The mayor of Helmetta allegedly had an arrests in mind, and used her power to make sure they were carried out.
HELMETTA -- The former mayor of Helmetta used her political position to influence law enforcement and municipal judges to arrest and prosecute two animal activists who had spoken out against the borough's animal shelter, a recently filed lawsuit alleges.
Steven Wronko and Collene Freda-Wronko, of Spotswood -- who have been longtime vocal critics of the borough's now shuttered animal shelter -- filed a lawsuit last month in Middlesex County Superior Court against former Helmetta Mayor Nancy Martin, the borough police department and several officials.
The lawsuit raises troubling legal questions about the independence of judges and prosecutors and the political influence that a small-town mayor can have over the police.
The complaint cites an email that Martin appears to have written to borough police Director Robert Manney in November 2014, directing Manney to have his officers write summonses to any protesters gathering outside the shelter.
"Write as many tickets for cursing even ii (sic) is not directed at the police WE NEED THESE PEOPLE OUT OF OUR TOWN ... I want summons written each time," Martin appears to write in her email.
She also appears to write: "stretch the law if you have to. just do something lo (sic) get these people out of Helmetta for good.
Martin also mentions two North Brunswick judges, Christine Heitmann and William Feingold, and an assistant prosecutor at the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Cindy Glaser.
"I will speak with the prosecutor in NB and the Judge," Martin writes. "Heitmann who will speak with the other Judge Feingold about this case so nothing is thrown out."
The email adds, "Make sure that the case with the Wronkos goes as planned," the email says. "I need these people off the boro property and out of the council meetings for good. They keep bringing more evidence of animal abuse."
Feingold, Glaser, and Heitmann are not named as defendants in the complaint filed by the Wronkos.
Feingold had presided over two of Wronko's case. One of which resulted in Feingold finding Collene Wronko guilty of cursing and obstructing the administration of justice, sentencing her to 10 days in jail. The Wronkos allege that Feingold refused to recuse himself, even after Martin's alleged email had surfaced.
An email to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office seeking comment was not immediately returned on Wednesday.
The lawsuit alleges that in August 2014, a Helmetta police officer stopped Steven Wronko from videotaping inside a public building and that when Wronko protested the order by the officer, Robert Recine, Recine responded by saying, "Obama has decimated the freaking constitution. So I don't give a damn 'cause if he doesn't follow the constitution, we don't have to."
Wronko posted a video of the encounter on YouTube.
Following the incident, Recine resigned.
Roughly a month later, the mayor introduced an ordinance that sought to ban taking photographs and videos inside public buildings. A backlash from the public, however, led to the withdrawal of the ordinance, which had been unanimously approved by the council on first reading.
A call to Martin's attorney, James Stahl, was not immediately returned on Wednesday.
The Wronkos say the email was obtained following a legal battle in which a superior court judge ruled that Helmetta and its municipal clerk had violated the New Jersey Open Public Records Act Request, ordering the release of dozens of documents, previous reports said.
The Wronkos, who have pleaded not guilty to all the charges, have appealed their convictions in Middlesex County Superior Court and have filed a formal complaint with the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct. They are asking for an investigating into the conduct of judges Heitmann and Feingold.
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.