Ex-Ocean GOP Boss Gilmore Gets 366-Day Jail Term On Tax Charges

TRENTON, NJ — George Gilmore, the former chairman of the Ocean County Republican Party and widely seen as one of the most powerful Republicans in New Jersey, is headed to jail.

Gilmore, 70, of Toms River, was sentenced to 366 days in prison for his conviction on two counts of failing to pay over payroll taxes withheld from employees to the IRS and one count of making false statements on a bank loan application submitted to Ocean First Bank, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

U.S. District Court Judge Anne E. Thompson, who presided over Gilmore's trial in April 2019, also sentenced the former attorney to three years of supervised release.

Gilmore had faced up to 30 years in prison on the loan falsification conviction, and up to five years on each count of the payroll taxes, along with fines, the U.S. attorney's office said when it announced his conviction in April 2019 following a two-week federal trial.

The federal jury found him not guilty on two counts of filing false tax returns and could not reach a unanimous verdict on the charge Gilmore evaded income taxes in 2013, 2014, 2015. Federal authorities alleged he evaded $1.5 million in income taxes and penalties.

In the wake of his conviction, Gilmore was forced to resign from his position as chairman of the Ocean County Republican Party, a position he'd held since 1996, and additionally resigned from his seat as head of the Ocean County Board of Elections.

Gilmore had long been viewed as one of the most powerful political bosses in New Jersey, even serving on Chris Christie's transition team when Christie was elected governor of New Jersey in 2009.

He was an equity partner and shareholder at Gilmore & Monahan P.A., and the U.S. Attorney's office said he exercised primary control over the firm's financial affairs. The firm has since been dissolved, but Gilmore and his former partner, Thomas E. Monahan, had served as the attorneys for multiple public bodies in Ocean County and throughout the state. Among the firm's clients are Berkeley Township, Lacey Township, Little Egg Harbor, Plumsted and Seaside Heights. Gilmore had been named township attorney in Howell in 2019 as well.

In addition to the dissolution of the law firm, Gilmore surrendered his license to practice law, the Asbury Park Press reported.

Federal prosecutors presented documents and testimony at trial that said because Gilmore exercised significant control over the law firm's financial affairs, he was responsible for withholding payroll taxes from the gross salary and wages of the law firm's employees to cover individual income, Social Security and Medicare tax obligations. For the tax quarters ending March 31, 2016, and June 30, 2016, the law firm withheld tax payments from its employees' checks, but Gilmore failed to pay over in full the payroll taxes due to the IRS, prosecutors said.

On the false loan application conviction, prosecutors said Gilmore submitted a loan application to Ocean First Bank in November 2014 (and updated it in January 2015) to refinance a mortgage for $1.5 million with a "cash out" provision. On that application he did not disclose his outstanding 2013 tax liabilities and personal loans that he had obtained from others. Gilmore received $572,000 from the cash out portion of the loan.

Previous coverage:

• Gilmore Resigns From Ocean County Board Of Elections: Reports
• Gilmore Conviction: What's Next For Ocean County GOP Chair
• Lacey Twp. Continuing Relationship With Gilmore Firm: Mayor
• Toms River Mayoral Hopefuls: Gilmore Should Leave Ocean GOP Chair
• Gilmore Guilty On 3 Counts In $1.5M Tax Evasion Case, Jury Rules
• Gilmore Tax Evasion Trial Under Way In Federal Court
• Ocean County GOP Chair Gilmore Indicted On $1M Tax Evasion: Feds
• Feds Subpoena Election Board Records On GOP Chair Gilmore: Report
• Ocean County GOP Party Head Under Investigation For Unpaid Taxes: Report

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