The Atlantic City Democratic Committee voted to denounce Mayor Frank Gilliam and Councilman at-large Jeffree Fauntleroy, saying they were perpetrators of a “vicious physical and emotional attack” outside the Golden Nugget on November 11.
The ACDC also apologized to the victims, saying they condemned the “alleged violent acts displayed by our elected officials” and denouncing the “egregious situation” the mayor and Councilman Fauntleroy put themselves in.
According to criminal complaints obtained by NJ Advance Media, the mayor tried to punch two people and chased a person in his car. Fauntleroy, allegedly, punched someone in the face and threw a person on the floor while yelling an expletive at a woman.
It’s the second time in his short tenure as Atlantic City Mayor that Gilliam has been called-out by his own party’s committee. In March, the same Atlantic City Democratic Committee signed a criminal complaint against the mayor alleging theft by unlawful taking of a $10,000 check.
For the history buffs out there, the ACDC at the time formed a committee led by retired Atlantic City Police Officer John Devlin to investigate the check. Devlin, around this time, was a subject of a civil excessive force trial involving his dog and Steven Sadler, who successfully sued the city for $679,000.
This prompted Councilman Fauntleroy to opine, on Facebook, that it was “interesting” Devlin was now investigating the check and that the cops on trial “have been Corrupt & (rogue) in our community for years.”
Those comments in turn prompted the President of the State PBA to call for an ethics investigation into Fauntleroy, saying that naming Devlin was “potentially defamatory.”
Fauntleroy, for what it’s worth, also called out committee member Durwood Pinkett over his role in the check complaint, which was dismissed by Judge Bernie DeLury.
On Monday, the ACDC resolution was read by Pinkett and the motion to go into a closed session was seconded by Devlin.
Anyhoo. Just some context on their zeal for justice for members of their own party.
The ACDC is calling for Gilliam and Fauntleroy to step down from their jobs, without pay, pending the outcome of the legal process. If they don’t, they said Governor Murphy and/or Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver should step in and suspend them.
“The reputation of the city of Atlantic City is in question and in jeopardy as a result of tumultuous, thuggish and aggressive behavior, leaving a trail of financial liability on the backs of the heavily burdened taxpayers.”