Crime & Safety
Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Clears County Tax Administrator Of Any Wrongdoing
The 18-month investigation involved more than 100 subpoenas, interviews with 40 witnesses and more.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office will not be filing any charges against the county tax assessor after an anonymous letter raised questions about the ADP pilot tax program.
The 18-month investigation into Monmouth County Tax Assessor Matthew S. Clark, municipal tax assessors and vendors into the Real Property Assessment Demonstration Program (ADP), has ended because of insufficient evidence to press charges, according to the Prosecutor's Office.
The anonymous letter - "The Monmouth County Concerned Citizen Group Against Unfair Taxation 'Who Fight For People's Rights" raised concerns about Clark's guidance. The letter claimed the ADP resulted in higher property taxes.
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It also alleged that Clark steered business generated by the ADP to Realty Appraisal Company (RAC) and Realty Data Systems (RDS) because of his personal relationships with the principals in those companies.
"After carefully analyzing and reviewing all of the information obtained, including the claims made in the anonymous letter, the MCPO determined that there was insufficient evidence to support the filing of criminal charges against any individual or entity to include Clark, RAC, RDS, or their principals," according to the release.
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More than 100 subpoenas were issued to state, county and municipal governments and agencies, financial institutions and commercial entities. All 53 towns in the county were served with subpoenas. the FBI interviewed more than 40 witnesses and contacted dozens more.
Court orders were issued and hundreds of thousands of pages of public documents and private records were reviewed.
But the Prosecutor's Office's findings does not affect any action by other agencies. Referrals to other agencies include the state Department of the Treasury, Division of Taxation, Office of Ethics Compliance, the state Ethics Commission, the Office of the State Comptroller and the Monmouth County Tax Board for administrative reviews.
A link to the legislation creating the ADP may be found at:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2...
Image: Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.
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