Morristown First Lady Expects To Be 'Vindicated' Of Charges

MORRISTOWN, NJ - Morristown First Lady Mary Dougherty said she expects to be vindicated of the corruption charges leveled against her by Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal.

“While I intend to defend against these allegations in the courtroom and not in the press, I will say that I am a person of great integrity and conscience," Dougherty said in a statement. "And I look forward to presenting my side of the story, after which I expect to be vindicated."

Dougherty was one of five people who have served as public officials or run as political candidates in New Jersey arrested in a sweeping corruption bust.

Mary Dougherty's husband Tim, currently the mayor of Morristown, told the Morristown Green he stands by his wife 100 percent.

“[She is] a woman of unquestionable character and I have no doubt that the process now underway will demonstrate that,” Tim Dougherty said in the report.

Mary Dougherty is one of five defendants were charged with taking thousands of dollars in bribes from the cooperating witness in the form of campaign contributions, all part of a "major investigation" into political corruption conducted by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, according to a release from the Office of Attorney General.

The defendants allegedly promised the cooperating witness, who is a tax attorney, that they would vote or use their official authority or influence to hire or continue to hire his law firm for lucrative government legal work, according to the release.

The cooperating witness offered checks from illegal "straw donors" – individuals reimbursed to write checks to the defendant's campaign in amounts that complied with the legal limit on individual donations, according to the release.

Democrat Dougherty, a real estate agent in Morristown, allegedly accepted a bribe of $10,000 from the cooperating witness – initially delivered as cash but later converted to checks from "straw donors" – for her unsuccessful campaign for Morris County Freeholder in 2018, the release said.

In return, she allegedly promised to support the reappointment of the cooperating witness as counsel for Morris County. Dougherty also serves on the board of the Southeast Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority and is a past member of the Morristown Housing Authority.

During a meeting at a restaurant, Dougherty allegedly accepted $10,000 cash in $100 denominations that the cooperating witness delivered in a take-out coffee cup, the release said. Dougherty later returned the cash, asking the cooperating witness to replace the cash with four checks, each within the $2,600 individual contribution limit.

The cooperating witness told Dougherty he would use the returned $10,000 in cash to pay four individuals to write checks.

The pair met again at the same restaurant, where Dougherty accepted four checks, each in the amount of $2,500 payable to "Mary for Morris Freeholder," the release said. When the checks were delivered, the cooperating witness and Dougherty had the following exchange:

CW: "These are my straws… so I just need your support for my reappointment. Don't forget me."
Dougherty: "I won't. I promise. A friend is a friend, my friend."

The alleged criminal conduct occurred between August and October 2018.

Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store.