Reader questions former councilman's comments

It was with great amusement that I read the recent letters written by former Councilman and Scarpelli teammate Fred Underwood. What was it that caused him to suddenly wake up?

Now he is claiming that something is wrong in town hall? His letters question shared services with Toms River, a town that borders Brick Township. Would he prefer shared services with a town in Iowa or California? The idea of saving taxpayers money must be new to him.

Where was Mr. Underwood when the Scarpelli team and the rest of the Democrats were raking Brick taxpayers over the coals all of those years? In his four years in the council majority, our community was embroiled in the worst corruption scandal in its history. Remember The Star-Ledger and New York Times story, which featured how hundreds of thousands of dollars were funneled to the Democrats of Brick to increase the size of building sites?

Just ask former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, who put two men in federal prison, including Joe Scarpelli, how many more were sold. Why did his team, who preached preservation and saving open space, want to overdevelop Traders Cove? Were there more hidden benefits in it for them?

Perhaps these are just some of the reasons Mr. Underwood and the rest of the Scarpelli team fought against televised council meetings and the establishment of an ethics committee. During his years on the Township Council, the residents were kept in the dark on just about everything.

Mr. Underwood, during your years as the Planning Board chairman and as councilman, Brick experienced its greatest overdevelopment and corruption. The last thing this community needs is input from you or any other Scarpelli team member. It is time we moved forward, and the only way to do this quickly is to leave that corrupt legacy behind.
John Ciocco
Brick