CLARK — Clark’s longtime mayor, Sal Bonaccorso, could be facing more than 15 years in state prison in connection with official charges of fraud, misconduct and forgery that have been levied against him by the state Attorney General’s office (AG).

According to information provided by the state, Bonaccorso, who has served as the mayor of Clark since 2001, utilized the authority of his elected position to falsify documentation, manipulate township employees and skirt several major state-level environmental regulations to the direct benefit of his personal landscaping and underground-storage-tank removal business, Sam Bonaccorso & Son, LLC.

“Any elected leader who abuses his power and position and misuses public property and public employees for his own benefit, at taxpayers’ expense, betrays the public’s trust,” Attorney General Matt Platkin said via a press release earlier this week. “In this instance, the complaint charges that the defendant also abused the trust of officials in other towns, allegedly submitting fraudulent documents with forged signatures to enrich his company while circumventing New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regulations.”

By way of background, New Jersey state law (N.J.A.C. 7:14B) dictates that the closure of an underground storage tank (UST) must be conducted by a specifically-licensed engineer, whether the tank is removed or abandoned-in-place. Engineers are required to submit municipal permit applications for each of these projects before work can begin to ensure that the tanks are being handled properly in accordance with state-level regulations.

The AG’s official complaint, filed Monday in conjunction with the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), notes that while Bonaccorso allegedly does not possess the necessary certifications to complete the work himself, he did arrange to have another engineer licensed and insured. The state alleges, however, that the engineer (identified in public records only as Person 1), was rarely, if ever, present for any of the actual mandated inspections or removals.

According to the complaint, Bonaccorso knowingly and without permission used the engineer’s identity — including his name, license number and signature — to falsify hundreds of permit applications across 23 municipalities over the course of the past seven years.

After learning of the state’s investigation, Bonaccorso allegedly told the engineer to corroborate the story by, as the complaint notes, “providing false information to detectives of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice” to make it look like the tank removals had, in fact, been handled in accordance with state and local regulations.

“Our complaint alleges the mayor was committing criminal acts for many years to enable his company to offer services it was not authorized or permitted to perform,” said Thomas J. Eicher, executive director of OPIA. “The people’s faith and confidence in government is eroded when public officials act improperly, and my office will continue its diligent work to root out corruption.”

It is alleged that the value of the removal jobs associated with the fraudulent permits submitted by Bonaccorso between 2017 and 2023 has amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In addition, while acting in his official capacity as the mayor, a press release issued by the AG’s office notes, Bonaccorso allegedly “operated his tank-removal business out of his township office utilizing municipal resources, by storing and maintaining the records for the business at the Mayor’s office, using township devices including computers and fax machines, and directing township employees to perform duties while working for the township, solely for the purpose of running his private business.”

To date, Bonaccorso has been charged with official misconduct in the second degree; tampering with public records or information in the third degree; witness tampering in the third degree; forgery in the fourth degree; and falsifying or tampering with records in the fourth degree.

Second-degree charges potentially carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Fourth-degree offenses could lead to up to 18 months in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

During a regular meeting of the Clark Council on Monday evening, several township residents expressed their anger and frustration with both the mayor’s actions and the governing body’s continued silence. Bonaccorso was not in attendance.

“I have been asking for somebody, anybody, to comment on the mayor’s behavior for the last year and a half,” said Daniel Fuchs, a Clark resident who repeatedly called for Bonaccorso’s removal from office after allegations of racism and misconduct were levied against the mayor last year.

“You told us that you would not comment until the investigation was over. Well, it’s over,” Mr. Fuchs said, addressing the council Monday night. “You need to speak up.”

None of the seven present council members (Ward 1 representative Frank Mazzarella was absent from Monday night’s proceedings) acknowledged the charges, nor did they speak to the results of a multi-year investigation into the township’s police department that also were published earlier this week.

Township Attorney Mark Dugan, however, did say that the township would not be footing the bill for any legal expenses incurred by the mayor in relation to the recent charges.

“It would be inappropriate,” Mr. Dugan said.

Bonaccorso’s attorney, Robert Stahl, said the mayor plans to “deny each and every allegation” contained in the criminal complaint.

“The Attorney General’s Office has been investigating Clark Township and its various officials for years. What they now bring are criminal charges that the evidence will demonstrate are faulty and incorrect, and a report that did not lead to any criminal charges but rather only besmirches Mayor Bonaccorso, the town, and the police force,” Mr. Stahl said. “Mayor Bonaccorso will vigorously defend this case and will ultimately clear his name and reputation.”

Bonaccorso will have to appear in Union County Superior Court on Wednesday, January 3.