Alleged crook sues Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes amid criminal proceedings
TRENTON >> Alleged crook and former Mercer County Park Commission boss Kevin Bannon is suing Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes as he continues to maintain his presumption of innocence in his public corruption case.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office in April 2016 raided the offices of the Mercer County Park Commission’s facilities in Hopewell Township and West Windsor as part of an investigation into fiscal malfeasance. Bannon served as park commission director from 2004 until June 2016, losing his job amid a state investigation that eventually led to a grand jury indictment.
The Mercer County Park Commission ousted Bannon by refusing to renew his annual contract. Bannon calls his ouster a “wrongful termination” and wants to be compensated with punitive damages and any other relief the court deems appropriate.
Kevin Bannon and his wife Cindy Bannon jointly filed a lawsuit against Hughes and county employee Kelvin Ganges in Mercer County Superior Court’s Law Division last June. Ganges is Hughes’ chief of staff. The Bannons say they have experienced “substantial pain and suffering” as a result of the state’s criminal probe and accuse Hughes and Ganges of failing to protect them from harm.
Kevin Bannon, 61, of Lawrence Township, is accused of using six different schemes to divert money from the Mercer County Park Commission to his nonprofit organization known as the Friends of Mercer County Parks. Authorities allege that Bannon “corruptly used the Friends organization to divert county funds and expand his power over park facilities and events, while also conferring unauthorized benefits like free golf and VIP concert tickets on himself, his family and his inner circle.”
The state’s ongoing investigation surrounding Mercer County Park Commission resources plus Bannon’s civil lawsuit against Hughes has prompted the Mercer County freeholder board to approve more than $500,000 in contracts for professional legal services.
Last month, the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders awarded a $25,000 contract to Newark-based Genova Burns LLC to represent Hughes and a separate $25,000 contract to Trenton-based Bridges and Snell LLC to represent Ganges in the matter of Bannon v. Hughes and Ganges.
Criminal case
On Nov. 1, 2017, a grand jury handed up a 10-count indictment charging Kevin Bannon with six counts of second-degree official misconduct, one count of seconddegree pattern of official misconduct, one count third-degree theft of services, one count of third-degree theft by unlawful taking and one count of second-degree misapplication of entrusted property.
Bannon is represented by private attorney John Furlong, who has filed a motion seeking to dismiss the indictment. A Feb. 8 motion hearing has been scheduled before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta, court records show.
If Pereksta grants the motion and dismisses the indictment, it would exonerate Bannon of any wrongdoing. A dismissed indictment would also force the state to drop the case, because it is unconstitutional for a defendant to be subjected to double jeopardy in criminal prosecution.
New Jersey Deputy Attorney General Mallory Shanahan is prosecuting Bannon on behalf of the state. Furlong is representing Bannon in the criminal case and is further aiding his client in the Bannon v. Hughes lawsuit.
Bannon sues
Most of the commissioners on the Mercer County Park Commission’s governance board voted to terminate Bannon from employment due to Hughes wanting them to vote that way, according to the allegations in his lawsuit.
In filing their lawsuit, Kevin Bannon and his wife are demanding a trial by jury and monetary compensation in the form of punitive damages. The lawsuit alleges that Hughes and Ganges ordered and directed Kevin Bannon to form Friends of Mercer County Parks, the nonprofit at the center of the state’s public corruption case.
The Mercer County Park Commission is a semi-autonomous public agency funded by the county. Bannon led the park commission as executive director, but he was subjected to supervision by its Board of Commissioners. The Friends of Mercer County Parks nonprofit was formed to support and promote the Park Commission, but authorities say Bannon used the nonprofit for personal gain.
When questioned by investigators, Hughes and Ganges denied having any knowledge of Friends of Mercer County Parks’ activities, according to Bannon’s lawsuit, which alleges that Friends of Mercer County Parks conducted activities under the “specific direction” of Hughes and Ganges.
After the state executed search warrants at the park commission’s offices, Kevin Bannon “suffered substantial medical and psychological distress” and Cindy Bannon “lost the society and comfort of her husband for an extended period of time,” according to their complaint against Hughes and Ganges.
The lawsuit says the “stress of the developing situation by June of 2016 had exacerbated plaintiff Kevin Bannon’s pre-existing heart condition” and caused plaintiff Cindy Bannon to suffer “enormous psychological trauma.”
Bannon served 12 years as executive director of the Mercer County Park Commission before he was canned in June 2016.
If the Bannons prevail in their wrongful termination lawsuit, they could potentially be awarded with large sums of monetary compensation paid for by Mercer County, which gets most of its revenue from taxpayers.
If convicted of official misconduct or pattern of official misconduct, Kevin Bannon could serve up to 10 years in state prison. The minimum punishment would be five years of straight incarceration.
Mercer County has a policy to not comment on pending litigation.
Aaron T. Watson is the current executive director running the Mercer County Park Commission in the post-Bannon era.