Scandalous donations from a sex-addicted Senator and corrupt insurance broker are funding renegade Roselle council candidates who are opposing contenders supported by the local Democratic Party and state Senate President Nick Scutari, who is also chairman of the Union County Democratic Committee.
Explosive election financial reports filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission have revealed that Roselle council candidates Rosie McCamery and Brandon Bernier are being funded by some of the most corrupt figures in Garden State politics.
The reports show $2,600 in contributions from Donald R. Readlinger, a disgraced insurance broker, and a staggering $5,000 from Senator Joe Cryan, notorious for his sex addiction scandal.
Residents are asking why McCamery and Bernier are accepting payoffs from individuals with such controversial behavior and questionable reputations in New Jersey politics but the candidates are not talking.
Shady Donors Exposed
Donald R. Readlinger, the former president & Chief Executive Officer of Hale Insurance Brokerage, LLC, and currently the owner of Readlinger Capital Advisors, which operates as a insurance consulting company, has a dark history of deceit and forgery.
In 2004, 2006, and 2007, Readlinger was caught red-handed forging a municipal official’s signature on insurance documents to secure lucrative contracts and engaging in other illegal activity.
Instead of facing jail time, he received a mere slap on the wrist.
In a Consent Order E04-88, entered on August 16, 2004, Readlinger agreed to the placement of his license on probationary status for 12 months and the payment of a $5,000 fine.
After failing to timely notify the Department of a change of business address, Order to Show Cause #E06-71, April 24, 2006 charged Readlinger “with forging the signature of a municipal official on change of broker request letters with respect to the municipality’s employees’ health and dental benefits insurance; submitting the change of broker requests to the municipality’s insurer without the knowledge of or authority from the municipality.”
Readlinger and Hale Insurance Agency were subsequently fined $20,000 under Consent Order #E07-85, October 22, 2007.
The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance discovered that “Readlinger prepared and sent to carriers change of broker request letters on behalf of Hale agency using the reproduced signature of a municipal official.”
Hale subsequently resigned as the municipality’s insurance broker but the sanctions imposed included a surrender of producer license having the effect of revocation for Readlinger and the probation of the Hale agency’s license for two years. Despite his license being revoked, Readlinger remained in charge of the company until Hale Insurance merged with HUB International, which was the tenth-largest broker in the world.
Despite his fraudulent past, Readlinger continues to rake in taxpayer money through shady government contracts and a consultancy that shields his profiteering from public examination, raising serious ethical questions about his ongoing pay-to-play influence.
A scathing state watchdog report found Roselle missed opportunities to save $1.9 million on employee health insurance benefits and made improper payments of about $800,000 for insurance premiums. Bernier was responsible for that wasteful spending, as finance committee chair, but two years later, the state Controller’s Office reported that
Bernier is also the target of numerous civil rights and defamation lawsuits, including one filed by a volunteer who was forced off the library board by the 32-year-old councilman, who still lives in his parents’ home.
Senator Joe Cryan’s sordid history is even more sinister.
Cryan funneled $5,000 from his campaign to McCamery and Bernier, but his reputation is stained by a lurid scandal involving explicit emails to a lobbyist that we revealed in a blockbuster New York Post report.
That story exposed Cryan’s “insatiable lust for bondage, oral sex, and spanking,” detailing over 150 graphic emails.
Cryan desperately tried to keep his emails hidden as he lied to criminal investigators and prosecutors who were manipulated into punishing the ex-girlfriend.
Incredibly, the evidence suggesting that Cryan was masturbating at work and abusing government computers to dispatch salacious messages never damaged his political career.
Despite the scandal breaking, revealing his double life and casting a long shadow over his political actions, Cryan got promoted to sheriff of Union County, then to senator, and he eve defeated Jamel Holley, a former assemblyman and mayor who compared the sinful and corrupt politician to Bull Connor during his 2021 primary campaign.
In a stunning display of nepotism and greed, Cryan also had nearly a dozen family members on government payrolls, and he collects more than $330,000 annually from his two government jobs.
Allegations of political manipulation and corruption have followed Cryan, but such means as McCamery money and Brandon Bernier bucks have allowed him to get away with controlling patronage in the borough.
Former Councilwoman Hazel Walker accused Cryan of turning Roselle into his personal patronage playground, filled with cronyism and corruption.
According to Walker, Bernier, acting as Cryan’s political puppet, orchestrated the replacement of numerous long-serving Roselle officials with Cryan’s loyalists.
This alleged purge has affected key positions, including the borough’s administrator, finance official, police chief, fire chief, public works supervisor, and economic development director, turning the local government into a den of political patronage.
Also while he was in the General Assembly, the Union Township political boss earned the nickname ‘Mr. 41’ because every time Governor Chris Christie needed the deciding 41st vote for his radical Republican agenda, he got it from Joe Cryan, making him New Jersey’s version of corporate coal baron Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia.
Cryan’s crucial vote sent radical Republican legislation to Christie’s desk, which allowed the GOP Governor to shutter a half-dozen Planned Parenthood clinics in New Jersey, eliminate property tax rebates for 2010, and stick New Jerseyans with a 4.1 percent property tax increase, among other things.
The former Republican Governor and Cryan appeared to have a contentious relationship. However, during his tenure as US Attorney in President George W. Bush Jr.’s administration, Christie did not prosecute the Democratic lawmaker for allegedly diverting funds from non-profit charities to his political campaigns.
The Battle for Roselle’s Soul
The financial backing from Readlinger and Cryan pits McCamery and Bernier against candidates supported by the genuine Democrats, Lisa Palin and Darryl Barnes.
This internal power struggle has erupted into a full-blown war, with each faction vying for control and dominance. The involvement of such controversial figures has transformed the Roselle council race into a high-stakes drama filled with intrigue and backroom deals.
Broader Implications
These revelations highlight a disturbing trend of dubious financial influence in local politics. Critics warn that such tainted contributions could undermine the democratic process and erode public trust. The sordid backgrounds of Readlinger and Cryan raise alarming ethical concerns and potential conflicts of interest.
As Roselle heads towards election day, voters face a crucial decision: whether to support candidates tainted by scandal and corruption or to seek a cleaner, more transparent path forward. The shocking financial revelations serve as a stark reminder of the critical need for integrity and accountability in political financing.
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