See you in court: N.J. senator still angry over 2023 attack mailer

WASHINGTON TWP. — A campaign incident in the final week of last year’s statewide elections continues to rankle freshman state Sen. Paul D. Moriarty, and now voters can read all about it in a recently filed lawsuit.

Moriarty, D-4, is alleging in the lawsuit that his reputation was purposely and maliciously damaged in a political mailer that labeled him a “drunk driver.” The mailer was sent out about a week before Election Day 2023.

The lawsuit lays responsibility for the mailer on the Camden County GOP, based in Haddon Heights, and Thomas W. Crone Jr., a Gloucester Township resident who until recently was the county's GOP chairman.

The mailer had a notice on it that the piece was “Paid for by Camden County GOP,” the complaint states.

More:Washington Township police officer cannot return to work

More:Veterans care is key part of senior housing project approved in West Deptford

Moriarty, a longtime General Assembly member, ran for the upper house in 2023 following a decision by Democratic Sen. Fred Madden not to seek re-election. Moriarty won the open seat with 30,728 votes, with Republican Christopher Del Borrello second at 25,010 votes.

A copy of the offending mailer is an exhibit attached to the lawsuit, which was filed July 2 in Camden County Superior Court. The lawsuit claims Moriarty was both defamed and put in a “false light,” and it seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Cherry Hill attorney John A. Zohlman III, who is representing Moriarty, says the lawsuit could have been avoided. A letter was sent in December 2023 to Crone asking for a published retraction and correction, in return for Moriarty not taking legal action.

“We wrote to him and said, ‘Listen. This is false. Simply retract the statement and correct the record, and we’ll move on,’” Zohlman said on Monday. “And they wouldn’t do it. And pretty much, he didn’t deny that they published it and disseminated it.

“And, frankly, if you look at the mailer, it says it right on there, ‘Paid for by the CCGOP,’” Zohlman said. “So, they can’t deny it. And then, he suggested some First Amendment privilege to make that kind of a statement, which frankly is preposterous.”

Messages seeking comment were left with the Camden County GOP and Crone, but there have been no responses. Moriarty did not return messages left at his offices.

The lawsuit links the “drunk driver Paul Moriarty” jab on the mailer to a police traffic stop of Moriarty on July 31, 2012 in Washington Township.

Moriarty, at the time an assemblyman, was stopped while traveling on Route 42 (Black Horse Pike). The officer said Moriarty had make an illegal lane change and cut off his cruiser at a jughandle.

Moriarty, a township resident and former mayor, was arrested. He was charged with driving under the influence, refusing a breath test, and driving on marked lanes.

The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office had the charges dismissed in 2013 on the basis that the act of stopping the vehicle was determined not to be lawful. Any evidence collected subsequent to that stop would not be admissible at a trial, according to the office.

The officer who stopped Moriarty, Joseph DiBuonaventura, was fired in connection with the incident.

An appeals court upheld his dismissal for misconduct in 2019, noting inconsistencies between the officer's written report and what was shown on video recordings of the traffic stop.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

Have a tip? Support journalism with a subscription.