Con Artist Candidate Seeks To Set Salary Soaring

A contentious debate has been ignited in Washington Township, sparked by William O'Hanlon's audacious proposal to boost the part-time mayor's salary to a staggering $255,000.

O'Hanlon, a controversial figure who is under federal indictment for alleged telemarketing fraud, is campaigning for the Democratic mayoral candidacy, vying against incumbent Mayor Laurie Burns in the June 4 primary election.

In a bold move, O'Hanlon, known for his tumultuous legal history, has shifted his political stance from an initial Trump-aligned independent candidacy to now pursuing the Democratic nomination.

Central to his campaign rhetoric is the assertion that Washington Township's leadership demands full-time commitment, particularly with imagined projects valued at over $100 million looming on the horizon. The current $25,000 salary for a part-time mayor who manages public affairs with a professional workforce is a common system of local government administration.

"Washington Township needs a mayor singularly focused on spearheading funds to the best possible use," said O'Hanlon, who issued a press release criticizing Burns for maintaining a dual role as Mayor and Clerk of The Board for Gloucester County.

He contends that Burns' split focus impedes effective governance and oversight of taxpayer funds, even though Washington Township has always had a part-time mayor.

O'Hanlon's campaign is expected to face intense scrutiny due to his own legal woes.

He stands accused of orchestrating a multi-million dollar telemarketing fraud scheme targeting timeshare owners, in a case that has garnered national attention and raised questions about his suitability for public office.

According to Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, O'Hanlon “took advantage of consumers – many of them senior citizens – by taking their money in exchange for what turned out to be empty promises.”

Platkin said an investigation revealed more than 100 complaints from consumers around the U.S. — including some from elderly consumers who did not even own timeshares.

A civil enforcement action by the state Division of Consumer Affairs alleged that O’Hanlon and his company, William Andrews Burns LLC (WAB), operated a telemarketing scheme that preyed on elderly timeshare owners who were previously victimized by other scams.

That lawsuit alleged that O’Hanlon's company cold-called timeshare owners and used high-pressure sales tactics and lies to persuade them to pay large upfront advance fees ranging from $594 to $2,899 deducted directly from consumers’ bank accounts.

In one instance, the company collected $2,865 from a 94-year-old consumer to rent a timeshare the consumer no longer owned, and on another occasion convinced an elderly consumer who had never owned a timeshare to pay $1,999 for rental services.

When he ignored the state's legal action, Superior Court Judge James R. Paganelli entered a default judgment against O'Hanlon and his company, but that was vacated in September 2022 after O’Hanlon’s attorney claimed in court documents that health problems and confusion with federal criminal charges, caused him to mistakenly fail to respond to the civil complaint.

Despite these allegations, O'Hanlon claims he is a proponent of integrity, transparency, and full-time leadership. He is so transparent, that he is on his fourth website. Three previous versions have been taken down.

The first online declaration of O'Hanlon's candidacy was called Billyoforus.com – and it featured the headline "Let's Make Washington Twp Great Again" trumpeting the con man candidate as a 'Trump independent,' promising a $3000 reduction in property taxes and other hollow claims.

A subsequent incarnation of his online campaign announced that he was planning to spend $300,000 on a campaign to convince voters to elect him to the post, which has traditionally been a part-time job with a $25,000 salary, using an elaborate fantasy about rehabilitating the Black Horse Pike by planting dogwood trees along the roadway.

He is also trying to present his peacetime enrollment in the US Navy as a false story of heroism and adventure, although the vessel on which he served mostly spent time cruising along the Atlantic coast, between Nova Scotia and the Caribbean.

O'Hanlon has plenty of other empty promises but he is also likely to spice up arguments supporting his campaign by maligning others.

O'Hanlon launched a personal attack on columnist Karin Price Mueller after she published a story about his latest alleged crimes in The Star-Ledger article entitled I Believe in Second Chances.

The special report delved into O'Hanlon's criminal history and "new allegations of ducking payments for campaign-related services" that surfaced after the alleged fraudster bilked a New Jersey political consultant, a Florida company that performed polling services, and a vendor that produced lists that appear to contain personal data the candidate is barred from possessing under a court order related to his fraud indictment.

"O’Hanlon, 59, was named in a 13-count federal indictment last April for wire fraud, tax evasion and other charges related to an alleged timeshare marketing scam," wrote Price Mueller. "The criminal charges came less than a year after state Attorney General Matthew Platkin won a $10 million default judgment in a civil case against O’Hanlon and his company in May 2022. The state alleged O’Hanlon and the company 'preyed on timeshare owners, many of whom were elderly.' The judgment was vacated five months later, but the Attorney General’s office says the case is ongoing."

While the judgment was vacated on a technicality, O'Hanlon is falsely presenting that legal action as a "vindication" for his crimes, but the state is still pursuing a judgment for consumer fraud violations, U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal found probable cause to believe that O’Hanlon had committed mail and wire fraud through RJD while he was on bail for an earlier indictment on Aug. 7, 2023, and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said that three of O'Hanlon's collaborators pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracy charges in connection with the telemarketing scheme one year ago.

Sellinger said Alex Klemash of Williamstown, Michael Lambe of Mullica Hill, and La’Tresa Jackson of Lindenwold, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court to conspiracy and wire fraud charges after they engaged in a scheme led by O’Hanlon to financially enrich themselves by selling fraudulent services to timeshare owners.

O’Hanlon, 58, and his wife Karen Stefanowski, 60, of Miami, Florida, James Toner, 41, of Lake Mary, Florida, and William Chiusano Jr., 48, of Laguna Niguel, California, are each charged in a 13-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and multiple counts of wire fraud.

O’Hanlon is also charged with three counts of tax evasion and one count of theft of government monies, but authorities suspect that he nestled away millions of dollars that he absconded with in offshore accounts and gold, allowing him access to cash to use in his effort to deceive voters in the New Jersey suburb of Philadelphia.

While drawing condemnation for perpetuating hoaxes and exhibiting a lack of understanding about local issues, sources close to O'Hanlon say he plotted his campaign based on the assumption that people are easily fooled and that the swindler can wage a door-to-door campaign that will beguile residents who are largely dissatisfied with government.

He is challenging Laurie J. Burns, who was unanimously appointed as interim mayor of Washington Township to fill the vacancy created after Joann Gattinelli resigned to take office as a member of the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners following her election in November.

Burns is a lifelong resident who grew up in the township with her parents, brothers, and sister before she married a local attorney with whom she has two children, Christopher and Brooke.

Burns is employed as Clerk of the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners, but O'Hanlon's campaign hopes to exploit the fact that her appointment was ratified by the five Republicans on the Township Council with the kind of bombastic rhetoric employed by another huckster who became a successful politician, Donald J. Trump.

Michael Anzalone-Storchevoy, a Pompano Beach, Florida man who is managing O'Hanlon's campaign, accused Mueller and The Star-Ledger of unfair and inaccurate reporting as part of the plan to distract Washington Township's electorate from the serious criminal charges facing the candidate and his utter lack of qualifications for elected office, including his enormous character flaws.

Meanwhile, Mayor Laurie Burns has yet to respond to O'Hanlon's call for her to step aside.
As the political landscape in Washington Township heats up, residents should brace for a contentious electoral showdown, where the township's future is at stake.