NJ Monitor: “Slippery” Sean Spiller Dodges Questions While Attorney General Platkin Sits on the Criminal Investigation of Spiller

The dam really has broken. First, it was the recognition by the New York Times that NJEA leadership was indeed spending teachers’ mandatory, annual dues backing NJEA President Sean Spiller’s ego trip run for governor.  Soon all the major New Jersey news media followed with similar stories.* As a result, after two-and-a-half years of hiding the truth, Spiller was finally forced to admit publicly that teachers’ dues were being spent on his vanity run.

Now Terrence McDonald of New Jersey Monitor has stepped up and covered another scandalous aspect of Spiller’s ego trip run: he remains under ongoing criminal investigation for misusing state health benefits and was forced to plead his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination over 400 times because of the investigation. McDonald also highlights the fact that Attorney General Matt Platkin has sat on the investigation for over two years and has recused himself from the investigation [apparently due to his close ties to Spiller].  This conveniently allowed Platkin to avoid State Sen. Mike Testa’s questioning about the status of the investigation.

Now to the details of McDonald’s excellent work:

• McDonald accurately describes Spiller’s situation as “a years-old scandal” that “no one’s talking about.”  He wonders why Spiller’s Democratic rivals have not questioned Spiller about the investigation. [We think we can answer that: they are scared of the NJEA and want NJEA backing in the general election.]
• Sen. Testa asked Platkin why his office prosecuted the former Wildwood mayor for “fraudulently obtaining” full-time health benefits for his part-time job but has not prosecuted the Spiller, who was accused of the very same thing.  To his credit, Testa noted that the Wildwood case was “pursued aggressively,” while Platkin’s recusal stopped the Spiller investigation “dead in its tracks,” and asked about the discrepancy.  To his discredit, Platkin punted the question and claimed he didn’t know about the status of the investigation.
• Montclair’s CFO, Padmaja Rao, filed a whistleblower lawsuit against then-Montclair Mayor Spiller (among others) which claimed that she informed Spiller that he was ineligible for state health benefits, which then led to retaliation against her. Montclair was ultimately forced to settle the lawsuit for $1.25 million.  [We would add: another Spiller burden to be borne by Montclair taxpayers.]
• Rao’s lawyer noted that Spiller had signed certifications swearing under oath he worked 35 hours a week as mayor at the same time he served as a senior NJEA officer making $397,506 a year in compensation along with full health benefits. During his deposition in the whistleblower case, Spiller was asked how many hours a week he worked, but Spiller pleaded the 5th, as he did over 400 times.
• Spiller’s campaign refused to discuss the case with McDonald and instead sent a statement describing Testa’s comments as “yet another MAGA fueled diatribe.”  [We see that as typical, evasive Spiller.]  In response to McDonald’s question about part-time mayors using taxpayer-funded benefits even when they have full-time jobs that provide those benefits, Spiller evaded the question with a “progressive call for universal health care.”  “Awfully slippery” was McDonald’s description of Spiller’s behavior.

“Awfully slippery” about sums it up for Spiller.  And for Platkin, a blatant hypocrite who spouts off about “pursu[ing] any investigation, without fear or favor and without regard to where it may lead” while sitting on the investigation of Gov. Murphy’s pal Spiller. That also happens to be the case with Murphy’s pal, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who also misused state health benefits, but who doesn’t appear to be under investigation at all.

What a scam. This sort of cronyism and two-tiered system of justice confirms the worst about New Jersey’s poor political reputation.  But very few people seem to care.

Will any reporters other than McDonald speak up? Will any political figures other than Testa ask questions? Or will Murphy’s pals be let off the hook by seemingly corrupt officials like Platkin?

*To be fair, the Star-Ledger (NJ.com) has been on top of the Spiller story for a long time.