Alleged voter fraud under criminal investigation in 3 Shore towns: Prosecutor

FREEHOLD - A criminal investigation into accusations of voter fraud in Monmouth County is underway by the Prosecutor’s Office, according to the law enforcement agency.

“The Prosecutor’s Office can confirm the existence of an active investigation into allegations that certain individuals may have improperly registered to vote and/or voted in a previous election in Monmouth County,” said Mark Spivey, a spokesman for Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago.

The New Jersey Globe, which first reported the allegations, said state and federal law enforcement agencies were probing last week’s non-partisan municipal elections in Allenhurst, Deal and Loch Arbour. The article said election officials were concerned about a voter registration surge after the number of eligible voters increased by nearly 75% in about one year.

“While we cannot discuss any specific details of the investigation at this time, what we can say is that we take any and all allegations of interference with free and fair elections with the utmost seriousness, as ensuring their integrity is a fundamental responsibility of any functioning democracy,” Spivey said in an e-mailed response to questions, which was the same statement the Prosecutor’s Office had provided to the Globe.

In Allenhurst, acrimony over the redevelopment of the former Jersey Central Power & Light properties on Main Street in the downtown area has been festering for years.

The prospective developer, Power Station LLC, and the borough had reached a settlement — resolved through litigation — that would allow for 113 residential units, consisting of townhomes, as well as condominiums or apartments. The developer had initially sought to build 245 units on the site.

Of the planned development, 23 of the units are to be affordable housing, which would still leave the borough short on its affordable housing obligation.

The Allenhurst Taxpayers Association, made up of local property owners, has brought multiple lawsuits against the borough and Power Station LLC, the most current of which aims to overturn the settlement. This affluent Jersey Shore enclave, which had a population of 472 in the 2020 Census and a median household income in 2022 of $95,625, is about 0.25 square-miles in land.

In the May 14 non-partisan municipal elections, Frieda O. Adjmi, Joseph R. Dwek and Theresa Manziano-Santoro were elected to the three-member Allenhurst Board of Commissioners.

The trio pulled off a major political upset by ousting two of Allenhurst’s three commissioners — Richard Cumisky and David J. McLaughlin — in what has now become a controversial election. A third incumbent, Christopher McLaughlin, chose not to run for reelection.

In the race last week, Adjmi received 230 votes; Dwek, 241 votes; and Manziano-Santoro, 251 votes.

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Meanwhile, sitting borough Commissioners McLaughlin and Cumisky received 109 votes and 104 votes, respectively. A third running mate, Mark Horowitz, received 99 votes.

While not members of the taxpayers association, the newcomers belong to the Loch Arbour and Allenhurst Homeowner's Association and in one of their campaign videos shared with the Asbury Park Press, they explained that they were opposed to apartments and could offer a better vision for the future of this affluent Jersey Shore enclave.

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They, however, did not provide comment for this story.

In neighboring Loch Arbour, longtime Mayor Paul V. Fernicola was not reelected to the village’s Board of Commissioners. Another well-to-do but tiny Shore community, Loch Arbour is 0.09 square miles in land and had a population of 224 in 2020 and a median household income of $122,500 in 2022, according to Census data.

However, Fernicola had dropped out of the race last month. In a letter dated April 30 to constituents, the mayor said he was leaving public life “due to the ongoing harassment that myself and my family have endured over the past several months” and urged voters to write-in a candidate of their choice to replace him. He did not elaborate about the nature of the harassment but wrote: “Recent events have made it clear that continuing on the Loch Arbour Board of Commissioners would not be in the best interest of myself and my family. It is with this in mind, I have made the decision to step away from public office in the Village of Loch Arbour.”

Nevertheless, he did not drop out in time to be removed from the ballot and still received 66 votes. Fernicola declined to comment further to the Press.

The other two incumbent commissioners Alfred Cheswick and Denis D’Angelo did not seek reelection.

Candidates Jacob “Jack” Hedaya and Jason Elo each received 105 votes. However, one or more write-in candidates received 222 votes.

A spokeswoman for the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for a list of write-in candidates in the Loch Arbour election.

Only in Deal did the status quo remain intact after the election. That borough, with a land area of 1.18 square miles, had a population of 900 in 2020 and the median household income was $73,380 in 2022, according to Census data.

The incumbents on the three-member Board of Commissioners – Sam Cohen, David Simhon and Jack Kassin – held off challenges from Isaac Chehebar, Samuel Ashkenazie, and Albert Dwek.

Simhon received 243 votes; Cohen, 242; Kassin, 233; Chehebar, 79; Ashkenazie, 47; and Dwek, 49.

Contact Asbury Park Press reporters Dan Radel at dradel@gannettnj.com or Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Alleged voter fraud under investigation in 3 NJ Shore towns: Prosecutor