Gilmore Conviction: What's Next For Ocean County GOP Chair

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The verdict by a federal jury last week that found George Gilmore guilty of three charges at his federal trial may have closed the initial chapter of the Ocean County Republican boss' legal wrangling.

But what lies ahead for Gilmore is still unclear.

Gilmore, 69, was found guilty on two counts of failing to collect, account for, and pay over payroll taxes for two quarters in 2016, and one making false statements on a 2015 loan application submitted to Ocean First Bank following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court.

He was acquitted of two charges of two counts of filing false tax returns, for calendar years 2013 and 2014, and the jury did not return a verdict on a charge of income tax evasion for calendar years 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Gilmore's defense attorney, Kevin H. Marino, said he would be asking Thompson to overturn the verdict, and failing that, will file an appeal.

But the political fallout from the conviction is just beginning.

Gilmore has been the chairman of the Ocean County Republican party since 1996. He is the head of the Ocean County Board of Elections. And the law firm where he is an equity partner and shareholder in the firm, Gilmore and Monahan, is the law firm of record for multiple public bodies, including Berkeley Township, Lacey Township, Little Egg Harbor, Plumsted and Seaside Heights, and Howell was added in 2019. He also is the attorney for the South Jersey Transportation Authority.

Amid calls from some politicians, including all three Republican candidates for mayor in Toms River, for Gilmore to step down as the county GOP chair, Marino said that would not be happening.

"There's absolutely no reason for Mr. Gilmore to step down," Marino said late Wednesday afternoon, following the jury's verdict.

That tone apparently changed after state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said he would seek to have Gilmore removed from his public offices, via court order, the New Jersey Globe reported on Thursday, noting that state law allows for public officials convicted of "an offense involving dishonesty" to be removed from office.

Marino told the Asbury Park Press later Thursday thatGilmore will resign from his "public posts," but what posts exactly he will leave — beyond his role as chairman of the Ocean County Board of Elections — remains unclear.

Marino's comments also did not make it clear how quickly the resignation will happen, though he said a stipulation agreement for Gilmore to step down from public jobs pending the result of motions he has filed seeking to reverse the jury’s verdict would likely be worked out this coming week.

With the June 4 primaries just over a month away, and a hotly contested three-way Republican primary for mayor and council in Toms River, any lengthy delays in Gilmore leaving the Board of Elections post likely will cause an uproar, as candidates Maurice "Mo" Hill and Daniel Rodrick both have criticized the Regular Republican Club's nominee, Joseph Coronato, as being handpicked by Gilmore as the GOP mayoral candidate to replace the retiring Thomas Kelaher.

All three have called for Gilmore to step down as party chair and from public offices

But the other positions, where his law firm is the firm of record, are more complicated. Lacey Township, for instance, has said it will continue its contract with Gilmore's firm, saying its dealings are with Lauren Staiger, and not Gilmore directly.

The South Jersey Transportation Authority is weighing its options, the Press of Atlantic City reported. A vote taken before the verdicts on ending the contract with Gilmore's firm was split, the report said.

"To me it’s all politics," Marino told the Press of Atlantic City, calling it ridiculous that Gilmore should have to give up his career over the convictions on not paying payroll taxes.

Marino told the Asbury Park Press Gilmore would not step down as party chair, and that, locals acknowledge, is where he wields his power. In the months since Gilmore was indicted in January, talk in local circles has been constant about how Gilmore determined much of the party's patronage. That talk has grown louder and become more public in recent days. The question is whether and how much those who oppose Gilmore's actions will feel they can speak up.

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