Ex-Ocean Gate Mayor Admits To Pattern Of Power Abuse

OCEAN GATE, NJ — The former Ocean Gate mayor who repeatedly used his position for his personal benefit including pocketing thousands of dollars meant for the borough government, using campaign funds for himself and using his county job to get county employees to work on his home during business hours has pleaded guilty to a pattern of official misconduct, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Paul Kennedy, 66, was ousted as Ocean Gate's mayor in May 2022 after being charged originally in March 2022 and then additional charges were added in May.

Kennedy will be sentenced on Dec. 8 at which time the state will seek a term of three years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to a two-year period of parole ineligibility, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. His plea agreement also requires that Kennedy be permanently barred from holding any future public office or employment.

Over several years, Kennedy, as mayor, stole about ten thousand dollars meant for the government through various means, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Patch. Specifically, he took parking meter proceeds, property potentially being sold through his wifels Facebook account and property auctioned off through GovDeals, the affidavit said.

Investigation further revealed that Kennedy took donations for his and his running mates re-election campaign to "Friends of Ocean Gate" and converted them for his personal benefit, Billhimer previously said. Also while serving as mayor, Kennedy took cash from the sale of scrap metal in the Borough Recycling Center and kept it for himself instead of giving it to the borough, Billhimer said.

Kennedy, who also worked as a carpenter with the Ocean County Buildings and Grounds Department, made some of the department's employees do construction work at his home on East Lakewood Avenue while they were working during business hours, Billhimer said.

He was charged with several counts of official misconduct and theft.