No Charges Recommended After Alleged Threats Against Marlboro School Board Member

MARLBORO, NJ — The Marlboro Township Police Department has recommended that no charges be filed in relation to a group chat discussing a sitting Board of Education member, Marlboro Police Captain Stephen Levy told Patch.

On Thursday, Sept. 11, Levy said police were made aware of a text message group chat titled “ThisB—NeedsToDie." According to police, the group chat referred to an elected member of the Marlboro Township Board of Education.

Shortly after these texts surfaced, Board Member Danielle Bellomo identified herself as the person that the group chat was discussing, and Board of Education candidate Scott Semaya was accused of being one of the people in the group chat.

Police did not release the names of those involved in the incident.

Once police were notified of this text thread, Levy said they immediately began an investigation into the texts that included interviews, gathering written statements, reviewing text messages and images, and examining all evidence presented to them in the case.

Given the nature of the incident and the elected officials involved, Levy said the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office was also made aware of the investigation and information presented to police.

At the end of the investigation, and after consulting with the Prosecutor’s Office, Levy said the police department determined that the incident does not meet the threshold of criminal activity and therefore, no charges will be filed by the Marlboro Township Police Department in relation to the case.

"First and foremost, Scott and his family want to thank the Marlboro Police Department for their quick and thorough investigation of this matter," Mitchell Ansell, Semaya's attorney, said in a statement sent to Patch. "We have maintained from the outset that Scott never committed a crime. The conclusions of the Marlboro Police Department's investigation obviously affirm that."

"It's a sad state of affairs when private communications that were never intended to become public actually went viral as a result of Scott's privacy being invaded," Ansell continued. "All Scott was ever trying to do was make Marlboro a better place for the children. Scott and his family will remain proud members of the Marlboro Community as they have been for the past seven (7) years."

"With the conclusion of this investigation, Scott will start to rebuild everything that was hastily and maliciously taken from him and his family," Ansell said.

In a statement sent to Patch, Bellomo said that while she is disappointed in the police department's decision not to recommend charges, her initial reason for reporting the group chat to police was fear for her safety and the well-being of her family.

"While I am disappointed by this decision, my initial reason for reporting this to local law enforcement was and has always been because I am in fear for the safety of myself and the safety and well-being of my family," Bellomo said. "This will always remain my top priority."

"At the time of my initial report, Marlboro Police sent me directly to Superior Court, where I was granted a protective order for myself and my family," Bellomo continued. "I continue to have protective orders in place and, on the advice of legal counsel, will not be commenting further. However, I can confirm that these issues are still being pursued, regardless of criminal charges, we still live in fear for our well-being and additional details of these horrific communications will be released in the near future."

In her statement, Bellomo said that Marlboro Police took nearly a month to initiate an investigation into the group chat, and said that although a Marlboro Police Detective told her charges for terroristic threats, cyber harassment, conspiracy to do harm, and cyber harassment through a deep fake video were presented to the Prosecutor's Office, the Prosecutor's Office declined to pursue those charges.

In an email statement to Patch, Levy said that the police investigation was conducted in a timely manner.

"As stated in the press release, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office was made aware of our case, including all the evidence that was presented to our Detective Bureau," Levy said.

On Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office told Patch the office does not have comment on the matter.

Patch has also reached out to Marlboro Township Public Schools Superintendent Michael Ballone and Marlboro Board of Education President Brian Cohen for comment on the conclusion of the investigation. This article will be updated as responses are received.

“The content of these messages is completely unacceptable and those responsible are clearly not equipped to hold public office,” Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik said in an online statement after news of the group chat first surfaced.

“Violence and threats of violence against public officials are seemingly becoming normalized,” Hornik continued. “In only a few months’ time, we have witnessed an alarming escalation in this type of behavior to an extreme, culminating in the murder of Minnesota Representative Hortman and activist Charlie Kirk. This must stop.”

Around the time of the group chat going public, Bellomo posted screenshots of Facebook posts that said that Semaya had dropped out of the school board race, as well as his running mate Melissa Goldberg (though Goldberg was not said to be involved in the group chat).

While Patch was unable to directly confirm with Semaya if he suspended his campaign, Goldberg did confirm to Patch that she was withdrawing her run for the board in early October, adding that she could not commit to the role in addition to her other responsibilities.

Though Goldberg suspended her campaign for the board, she still ended up as one of the top-three vote getters for one of three open board seats on Election Night, according to unofficial results from the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office.

Should she receive a qualifying number of votes in the election, Goldberg previously told Patch that she would not accept a seat on the board.

Previous Coverage

• Alleged Threats Toward Marlboro School Board Member Prompt Investigation
• Marlboro School Board Candidate Suspends 2025 Election Campaign
• Marlboro School Board Postpones Meeting, Sparking Calls For Protest
• Marlboro Township Board Of Election 2025: See Unofficial Results

Editor's Note: This article was updated with a statement from Board Member Danielle Bellomo, a statement from Marlboro Police Captain Stephen Levy, and a statement on behalf of Scott Semaya, as well as a response from a Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesman.