Asbury official touted honesty at time of alleged corruption
Published in the Asbury Park Press 02/23/05
By NANCY SHIELDS COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU
Two days after Councilman John Hamilton won a new term in May 2001, he
said publicly that he realized he would not get to be mayor, a post he
had desperately sought, because he was not the top vote-getter of the
five elected council members.
But he stated, with his usual public confidence, why he believed he
should be chosen.
"We need someone with knowledge, with experience, and who hasn't
compromised himself," Hamilton said.
It was also in May 2001, federal authorities charged on Tuesday, that
Hamilton, began talking with a construction and demolition contractor
to get a driveway installed at his Drummond Court home in exchange for
Hamilton's help to get public contracts for the contractor's company.
By Aug. 3, 2001, the contractor, who was cooperating with the FBI and
secretly taping Hamilton, installed the driveway, telling Hamilton he
normally would charge $5,000 to $6,000. Hamilton asked the FBI's
cooperating witness for a receipt that would show he had paid $1,000
even though he had not paid anything, the government charges.
At one point during Hamilton's appearance Tuesday in U.S. District
Court, he said he surrendered a pistol to authorities, but prosecutors
told the judge that he also had a shotgun and five rifles in the
house. After some back-and-forth with FBI agents, Magistrate Judge
Ronald J. Hedges told prosecutors to check with Asbury Park police to
see if there were any other guns in Hamilton's home.
Hamilton's arrest came as the 55-year-old politician was expected to
soon launch a campaign for a new four-year term in the May elections.
He was not aligned with the council majority, which is expected to
seek new terms on one ticket.
On Sunday, two days before his arrest, Hamilton was a featured speaker
at area rallies against the use of eminent domain.
"He was saying everything we wanted to hear," said Asbury Park
businesswoman Rita Marano, one of the organizers of the rallies. "I
was really shocked (by the arrest)."
Marano said a ticket she is backing was forming to run with Hamilton
in May, and she did not know at this point what would happen.
Hamilton has a lifetime disability pension from suffering an
electrical shock while working for Essex County government in his late
20s. Over the years, he did volunteer work in community and state
programs. He moved to Asbury Park in the early 1990s.
"It's just unfortunate," Mayor Kevin Sanders said Tuesday night. "I
know it's still America, and we have to have due process first. This
isn't going to stop anything from going forward. We're bringing the
city back. Nothing's going to change that."
City Manager Terence Reidy said the city "will just have to let the
investigation play itself out and keep our priorities straight about
taking care of the city."
"If he's innocent, I support him 100 percent," said Barbara Knight,
Second Avenue, a long-time Hamilton backer. "I won't support him if
he's not innocent. . . . He's the only one on the council who really
spoke up for the community and cares about the community."
"I think it's wrong," said 17-year-old Malik Dawn, Mattison Avenue, of
Hamilton's actions, if true. "It's not the right thing to do."
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