Ex-Ocean Gate Mayor Sentenced To Prison For Pocketing Public Money

OCEAN GATE, NJ —A former Jersey Shore mayor, who admitted to using his position for his personal benefit, was sentenced Friday to three years in prison.

Paul Kennedy was ousted as Ocean Gate's mayor in May 2022 after being charged originally that March, before additional charges were added in May. He pleaded guilty to a pattern of official misconduct after being accused of 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.

Kennedy, 68, was sentenced to prison and will also be permanently disqualified from holding any future public office or employment, said Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. He will be eligible for parole after two years.

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.

“This is a textbook example of public corruption: the leveraging of one’s official public position to gain unlawful personal benefits,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated. “The overwhelming majority of public officials perform their duties with integrity and honor. Mr. Kennedy, however, took advantage of the very citizens he was sworn to serve."

Kennedy was charged with several counts of official misconduct and theft, and pleaded guilty in Sept. 2023.