Councilman ‘worried’ about employees after latest Rice vote
TRENTON» Hear no evil, see no evil.
Four legislators on Tuesday night killed a councilman’s second attempt to hold clerk Matthew Conlon accountable over allegations that he has bullied city employees since his arrival in the capital city.
“My colleagues are who they’ve proven themselves to be,” councilman Jerell Blakeley, who sponsored the resolution, said after the meeting. “We will continue to have [issues] with this clerk that will reflect poorly on this city.”
The latest attempt to Rice the clerk came days after an explosive Trentonian expose that revealed the clerk was charged with a felony in Florida and had other issues in New Jersey municipalities where he’s worked.
Last month’s Rice attempt of Conlon ended in a 4-3 defeat. The vote took place days after the clerk suffered an apparent medical episode not long after Blakeley walked on the initial resolution that raised how Conlon hadn’t complied with employment terms outlined in an offer letter.
Conlon returned to work a day after being hospitalized with apparent chest pains. A 911 tape, obtained through a public records request, showed Conlon telling the dispatcher that he thought he was having a heart attack.
This time around, Blakeley implored colleagues to reconsider issuing the clerk a Rice letter and discussing his job performance behind closed doors after “several” employees came forward with claims that Conlon has created a hostile work environment at City Hall.
Council President Kathy McBride, who the clerk has described as a friend, was joined by vice president Marge Caldwell-Wilson, George Muschal and Santiago Rodriguez in voting against the latest walk-on Rice resolution.
In an interview Tuesday night, Mayor Reed Gusciora slammed council’s decision not to even entertain a discussion on the clerk’s temperament and job performance.
“They’re only discerning when it’s convenient,” he said.
Conlon, who has made multiple criminal allegations against city employees and called himself a whistleblower since starting as clerk in August, is subject of two ongoing investigations by outside law firms.
One is researching if he has the credentials that he listed on his resume, including whether he passed the 2012 New Jersey bar. The clerk’s name doesn’t appear on lists of people who passed the bar from 2010 to 2020.
A second firm is probing allegations that Conlon has created a hostile work environment after employees complained they were uncomfortable with the clerk’s “aggressive behavior,” Gusciora has said.
The city tapped Inglesino, Webster, Wyciskala & Taylor in November to conduct the credential check on the clerk.
That was initiated after Gusciora contended that McBride declined the administration’s offer to conduct a background check on Conlon.
On Tuesday morning, city resident Mike Ranallo filed an ethics complaint against McBride alleging that she showed favoritism to Conlon by bypassing the background check.
It’s unclear to what extent council members vetted any information that Conlon provided as part of the application and hiring process.
McBride has not returned multiple phone calls seeking comment over the last few weeks.
A city spokesman said this week that all city employees must undergo a New Jersey State Police background investigation before being hired.
Gusciora, a former municipal prosecutor, has said in his experience those investigations reveal only whether someone was charged or convicted of a crime in New Jersey.
Records obtained by The Trentonian showed Conlon was charged in 2003 with felony exploitation of a disabled adult in Florida.
He spent three months in jail after being accused of seizing control of his aunt Joan Nicholson’s estate and mismanaging more than $100,000 of her finances, records show.
Conlon admitted under police interrogation to using some of his aunt’s funds as “a source of income” while he was unemployed, according to the charging document.
Nicholson, who suffered muscular sclerosis, died while the case was pending against Conlon. Prosecutors nolled the charge in 2005, according to court records.
Conlon has refused to address the allegations in the Florida case.
The clerk claimed to The Trentonian that his cousin — also named Matthew Hugh Conlon III with the same birthday — was the one who was charged with the felony in Florida.
Court records and a mugshot showed Conlon the clerk was the defendant.
Blakeley said he was disturbed over Conlon’s decision to lie to the press about the felony charge.
The councilman was also dismayed by some of the clerk’s other workplace antics in other municipalities.
Records and interviews showed Conlon made claims about an employee in Highlands Borough that a law firm later determined were unfounded.
And in 2018, Longport Borough opted to give Conlon a $22,000 payout to resolve potential claims Conlon felt he had after he was not reappointed clerk, records show.
In Trenton, Conlon has resorted to the same tack four months into the job.
At a meeting last year, he threatened to sue Blakeley for questioning his legal background.
The clerk filed a police report alleging harassment against a newspaper reporter for calling him for comment on his cell phone.
And he has accused city officials of being involved in a “Rico Conspiracy” with the newspaper.
East Ward Councilman Joe Harrison, who voted yes to Rice the clerk, called his colleagues hypocrites during civic comment for not considering the evidence against the clerk.
In an interview after the meeting, he said he was shocked at fellow legislators’ refusal to discuss the experiences of employees who say Conlon is a disruptive force at City Hall.
Harrison added that Conlon has had run-ins with “everyone under the sun,” including a well-publicized spat with deposed law director John Morelli.
“Everything about this guy just smells wrong,” Harrison said. “He’s a big bully. He’s got that clerk’s office in chaos. I’m worried about city employees.”