New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin has filed criminal charges against the mayor of Clark after an investigation into alleged racial slurs made by Mayor Salvator Bonaccorso. While acting in his official capacity as mayor, Bonaccorso allegedly operated his landscaping and illegal tank removal business out of his township office, using municipal resources to run the company. The charges against Bonaccorso include witness tampering and falsifying records, including using an engineer’s name, license number, and forged signature on permit applications submitted to municipalities for tank removals.
When CBS New York reached out to Clark Township, a spokesperson for Bonaccorso had no comment. Efforts to obtain a comment at the mayor’s residence were unsuccessful. A Clark resident stated that if a mayor or someone else is doing illegal things, they should resign. Another resident commented that Clark is a good place and that Bonaccorso made it better than the previous mayor. However, these comments were made before the charges were announced.
Meanwhile, a 43-page report released by the attorney general’s office has led to criminal charges against several members of the police department in another investigation into alleged racist comments made by Mayor Salvator Bonaccorso. The report states that Black individuals were arrested at a disproportionate rate and that there was a failure to investigate allegations of misconduct within the department. Records obtained by the attorney general’s office were insufficient to charge police officials with wrongdoing, but the police department is now under county supervision as a result of this investigation.