newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JOE TYRRELL

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Hunterdon County Sheriff Deborah Trout and associates pleaded not guilty to official misconduct charges while their attorneys seek a meeting with the incoming county prosecutor.

In Somerville, Superior Court Judge Paul Armstrong set bail at $25,000, with a 10 percent cash option, for Trout, Undersheriff Michael Russo and former investigator John Falat Jr.

Armstrong noted defense statements that the three are anxious to air the charges in court and said he is confident they will appear for hearings. But the seriousness of the second-degree charges argued for setting some bail, the judge said.

Outside the courtroom, Alton Kinney, Russo's attorney, blamed former Hunterdon Prosecutor J. Patrick Barnes for releasing the sealed indictments on his last day in office, May 7.

The move was unusual for several reasons, not least because Russo is seeking the Republican nomination for sheriff in neighboring Warren County in next month's primary, Kinney said.

Russo is "absolutely not" dropping out of the race, Kinney said. "The people of Warren County will understand the genesis of these charges" in an investigation conducted by Barnes while Trout was locked in a budget dispute with the Hunterdon freeholders, he said.

Barnes' staff raided the sheriff's office in December 2008 and obtained the indictments two months ago, when they were sealed. "What was the rush to release them" before acting Prosecutor Dermot O'Grady took over, Kinney asked.

"Mr. O'Grady has not had a chance to come in and review the files," Kinney said, adding the three defense attorneys "intend to ask for a meeting with him next week."

"This is my 35th year in the law... and this is about the oddest indictment I've ever seen," Kinney said. "It's like something out of Dickens."

Gelber said the case centers on "alleged internal mismanagement," but with "no evidence of any dishonest behavior."

The indictments charge Trout failed to oversee Russo and required "loyalty oaths," pledges by her hires that they would not work against her politically.

Such allegations have been floated in the recent past, including a suit over political pressure Trout and other sheriff's officers filed against former Sheriff William Doyle. The Hunterdon freeholders eventually settled the case for $600,000.

Russo faces a lengthier list of charges, ranging from intimidation to filing false or incomplete personnel forms and maintaining business cards with erroneous titles.

Falat resigned after a few months on the job. He was one of two sheriff's officers accused in 2008 of failing to disclose information on county personnel forms. He has contested that charge, and "has made all court appearances" in the ongoing case, although the proceedings have been few, said his attorney Joseph Donahue.

The new indictment also charges him with keeping departmental property, including ammunition. Unlike Trout and Russo, Falat was not an administrator, Donahue said.

Hunterdon Assistant Prosecutor William McGovern said he could not yet say whether his office will seek one trial or separate trials for the defendants.

Joe Tyrrell may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it