Anthony Salters, the powerful and well-connected chairman of the Democratic Party in Hillside, N.J., pleaded guilty in January to federal tax fraud. Three months later, Hillside’s school district hired him for a newly created, $80,000 job teaching homebound students.
He was sentenced in August to six months in prison, federal records show. But that did not stop the school district from giving Mr. Salters, 62, a second job: club adviser at a middle school.
There is no possibility that the district was unaware Mr. Salters had admitted to willfully failing to file taxes; his criminal defense lawyer, Raymond Hamlin, is also the school board’s lawyer.
Even in a state known for political patronage and corruption, the post-plea appointments to two taxpayer-funded jobs — and Mr. Salter’s continuing role as Hillside’s Democratic leader despite being in prison — are striking. And at a moment when New Jersey politics are at a crossroads, they highlight the challenge facing those seeking to upend the old ways of wielding power.
“People keep stealing our watch and telling us what time it is,” said Dahlia Vertreese, Hillside’s mayor.
It is not clear if Mr. Salters is being paid while in prison; district officials refused to respond to questions about his job status or salary history. But his post-conviction hiring demonstrated the degree to which political patronage can sideline sensible policy decisions.
Mr. Salters entered prison on Oct. 1, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons. He is expected to remain there through March, making it unclear how he could have been hired to fulfill a teaching or advising role during the current school year.
Ms. Vertreese, a Democrat, has openly opposed Mr. Salters’s political influence in the 22,000-person township, 20 miles west of Manhattan. And residents of Hillside said the district’s decision to hire Mr. Salters has exposed how a broken system permits political power brokers to operate with impunity.
Political corruption in New Jersey has been the dominant theme of the race to replace Robert Menendez, the state’s longtime Democratic senator who was convicted in July of peddling his influence for bribes of gold, cash and a Mercedes-Benz. Two lawsuits, including one filed by Representative Andy Kim, the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat, have upended a mainstay of party politics — a ballot design known as “the line” — that for decades has given leaders like Mr. Salters outsize power.
The practice allowed county leaders to give preferred candidates a prominent spot on primary ballots — placement that studies have shown affords an often insurmountable advantage. A federal judge and an appeals court have deemed it unconstitutional.
“Time and again, New Jersey gives us examples of officeholders, candidates and party officials who do not have the best interests of voters and constituents at heart,” said Brett Pugach, a lawyer involved in both federal suits. “Rather, they are selected either based on personal relationships or to fulfill the private interests of party leaders.”
The school district’s superintendent, Erskine Glover, and business administrator, David Eichenholtz, did not reply to emails, calls or a public records request for information about Mr. Salters. But three people familiar with Hillside’s employment process, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they fear retribution, said Mr. Salters remains a district employee.
Mr. Hamlin said he was barred from discussing any employee’s job status. He also instructed board of education members not to discuss the matter after they were contacted by a New York Times reporter.
Commenting on behalf of Mr. Salters and the school board, Mr. Hamlin did say there was nothing in New Jersey law to preclude Mr. Salters from continuing to work for Hillside — or serving as its Democratic Party leader.
“Whatever public employment he may or may not have,” Mr. Hamlin said, “there is no legal prohibition against him holding public employment.”
Asked whether he expected Mr. Salters to step down as the township’s Democratic chairman, he said, “I don’t see why he would.”
The leader of the Democratic Party in Union County, which includes Hillside, is no ordinary citizen.
Nicholas Scutari, a state senator, has been Union County’s chairman since 2018. He held on to his county leadership role the next year with Mr. Salters’s support, and in 2021 he became Senate president, making him one of three men in Trenton whose support is needed for most political appointments and all legislation.
Mr. Scutari said he was unaware that Mr. Salters was in prison.
As for the teaching position, he said, “If he’s incarcerated, I think it would make it pretty difficult to do the job.”
Ms. Vertreese, 47, was elected mayor in 2017 on a ticket backed by Mr. Salters, who each election cycle runs a slate of school board and council candidates. She said they soon parted ways.
Mr. Salters was charged with tax and wire fraud by the U.S. attorney’s office in the District of New Jersey in 2020.
The next year, he helped to open a new school in Hillside with $2.4 million in state funds; the school’s ribbon cutting drew Mr. Scutari and Gov. Philip D. Murphy, a Democrat who at the time was campaigning for re-election.
Many serious crimes, including murder and sexual assault, would automatically disqualify a potential school employee from being hired, according to state law. Tax fraud is not on the list of disqualifying offenses, and a spokeswoman for the State Department of Education referred questions to the district, which has full control over hiring.
Mr. Murphy’s spokesman said the governor did not believe Mr. Salters should be a paid school employee, or a Democratic chairman, while in prison.
Hillside students, the majority of whom are Black or Latino, lag behind their peers in much of the rest of Union County. Roughly 42 percent of students are proficient in English, and 18 percent are proficient in math, well below the statewide averages.
Ms. Vertreese said her efforts to publicize new recreation options for students have been blocked by Mr. Salters and his allies in the schools.
“People focus so much on the cities,” she said. “But the majority of New Jersey are these little, small, tiny towns — where no one is paying attention.”
The post A Democratic Boss Is in Prison. He Still Has 2 Public School Jobs. appeared first on New York Times.
