Logan Township Mayor Frank Minor can't make questions about his expenses disappear just by repaying a small amount of disputed bills.
Logan Township Mayor Frank Minor's apology last week for double expense reimbursement came with a vow to visit a certified public accountant.
It's rare enough to get an apology from an elected official. So, along with his promise to return $990 to Logan (which he now seems to admit was double-billed), Minor may think that offering to hire a CPA to peruse his election finance reports will wipe the slate clean. It's not enough.
First, Minor's repayment covers only expenses for New Jersey Conference of Mayors events between 2009 and 2012. Minor was reimbursed by the township, in addition to paying these bills from his Friends of Frank Minor account. And, that's only a portion of potential problems uncovered in a NJ Advance Media examination of the records, which also include expenses paid by the Delaware River and Bay Authority. Minor works there as a$160,000-a-year as deputy executive director.
MORE: Logan mayor has expense explaining to do: Editorial
In an email last week, Minor called the mayors' conference situation a mistake, stating that duplication occurred "during a time when I was without a (political committee) treasurer and was attempting to file the election law reports on my own." He writes that he stopped getting Logan Township payments for the conferences after 2012, once realizing that "the line between what is township business and what is political business may overlap."
"Blurred Lines" is poor excuse for a song written/stolen by Robin Thicke and Pharrell. It's an even worse excuse for why Minor didn't repay his township for three years after supposedly discovering his error. And, having an accountant review his state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) filings won't settle questions over mileage reimbursements that Minor allegedly received at the same time he submitted separate gasoline bills.
Last year, Minor challenged Donald Norcross, the Democrats' anointed First District congressional candidate, in a party primary. This has led to much speculation that revelations of the mayor's expense issues are "payback" from Donald's brother, South Jersey power broker George Norcross III. If there's a whiff of Norcross-style "opposition research" here, it's an irrelevant observation.
Nor does it follow that Minor should get a pass because taxpayers fund Gov. Chris Christie's presidential campaign security, and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney uses campaign funds to wine and dine political buddies. Like it or not (and the rules are often too loose), these expenditures have been classified as legal. Collecting twice, if done knowingly, is fraud.
Forget the CPA. If Minor wants people to know he's honest, he should invite the state attorney general's office to look at all of his expenses. If he won't, someone else ought to make the same request.
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