstrates' local officials' willingness to manipulate law to get their wishes, raise serious questions that warrant state investigation.

Barberio said the charges are without merit.

"I respect Mr. Ritter. As a member of the Navy, he defended the rights of all Americans, including our freedom of speech," he told Patch.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Ritter has recently made some ridiculous and baseless accusations against me and my efforts as mayor to improve the high school fields in Parsippany while raising no new taxes and doing what residents have asked me to do in the past, and that would be to share services with the Board of Education so we can save tax dollars."

Meanwhile, Shamsudin said he could not comment on the charges without having seen the complaint. 

He added that he didn't understand why he was named in the action, given that he is not a member of the Recreation Advisory Committee or the Fields of Dreams Committee.

Barberio said that while the Ritters have the right to speak their minds, they should "choose [their] words carefully."

"Debating the right thing to do is a cornerstone of democracy," he said. "Namecalling and making ridiculous accusations against your opponents makes a mockery of the first amendment."

Kristen Ritter told Patch that the effort she and her husband have launched has nothing to do with namecalling. And she said her charges are anything but ridiculous.

"We have looked into the committees that met for months prior to anyone in the public having knowledge of this project. The mayor and others who will be deciding that were involved. That's clearly a conflict," she said.

She also pointed to the Open Space Ordinance change being proposed.

"If the mayor really thinks this Fields of Dreams is a good project, why doesn't he trust letting it be vetted through the system in a fair and open way?" she asked.

"It is no secret that I am not a fan of the project, but I believe in democracy. If it's a fair vote and the answer is to put in the fields, so be it. We just want the process to be open and fair."

Ritter said that she and her husband will be satisfied if the State Ethics Board comes back with a finding that there was no violation.

"We just want someone independent looking at this," she said. "We will accept the state's decision. We just want this to be fair."

Patch is awaiting responses from Stanton and Ferrara.