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ASBURY PARK PRESS :: MONMOUTH EDITION

WEDNESDAY 10.28.15

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THE WRIGHT STUFF: METS CAPTAIN TREASURES SERIES DEBUT. 1C

PROFITS UP UNDER
BENCHED JUDGE
Lawyers say Thompson had a high conviction
rate and pressured defendants into taking deals
$668,491
in 2014

EATONTOWN
$494,706 in 2011

$367,970
in 2014

NEPTUNE CITY
$301,368 in 2011

$342,212
in 2014

BRADLEY BEACH
$263,034 in 2011

APP INVESTIGATION

Avon sues
to stop the
Monmouth
tax program
Officials say residents
cant predict tax bills
SUSANNE CERVENKA @SCERVENKA

Avon will sue the Monmouth County Tax Board in

an effort to stop the embattled pilot property tax program that town leaders say leaves its residents unable
to predict what their tax bill will be from one year to
the next.
In addition to authorizing the lawsuit, the threemember Borough Commission voted unanimously to
send the New Jersey Department of Treasury a letter
asking them to intervene to stop the Assessment Demonstration Program.
The taxpayers of the Borough are victims of this
program which has produced unsubstantiated increase in taxes and created uncertainty as to the future tax liabilities based upon mandated and arbitrary
annual line item (property value) changes arbitrarily
imposed upon the local assessor, the letter said.
Avon Attorney Barry Cooke said he expected to file
the suit by early next week. Action either by the state
or the county board of taxation would make the boroughs lawsuit moot. But Avon officials say they dont
have faith in either entity to act.
We need to protect Avons best interests, ComSee AVON, Page 5A

They had the authority to get us into

the program. They have the authority
to get us out of the program.

Revenue from court fines increased in the above three towns shortly after Richard B. Thompson was appointed municipal
judge. In the background is Thompsons private law office. Thompson has been suspended pending a review by the judicial
conduct committee.

KALA KACHMAR @NEWSQUIP

KATHLEEN HOPKINS @KHOPKINSAPP

At least three Monmouth County towns saw their municipal

court revenues skyrocket shortly after they appointed now-suspended Judge Richard B. Thompson to the bench, an Asbury Park
Press investigation found.
In the three towns, court revenues jumped 22 to 32 percent in the
year after Thompson assumed the bench, budget records showed.
Lawyers who have appeared before the judge told the Press that
Thompson had a high conviction rate and would often pressure defendants into taking unfavorable plea deals.
His goal was to convict and penalize people as greatly as possible, including attorneys who would vigorously defend clients,
one lawyer said on the condition of anonymity, out of concern that
he could face retribution in court. You would be made to sit in
court for great periods of time, which would cost you financially.
Thompson was suspended without pay from his nine municipal
judgeships Friday pending an investigation by New Jerseys Ad-

The suspension order

stated that Thompson may
have violated a rule that
requires a judge to uphold
the integrity and
independence of the
judiciary.

See JUDGE, Page 13A

WALGREENS WILL BUY RITE AID PAGE 1B

Jon Stewart's new gig: Saving animals

JERRY CARINO @NJHOOPSHAVEN

A new animal sanctuary is coming to Middletown.

You may have heard of the owners.
Retired comedy king Jon Stewart and his wife Tracey announced over the weekend that they are turning
their 12-acre farm, purchased in 2013, into a branch of
Farm Sanctuary a national nonprofit that provides
shelter to animals rescued from factory farms.
Were going to build new advocates, new curious

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learners and new leaders for this very important movement, Tracey Stewart announced at a Farm Sanctuary
gala.
It will be the fourth branch of Farm Sanctuary,
which shelters more than 1,000 pigs, cows, sheep, goats,
turkeys and chickens at outposts in New York and California. The organization also works to make factory
farming laws more humane and promotes vegan living.
See STEWART, Page 13A

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VOLUME 136
NUMBER 258
SINCE 1879

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TIM GALLAGHER,

AVON ADMINISTRATOR

State trooper
charged with DWI
following crash
STEPH SOLIS @STEPHMSOLIS
ANDREW FORD @ANDREWFORDNEWS

WALL - A veteran state trooper whose duties included providing security at the Statehouse in Trenton faces drunken driving charges after officials said
he crashed his marked police cruiser Monday afternoon in a Garden State Parkway rest area.
Sgt. First Class Michael Roadside, 51, had an open
container of alcohol in his patrol car when he rear-ended a white Audi in the Monmouth Service Area near
Exit 100 around 2 p.m., according to a news release
Tuesday from State Police. No one was injured in the
crash, described in the release as minor, but Roadside, a 28-year veteran, was immediately relieved of
his duty weapon and taken into custody.
The release announcing the arrest noted that Roadside, who lives in Cinnaminson, had worked a construction detail before the accident; troopers very ofSee TROOPER, Page 13A