Clifton's partner to be sentenced Tuesday

MONMOUTH COUNTY - Incumbent Republican Freeholder Robert Clifton's partner in fundraising committee will be sentenced on felony charges Tuesday. Clifton and his partner used the fundraising committee to take money those tied to “Operation Bid Rig.” Their contributors included principals in a company that laundered $350,000 in cash. 

Freeholder and former Mayor of Matawan Robert Clifton is listed as a founding member of the governing committee of the Monmouth Political Action Committee, or MOPAC.   Another co-founder includes “Operation Bid Rig” defendant John J. Merla, the former Mayor of Keyport, who is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday for taking bribes in conjunction with “Operation Bid Rig.”

Merla, the former Republican Mayor of Keyport, pleaded guilty to taking a $2,500 bribe in exchange for promising an FBI undercover agent that he would secure municipal work for his firm. 

In addition, the political action committee took $1,000 from International Trucks of Central New Jersey.  International Trucks is co-owned by two Operation Bid Rig defendants, Matthew and Stephen Appolonia.   

“Freeholder Clifton collaborated with the Operation Bid Rig defendants, took their money and now has the nerve to claim he’s working to improve ethics on the Freeholder Board,” Mayor Stephen Schueler said. “Clifton’s recent conversion to ethics reform cannot cover up his past connections.” 

Appolonia’s International Trucks pleaded guilty to paying $2,000 in bribe money for help in steering truck purchases and repair work and laundering $350,000 in cash. 

“Clifton’s committee has been a channel for the flow of corrupt money from Operation Bid Rig defendants through the Monmouth GOP,” Judge D’Amico said.  “This is the real ‘Club Monmouth’—more appropriately named the ‘Operation Bid Rig Club’, that will be permanently dissolved with the election of Democrats as Sheriff, County Clerk and Freeholder this November.” 

At his plea hearing, Matthew Appolinia admitted that he included the amount of the bribes in the truck sale prices to the county and the municipalities.   Together with the Appolonias’ truck repair company was paid $12.1 million by Monmouth County from 1999 to 2005. 

“In light of these facts, it is clear that Republican Freeholder Clifton is not the reformer he claims to be and this is not a ‘New Direction for Monmouth County’, but rather is simply another face and another name associated with the long line of corrupt Republican officials in Monmouth County,” said Schueler.  

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