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'Give Me An Answer': NJ Town Council President Charged With Misuse Of 911 System

The Council President for the Town of Phillipsburg has been charged after authorities say he created a false public alarm by contacting 911 for a non-emergency reason.

Phillipsburg Town Council President Frank McVey

Phillipsburg Town Council President Frank McVey

Photo Credit: http://www.phillipsburgnj.org/our-town/town-council/

Frank McVey, 56, submitted an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request to the town’s business administrator on August 13, Warren County Prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer said in a Wednesday release.

He then sent an email to several town employees stating, “maybe most of you… work Monday through Friday 7-3 but I don’t with this position. Somebody give me an answer and respect the $.35 an hour that I’m getting for this job.”

“If I don’t receive the correspondence by 6 p.m. I will be calling 911 asking for an officer to come to my house and to give me an answer on this inquiry,” the email said, according to Pfeiffer.

Under OPRA, the town has seven days to respond to McVey’s initial request.

McVey then called 911, identified himself, stated that the call wasn’t an emergency and request a “welfare check” on the mayor and police chief, stating that he hadn’t heard from them for 12 hours, authorities said.

McVey started to discuss the salaries of the Mayor and police chief before stating he wanted to make the town “safe” and that he was “in charge” because the town’s leadership was non-responsive, Pfeiffer said.

After officers advised McVey that the 911 line is only for emergencies, the council president was given the non-emergency line and stated that he would “figure it out later,” Pfeiffer said.

McVey was charged Wednesday with fourth-degree false public alarms (misuse of 911 system). He was released pending a first appearance in superior court.

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