Council To Ask County Prosecutor to Investigate Councilman for Official Misconduct

Common Council will formally ask the office of County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow to investigate Councilman Tom Getzendanner on charges of official misconduct stemming from allegations that he asked the city's lawyer to commit insurance fraud last year.

"I don’t think the public will be satisfied with anything less," said Councilman Michael Vernotico, who made the motion.

Council contracted former Union County Superior Judge Edward Beglin Jr. in late December 2010 to conduct an which found that Getzendanner did in fact ask City Solicitor Barry Osmun to commit insurance fraud.

Council then unanimously passed a resolution Feb. 15 asking for Getzendanner to voluntarily which he refused to do. Council President Dave Bomgaars informed residents present at the Feb. 15 meeting that after stripping Getzendanner of his seats on the finance and law committees and from the Board of School Estimate that the only remaining option was a recall election, which could not be started until 50 days prior to the last day of the current year of the elected official's term. However, Osmun explained another possible recourse Tuesday night.

State statute allows the city to request the prosecutor's office investigate these allegations. If it is determined there is enough evidence for a trial, one will occur. If Getzendanner is found guilty, he would be automatically removed from office.

The resolution was approved 5-2. Councilwoman Ellen Dickson and Getzendanner were the two dissenting votes. Osmun asked that City Administrator Chris Cotter be the one to submit the request to the prosecutor's office since Osmun will inevitably be a witness in this case along with City Clerk David Hughes.

However Mayor Jordan Glatt pleaded with Getzendanner to resign now. 

"Tom, you're wasting our time right now. I plead for you let us get on with city business," he said. "Step aside."

Glatt said that he and the rest of the council members signed on for controversies about expected topics, but the Getzendanner incident has embarrassed all of them and begged Getzendanner to think long and hard about resigning.

"We are not going to heal until that happens. It’s not getting better, it’s getting worse," Glatt said. "I really think that you need to consider the good of the city and the good of this counsel and step aside."