Mayor Ruben Bermudez says I can make no comments at this time regarding his knowledge of false information provided to the city clerk. / File photo Written by Jason Alt FILED UNDER News Local News To our readers: Vineland Mayor Ruben Bermudez hung up on me yesterday. I’m over it. But what I’m not over — what I’m not the slightest bit over — is how his top administrator at City Hall lied about the existence of a public record. And until the mayor offers some answers better than the “I can make no comments at this time” he provided before hanging up the phone during our brief conversation Tuesday, I’m not getting over the fact that Bermudez was informed about the lie and apparently did nothing about it. It all started early this month, when Daily Journal reporter Joseph P. Smith filed an Open Public Records Act request at Vineland City Hall. He asked for “any and all communications to or from Business Administrator William Lutz regarding any interview/appointment/meeting with representative(s) of the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office.” Smith’s request noted the meeting probably was scheduled around Dec. 28, 2013. City Clerk Keith Petrosky checked with Lutz and then told The Daily Journal that there were no records in existence like the ones Smith sought. In his Jan. 14 response, Petrosky wrote: “Mr. Lutz responded to me today, reporting that ‘no emails were sent from me to city employees regarding this matter, so no records exist in this regard.’ ” Petrosky copied Lutz, Bermudez and Associate Solicitor Edward Duffy on his response to The Daily Journal. (I later learned from Petrosky that Bermudez previously asked that he be given a copy of every OPRA response the city clerk makes. Remember this fact; it’ll come up again soon.) As it turns out, Lutz wasn’t telling the truth to Petrosky. You see, Lutz received an email at 4:11 p.m. Dec. 23 from Brian McManus, a detective assigned to the Major Crimes Unit of the county Prosecutor’s Office. In the email, McManus confirms an interview he has scheduled with Lutz at the Prosecutor’s Office in Bridgeton. Sixteen minutes later, Lutz responds to McManus via email: “Thank you for your prompt email regarding this matter. This is to confirm my appointment and to confirm (per our telephone conversation) that I am not the target of this investigation. Page
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 10:00:17 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015