Indicted ex-Mercer County park boss wants to revive civil lawsuit, costs taxpayers more money
TRENTON » The indicted former boss of Mercer County’s park system continues to accuse County Executive Brian Hughes of wrongful termination, false statements and coercion.
Kevin Bannon, 62, of Lawrence Township, is seeking to revive his dismissed lawsuit against Hughes and Co. while he remains under criminal prosecution by the state Attorney General’s Office.
Bannon served as executive director of the Mercer County Park Commission from 2004 until June 2016, losing his job amid a state investigation that eventually led to a grand jury indictment.
The grand jury handed up a 10-count indictment on Nov. 1, 2017, charging Bannon with six counts of second-degree official misconduct, one count of second-degree 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 on allegations he derived nearly $90,000 in benefits for himself by mishandling public funds and property belonging to the park commission or county government.
Authorities accuse Bannon of widespread public corruption, alleging he used six different schemes in January 2013 through June 2016 to divert money from the Mercer County Park Commission to his nonprofit organization known as the Friends of Mercer County Parks. Authorities further 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.”
Bannon’s attorney John S. “Jack” Furlong filed a motion seeking to get Bannon’s indictment dismissed, but a Superior Court judge denied the motion earlier this year, records show.
With his client facing serious charges, Furlong 12 months ago filed an amended complaint on Bannon’s behalf, suing Hughes and other county officials in Mercer County civil court in pursuit of damages.
Superior Court Judge William Anklowitz on April 9, 2019, ordered the case to be dismissed without prejudice, saying: “As the parties do not appear interested in the case or the motions, they are dismissed.”
Eleven months later, Furlong filed a motion requesting Anklowitz to restore Bannon’s former complaint to the active docket: “I intended no disrespect to the court,” Furlong said in a court certification filed March 6, “and I certainly was not disinterested in the case as suggested by the court’s order of April 9, 2019.”
Furlong in 2019 had “serious medical issues,” he says in the filing, adding his lack of punctuality in this case is therefore “excusable neglect.”
Bannon’s amended complaint comprised seven counts and accused the defendants of violating New Jersey’s Civil Rights Act. Specifically, Bannon said Hughes and Co. had utilized “threats, intimidation or coercion” and “false statements” affecting his employment and reputation in Mercer County.
Bannon, a former Rutgers men’s basketball coach who lost that job under fire in 2001, further said Team Hughes had terminated him “without cause” from his powerful park commission job and says he suffered “substantial medical and psychological distress” and that his wife Cindy Bannon “lost the society and comfort of her husband for an extended period of time” as a “direct and proximate result of defendants’ conduct and statements.”
Bannon’s dismissed litigation will be restored to active status if and when Anklowitz grants Furlong’s motion to vacate the April 2019 dismissal order. The case is currently closed, but the judge is expected to make a decision on Furlong’s motion within the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, Mercer County taxpayers remain on the hook as Bannon continues to pursue legal action against Hughes, chief of staff Kelvin Ganges and other county brass in their official capacities.
Last December, the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders awarded another $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. The renewed contracts run from Nov. 1, 2019, through Oct. 31, 2020.
To date, the Mercer County freeholder board has approved more than $500,000 in contracts for professional legal services in response to the state’s AG probe and Bannon’s litigation.
In the criminal case, Bannon has entered not guilty pleas to all counts and has demanded a trial on the merits. If convicted of official misconduct or pattern of official misconduct, he could serve up to 10 years in state prison. The minimum punishment would be five years of straight incarceration.
Mercer County has a policy not to comment on pending litigation.
Aaron T. Watson is the current executive director running the Mercer County Park Commission in the post-Bannon era.