Bodine Files Dual Ethics Complaints Against Moonlighting County Clerk

Shouldn't $100,000 Taxpayer Salary Be Enough For Clerk Haines?

(Mount Holly, NJ) – Senate candidate and Assemblyman Fran Bodine announced today that he has filed two ethics complaints against Republican opponent and County Clerk Phil Haines for using his official full-time position as a rainmaking operation for his private real estate law practice. Bodine charged Clerk Haines with leveraging his county post as a business development tool for his real estate law practice.

“Who does he serve: the taxpayers who are paying him $100,000 a year to serve their interests or the law firm that is paying Clerk Haines using Clerk Haines’ status as a county clerk as a marketing tool to recruit clients? The taxpayers of Burlington County elected Phil Haines to serve as the keeper of public records, and it is wrong for him to use these records as a personal rolodex for his law practice. Clerk Haines’ conflict of interest is very obvious, and his actions clearly fly in the face of acceptable professional and ethical conduct,” said Bodine.

Bodine highlighted Haines’ work as a real estate attorney at the law firm of Wells, Singer and Musulin, P.A., which markets Haines’ status as County Clerk on its website as a means of drumming up business. Haines’ recent financial disclosure forms show that he is of counsel to the firm, despite the fact that he is the county officer charged with filing deeds, liens and mortgages. Haines is a regular at zoning and planning board meetings throughout Burlington County where he represents developers and corporate clients before local officials who depends on the clerk’s office.

Bodine filed two ethics complaints against Clerk Haines. The first, filed with the State Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Ethics, alleges a conflict of interest with Haines’ actions as a practicing attorney. The second complaint alleging a conflict of interest with Haines’ position as County Clerk, was filed with the Burlington County Board of Freeholders, citing a 16 year old Supreme Court advisory opinion (127 N.J.L.J. 886) that clearly prohibits Haines’ professional two-timing. According to the opinion, “…a county clerk as private attorney should not handle matters which involve the filing of instruments with his or her own public office…” The document further says that, “Disputes over priority could readily engender charges of conflict of interest and/or the appearance of impropriety.”

“Burlington County needs a Senator who understands that the needs of the taxpayers are the first and only priority of an elected official. We can’t afford another Burlington County Senator lining their pockets at the public’s expense.”

Bodine posed the following questions to Clerk Haines:

• What is your compensation package at the law firm?
• Why did your firm take down their webpage highlighting you as their top attorney while continuing to receive income from this firm?
• Who are your clients?
• What services do you provide for them?
• How does your role as County Clerk not conflict with your legal practice?
• How many other county clerks in New Jersey do what you are doing?

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