Mark Sheridan said the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office reneged on its promise to not indict his brother on cocaine charges after the family challenged its findings that their parents died in a murder-suicide.
MONTGOMERY -- Mark Sheridan said Wednesday that the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office had promised not to prosecute his twin brother, Matthew, for possession of cocaine, but changed its mind when the family challenged the office's ruling that their parents died in a murder-suicide.
Matthew Sheridan was arrested Sept. 28, 2014, for alleged cocaine possession, but not charged. He was indicted on the charge on March 17, 2016. Matthew Sheridan, who was arrested for possession of cocaine hours after the death of his parents, John and Joyce Sheridan, on Sept. 28, 2014, was indicted Tuesday on a charge of third-degree possession of cocaine.
The indictment was handed up on March 17 by a Middlesex County grand jury. However, the case has been transferred back to Somerset County, where it will prosecuted by Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office First Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Kuberiet.
"In October of 2014, Prosecutor (Geoffrey) Soriano called to inform me that the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office had decided it was not going to prosecute Matt," said Mark Sheridan. "This message was also conveyed by Assistant Prosecutor Robert Hawkes to (Matt's attorney) Henry Klingeman.
"It wasn't until we challenged the conclusions of their investigation and attacked their work that they reneged on their promise and decided to prosecute Matt."
Klingeman, of the Newark-based law firm of Krovatin Klingeman in Newark, was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.
Matthew Sheridan indicted on cocaine possession
Somerset County Acting Prosecutor Michael Robertson, who, on Wednesday, held his first news conference since taking office 30 days ago, declined to comment when asked if he had knew the prosecutor's office had promised not to prosecute Matthew Sheridan. He referred all questions to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.
Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Jim O'Neill has not returned phone calls seeking comment.
Robertson said the investigation into the cause of John and Joyce Sheridan's death "is currently in litigation with the state medical examiner. It is going through a review process. I know everyone is well aware that the process is playing itself out. As a result, I have not comment at this time as to what this office will do or not do."
As previously reported by NJ Advance Media, Matthew Sheridan's case had been transferred to eliminate the appearance of a conflict of interest because of possible civil litigation by the Sheridan family against the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.
Robertson said Wednesday that Somerset County never moved to change the venue of the case. He stressed that it will be prosecuted by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.
Sheridan, 41, who lived with his parents in the Skillman section of the township, was arrested when police allegedly found cocaine in his car hours after his parents death. Sheridan's car was parked outside his parent's home and the family was being questioned when the vehicle was searched.
Sheridan, who had driven home from New York on the day his parents were found dead, had been free on his own recognizance following his arrest.
John Sheridan, 72, was chief executive officer of Cooper Health System and a politically-connected former state transportation commissioner. Joyce Sheridan, 69, was a retired schoolteacher.
On March 27, 2015, the prosecutor's office ruled the deaths of John and Joyce Sheridan as a murder-suicide, stating John stabbed his wife to death before pouring gasoline throughout their bedroom and setting it on fire. John Sheridan then stabbed himself and died in the burning bedroom, according to a prosecutor's report.
A timeline on the Sheridan investigation
Family, colleagues and friends of the Sheridans have long contested the prosecutor's findings, which culminated in the Feb. 18 decision to replace Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano with Robertson.
State Sen. Christopher "Kip" Bateman said at the time that lingering questions about the Sheridan case was part of the reason for Soriano's departure.
The Sheridan's sons had recently submitted expert opinion to New Jersey authorities seeking to overturn a ruling that their father committed suicide, and on Feb. 17 a group known as the Friends of John & Joyce Sheridan stated in a letter that the family is offering a $250,000 reward "for information leading to the arrest and conviction of John and Joyce's killer(s)."
Its members include former Governors Thomas Kean, James J. Florio and Christine Whitman, former Supreme Court Justice Gary Stein and former Attorneys General John Farmer and Peter Harvey.
Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.