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Clark Township Mayor Charged With Forging Signatures In 24 Towns To Benefit Landscaping Biz: AG

Clark Township Mayor Salvatore Bonaccorso was charged Monday, Nov. 20 with forging paperwork to nearly 24 New Jersey towns to allow his landscaping company to remove underground tanks, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.

Salvatore Bonaccorso

Salvatore Bonaccorso

Photo Credit: Clark Township

Bonaccorso, 63, used township employees to help him run his private business, Bonaccorso and Son LLC, along with township devices like computers and fax machines, Platkin said following an investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability Corruption Bureau.

While running his business, Bonaccorso posed as an engineer, using his name, license number and forging his signature on permit applications submitted to towns for underground tank removals, Platkin said. Bonaccorso did not have the necessary licenses to do underground tank removals, Platkin said.

Bonaccorso also advised a witness to provide false information to state investigators, Platkin said. 

Bonaccorso has served as Clark mayor since 2001. He was charged with official misconduct, tampering with public records, witness tampering, forgery and falsifying or tampering with records. 

Through his attorney, Bonaccorso denied the allegations and said he expects his name and reputation to be cleared.

"Mayor Bonaccorso has devoted himself to the betterment of all the citizens of Clark for many, many years of public service," Robert Stahl, Bonaccorso's attorney said. "We are disappointed the Attorney General’s Office brought this case and look forward to vigorously defending our client in court."

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