LAW and The Human Side in Any Conflict
The following is the first of a series of stories that grew out of the six year saga of the indictment of the former mayor of Wildwood, Gary DeMarzo and his attorney Sam Lashman by the Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor. In it the Independent Examiner will attempt to interview all sides involved and treat each with objectivity and integrity. In any epic legal battle it is easy to lose sight of the fact that real flesh and blood human beings are involved. This series will focus on the participants as people and how the events of six years have affected their lives and the lives of those closest to them. We hope you find it thought provoking.
“He who goes to law takes a wolf by the ear.” Russian Proverb
When the attorney who represented Gary DeMarzo filed the civil suit alleging wrong doing among various individuals and government entities he was very clear about the objective they sought. Atlantic City-based attorney Eric Lubin,, who also represented attorney Sam Lashman, said that the two were not seeking specific monetary damages. Instead, “we just want a jury to hear this,” Lubin said, adding “His whole life was tarnished,” This was ,Lubin said the effect the indictments had on DeMarzo, a former city police officer whose term as mayor ended in May 2011, when he lost the election after having been indicted by the County prosecutor. The indictment began a legal struggle that is now in its sixth year. During that time DeMarzo has been brought almost to financial catastrophe, had his former pristine reputation trashed and been forced to reorder his life and dreams in ways he never imagined when he first ventured into politics in 2005. Recently the Independent Examiner sat down with him and asked him what enabled him to keep going and not just throw in the towel as many others would have.
De Marzo began by telling I/E how he came to live in South Jersey. DeMarzo is a New York City boy, the son of a Jewish Mother and an Italian Father and like many from our neighbor to the north he loved to vacation at the Jersey shore, especially Wildwood. Then like so many before him he met and fell in love with one of our local beauties, Brandy and decided to make the vacation permanent. The year was 1990. The same year he began his career in law enforcement.
What attracted you to go into law enforcement? “It was a life’s dream,” he said.He told us that he was raised by his parents to always consider not just what he could do for himself but how he could contribute to his community as well. “I liked the human aspect of the job, interacting with people at their best and worst, the grittiness I guess. And I felt I got to do some good for others.”
How did you become involved in local politics? “Another one of my passions is education,” said DeMarzo who had worked as a substitute teacher, He also referenced his experience as a local cop.” Working as a policeman I saw a lot of kids who got in trouble because they were deprived of a lot including education.” With that mind set DeMarzo ran for the School Board in 2005 and was elected .He served a two year term and then set his sights on City Hall. There was also a change in the administration of the Police Department. “A lot of the older officers who had ever anticipate the trouble you were DeMarzo admits to acting inappropriately in one instance which merited him a suspension. He ran for Commissioner in 2007 and won. It was then he availed himself of a state law the Electoral Leave Act which permitted him to take a leave of absence from his police job. Others in City government disagreed with his interpretation of the law and wanted him to resign completely from the police department or as mayor. The legal marathon began.
Did you ever anticipate the trouble you were courting when you became mayor? ”Not really. Mr. Davenport and Troiano spent $50,000 of the taxpayers’ money to get at me and I get it. Politics is rough and tumble. But then it escalated from the purely political to the personal.”
DeMarzo is here referring to the criminal indictments which lasted for four years brought by the County prosecutor We will not retell this part of the story here as the I/E wants to focus on how this all affected Gary as a person.
How did you feel being a police officer and being charged with a felony that carried a stiff prison term? “When somebody does this to you it’s terrifying.”
Would you have been able to work out a deal that would have avoided a jail term and resulted in only a minor penalty? “I’m sure I could’ve.”
Then why didn’t you? “My parents are still alive. They raised me with strong ethical values. My Dad always stressed ‘Don’t lie don’t cheat don’t steal Keep your word. Honor the family name. I couldn’t tarnish my Dad’s name by pleading guilty to something I was not guilty of.”
You had another big event in 2010 also. “The birth of my son Garrett. He is the joy of my life. I did not want to make him grow up in shame thinking his dad was a crooked politician. I owed it to him to protect the honor of the family name.”
How did your wife Brandy handle this given the effects it would have on her life. At his point DeMarzo takes a deep breath trying. to compose his emotions. “My wife is such a blessing. She has been a rock. She has never wavered in her support of me and this whole event was devastating to us financially, emotionally socially and she just stood by me like a rock. I don’t know what I would do without her. We both had to go to counselling to learn how to deal with the stress. and the exhaustion.”
What did you find to be the most terrible about the entire ordeal? “The fact that someone else involved in law enforcement would do this to me I was a cop. Imagine a felony conviction! This was a death sentence. Cops don’t make it in prison.”
What are your plans for the future? Do they include politics? “The whole ordeal made me redefine and refocus my life and the priorities of my life. Such a thing redefines who you are when you are four years under indictment and the cable has to go, the cars have to go because you can’t afford the car insurance, no more vacations and then there are the legal expenses, without the help of family and friends I may have ended up homeless.”
What would you like to leave our readers with? “Don’t cheat. Don’t Lie. Don’t steal. You only have your name and your honor and you have to protect that.”
Staff Reporter
Independent Examiner 