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TOMS RIVER - Assemblyman Daniel M. Van Pelt announced his resignation Friday afternoon and withdrew his candidacy for re-election, eight days after he was charged with accepting a $10,000 bribe from an FBI witness.

"While I have an unblemished record of over 20 years in public service, I fully understand the outrage that has accompanied these accusations, and I recognize that the public has a right to its reaction," he said.

Van Pelt, R-Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic, made his announcement in the law offices of his attorney, Robert R. Fuggi Jr., on Main Street, in a quickly assembled news conference Friday afternoon.

Shortly before 5 p.m., he walked through a set of double glass doors from the back of the law office, stepped into a meeting room and sat at the end of a long table with Fuggi by his side.

Van Pelt raised his eyebrows to acknowledge the group of reporters waiting for him. He was able to keep his casual and confident demeanor, despite the seriousness of the event.

He read directly from his prepared remarks, leaning over the table with his hands in his lap, looking up periodically.

"My current situation would only serve as a distraction, and I would do a disservice to those who elected me to do a job," he said.

He declined to answer questions, saying it was on the advice of his attorney: "At this point in time, although I would like to respond to the government's allegations, I have been advised that I cannot take any question related to the facts and circumstances surrounding the charges against me and eagerly await my day in court."

When finished, he closed the folder holding his paperwork and quickly walked back into the firm's interior offices.

Fuggi said he considers his client and longtime friend innocent. He said it took the freshman legislator more than a week to resign because he was so shocked by his arrest and the "mayhem" of July 23, when the FBI arrested 44 people after an investigation that spanned years and international borders.

Officials from Gov. Jon S. Corzine down to Van Pelt's own delegation and former fellow committee members called for his resignation shortly after the charges were announced, but Van Pelt resisted the call and stayed out of public view.

The FBI alleges Van Pelt took a bribe from a witness posing as a developer interested in building in Ocean Township earlier this year. Van Pelt told the witness to hire him as a "consultant" and that he could use his influence to pressure regulators into supplying environmental permits, authorities said.

Van Pelt said he hopes to clear his name eventually: "In the months ahead, I will simply tell the truth, and in the end hopefully prove that I was worthy of the public trust that has defined a part of who I am."

Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore said he had one conversation with Van Pelt encouraging him to resign and was happy to hear Friday that he finally did so: "I think in light of the charges against him, Dan Van Pelt needed to devote all his time and energy to defending himself. To continue in office would have been a distraction from the primary goal."

Ocean Township Mayor Robert Kraft also said he thought Van Pelt did the right thing.

"I think it's a good move on Dan's part to resign," he said. "I think he needs to focus on the cloud that's over his head at this time. It's a sad day, but it's something that was inevitable to happen."

Van Pelt said he also submitted his resignation to Corzine and Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr., D-Camden, Gloucester.

Under state law, officials who resign their seats must file their notice with the New Jersey Department of State, which then notifies the district's party chairmen. The chairmen then have a week to schedule a replacement meeting to be held over the ensuing 35 days.

Gilmore said he expected a meeting to be held the week of Aug. 10.

Party chairmen have until Sept. 16, according to state law, to pick a replacement candidate for the November ballot.

The chairmen submit the replacement name to the state party chairman, who then files the name with the Secretary of State.

Gilmore said a host of candidates are possible for the job but declined to name them Friday.

Van Pelt's districtmate, Assemblyman Brian Rumpf, said news of the resignation was "the best news that we've heard in a week." The resignation also frees up the Republican from having to stump for a candidate under the cloud of last Thursday's arrest.

"In regard to having an election in November that would be free from all the allegations that would be thrown up," Gilmore said, "I think he has made the right decision."

Earlier in the week, the Democrats running against Van Pelt said they gave him the benefit of the doubt of the legal system but looked forward to running against him.

"It's amazing. It took two Democrats to do something the entire Republican Party couldn't do," campaign spokesman Steve Moran said after the resignation Friday. "We asked him to run and he ran away."

E-mail Lee Procida:

LProcida@pressofac.com

E-mail Derek Harper:

DHarper@pressofac.com

More Coverage

• Van Pelt absent, but on minds at meeting on Barnegat Bay
• Van Pelt's former committee meets to discuss Barnegat Bay
• Go ahead, run again, Van Pelt’s Democratic rivals say
• Officials call for a reivew of project Van Pelt oversaw in Ocean Township
• N.J. legislators seek to abolish law that keeps Van Pelt paid
• First elected official resigns following corruption sweep
• Van Pelt and Lumberton / Right call, but ...
• 2008 suit alleges Van Pelt abused influence
• Lumberton Township fires Van Pelt
• Van Pelt ignores resignation calls
• Ocean County Republican chairman calls on Van Pelt to resign
• Van Pelt met five times with FBI witness
• Corruption probe / When does it stop?
• FBI arrests 44 in 'a shocking betrayal of the public trust'
• Complete list of those arrested and/or charged

9 comments:

• dreary (23) posts 5:11 pm

  Lets not forget the FBI has not made their entire case against Van Pelt. When this happens he'll be begging for a deal. His lawyer seems as arrogent as Van Pelt.

• pixie1 (57) posts 9:09 am

  "hadenough", Good post. However before the buses get to Atlantic City they need to exit off the Expressway somewhere around exit 12 east bound to 9 east bound, that way they can pick up additional corrupt individuals in those municipalities also. I will even volunteer to drive those buses !!!! Or have Fox News with ambush reporters and cameras rolling !!!

• hadenough (110) posts 12:02 pm

  What he is really saying is that he thought the buses were stopping in AC first...However, the drivers missed the turn off and went to his jurisdiction...But fear not...They are rolling again straight for the sandy beaches of AC...Hope Stevey and Sharpton have time to get their rally in cause I would really hate to see them get run over by a bus while they are standing out on the X-way with their stupid mis-spelled signs...The buses are coming, The buses are coming...

• citizen17 (5) posts 8:39 am

  Todfiat, Chris Christie can't "clean out the stables." Only the voters can do that. And you are incredible naive if you think that Christie is the answer. He is as much a NJ "pol" as the others. How do you think one gets the nomination of a major party in NJ? His backers (Kyrillos comes to mind) have been in power for decades, and are part of the problem, not the solution.

• BernieSchwartz (464) posts 9:29 pm

  "Unblemished record for over twenty years" I say we should start exploring his unblemished past. NJ politicians, the party will soon be over. Voters are hurting and it's going to get worse, a wounded animal should be avoided so if I were a politician I would play it cool for a couple of years.

• time4change (2) posts 6:23 pm

  I noticed that it took the 9th District Assembly Democratic candidates to finally get Van Pelt to resign. Van Pelt ignored everyone from the Governor to his running mate to resign until yesterday's Press of Atlantic City article quoted Democratic candidates, Richard Visotcky and Robert Rue from welcoming the opportunity to run against him in November's election. His long awaited resignation only deprived the 9th District voters from sending a strong message on election day that the public will not tolerate a breach of the public trust from any elected official.

• UncleFrank (185) posts 5:53 pm

  todfiat: I hope you're right!

• dreary (23) posts 5:47 pm

  Let me get this straight. He takes the money,says he may give it back but does not, jokes that he could be a consultant, and states "in the months ahead I will simply tell the truth". And we should believe him why? Turn out the lights the party is over; until Bubba gets a hold of him in a cell. Then the real fun begins for him.

• todfiat (0) posts 5:22 pm

  In a small-sized state with 21 counties and 560-plus municipalities, the many layers of bureaucracy, comnbined with hundreds of petty ordinances and regulations, greatly increase the chances of political corruption. The state has been a national joke for political corruption, mob-related and otherwise, for FOREVER. One can only conclude the state's residents are compromised, or coerced, or cowed, into constantly re-electing the miscreants (feel free to supply your own rationale.) A giant step toward rehabilitation will be the election of Chris Christie in November, who can do for Jersey what Tom Dewey did for NYC a half-century ago: clean out the stables.

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