Councilman arrested for theft after rivals put tracking device on political signs

[JustAnotherGen]

GOP split in Readington fuels nasty civil war tied to Trump and Kean vs. Malinowski congressional races

By David Wildstein, May 24 2024 12:39 am

The backdrop to the story is a bitter internal fight between moderate old guard Republicans and a newer, significantly more conservative faction in a Hunterdon County municipality split by supporters and opponents of Donald Trump.

The two factions have been in a civil war since 2022 when three-term Township Committeewoman Betty Anne Fort, a Republican rabidly opposed to Trump, lost the primary by a 2-1 margin to conservative Vinny Panico, a former president of the Hunterdon Central Regional Board of Education who ran off the line with the blessing of party leaders.

“The arrest of Committeeman Albanese, an elected official and former Mayor, is deeply troubling and indefensible. Given the considerable damage and embarrassment this has caused to Readington Township and the Republican Party, we call for his immediate resignation from all elected offices. This is a necessary step to begin restoring trust and integrity within our community, Huelsebusch and Mueller said. “We also call on our opponents, Ben Smith and Jacqueline Hindle, to join us in demanding the immediate resignation of Committeeman Albanese.”

Now Albanese, a former aide to State Sen. Bill Schluter (R-Pennington), the state’s government ethics king, had to get a lawyer and is set to appear in court on June 3, the day before the primary election. That is likely to get postponed; the municipal court judge, Gerard J. Shamey, is a former four-term township committeeman and the presiding municipal court judge of the Somerset/Hunterdon/Warren vicinage, which could force the moving of the case away from the tri-county area.

These guys are a joke. Panico is a tool of the highest order -and I wouldn't put it past him to pull a stunt like that.

I was at a meeting on Tuesday with a Hunterdon County Dem Chair slate and as it wrapped up . . . we went into this - why are there signs out about Malinowski and Kean?

Now we know.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/councilman-arrested-for-theft-after-rivals-put-tracking-device-on-political-signs/