Acropolis wants Kelly's lawsuit bills made public
Bill amounts are a private matter, Kelly says
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER
Staff Writer

You show me yours, I'll show you mine.Brick Township Council President Stephen C. Acropolis wants copies of Mayor Daniel J. Kelly's legal bills from the lawsuit Kelly filed over municipal appointments made on New Year's Day.

Acropolis made the remarks at the April 10 Township Council meeting, after Councilwoman Kathy Russell questioned charges by the three attorneys who are representing the Township Council, Township Clerk Virginia Lampman and other township employees named in the suit.

Russell asked that the bills be pulled from the agenda.

"I think we need to take a closer look at that," she said.

Acropolis agreed to pull the bills, but not before he said Kelly should provide his bills from Toms River attorney Steven Secare.

"I'd like to get all of that checked as well," Acropolis said. "Ask the mayor or his attorney to provide copies of the bills he has paid so far."

Secare said Monday that he and Kelly discussed the matter last week.

"It's none of Steve Acropolis' business," Secare said. "This is not being paid for with public funds. Do I get to know how much Acropolis paid his doctor last year?"

The sole issue in Kelly's lawsuit is whether Township Clerk Virginia Lampman, who was appointed acting mayor by former Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli on Dec. 6, had the legal right to make professional appointments at the New Year's Day organization meeting.

Kelly and his attorneys contend she did not. The appointments process violated the state Municipal Vacancy Law, the suit states.

Lampman's rights as acting mayor ceased on Dec. 8, when Scarpelli's resignation became effective, according to the suit.

Kelly said Monday he laughed "for about 10 minutes" when he first heard of Acropolis' request for his lawyer's bills.

"Then I said, 'Access denied,' " he said. "That's nobody's business. Nobody is paying my bill. Why should somebody look at it? Why would they think they have the right to a bill that is not being submitted?"

Secare said previous reports that he is representing Kelly for free were incorrect. Kelly will receive a bill for the firm's services, he said.

In a related matter, Superior Court Judge Frank A. Buczynski Jr. on Friday gave Secare until April 27 to file his brief, and the defendants' attorneys until May 16. The next pretrial conference is slated for May 22.

Acropolis called Bucynzski's request for briefs to be submitted a "setback" for Kelly.

"He [Kelly] wanted a quick decision," Acropolis said. "You can't have a quick decision. They wanted the judge to just give a ruling. You have to have the facts to make a ruling."

Acropolis said he hoped that Kelly might still drop the lawsuit.

"He could stop it with one simple telephone call to his lawyers," he said.

But that's not going to happen, Kelly said Monday.

"I have to pursue it now," he said. "It's gone too far. If I were to stop it, they would win. They are kind of responsible for the delay in action. The question that begs to be answered is were they right or wrong? Is this going to be a test case somewhere down the line? Can a council do this in the future?"

The council hired John A. Carbone's firm to represent members of the Township Council, and the firm of Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader to represent Lampman and the rest of the employees named in the suit. Each contract was not to exceed $17,500.

Acropolis also asked that all attorney bills submitted during the first quarter of 2007 and all of 2006 be pulled for examination.

"Anytime you question an attorney's bills, it's a good practice to question all the bills," he said. "You can't just pick and choose."

Scarpelli pleaded guilty on Jan. 8 in federal court to accepting bribes from an unnamed developer. He is slated to be sentenced on May 29.

Council members selected Kelly to serve as his replacement on Jan. 4, three days after the professional appointments were made.