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The Morris County Prosecutor's Office investigated allegations tickets were improperly dismissed or altered in the Dover Joint Municipal Court.

(File Photo by Pamela Suchy / The Jersey Journal)

DOVER — Investigators looking into politically charged allegations that tickets were mishandled at the Dover Joint Municipal Court found "troubling" signs that dismissals may have been hidden from police and even municipal prosecutors.

"In fact, we have learned that the staff of the municipal court may be scheduling matters in a non-existent 'Courtroom 2' in order to avoid notifying the issuing officers," a November letter from the Morris County Prosecutor's Office to multiple government and court officials states. "Apparently, the police department is only noticed on those matters scheduled for 'Courtroom 1.'"

Dover has only one courtroom.

"If true, these actions are troubling to say the least," the letter continues.

The allegations stretch back as far as 2010 — and include one that motor vehicle summonses issued to a campaign worker associated with Democratic Mayor James Dodd may have been "improperly dismissed," according to the letter, signed by Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Robert A. Weber. NJ.com obtained the letter this month.

The prosecutor's office also investigated an allegation a court official asked a parking enforcement officer to voluntarily dismiss a ticket issued to a police officer's wife, according to the letter.

But the investigations "failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove any criminal act beyond a reasonable doubt," the letter states.

Weber's letter says some dismissals appear to have been made with the consent of municipal prosecutors, though he says it's not clear if prosecutors were consulted about the 'Courtroom 2' dismissals.

Investigators looked into allegations that a ticket for a campaign worker connected to Dover Mayor James Dodd, seen here in a 2005 file photo, had been improperly dismissed.

"It is our position that the issuing officers and the municipal prosecutors should be advised of all potential dismissals," he wrote. "A more transparent system regarding dismissals would go a long way to reducing the mistrust between the various stakeholders."

In the letter, addressed to Dover administrator William Close and Andrew Wubbenhorst, who became the presiding judge for Morris and Sussex municipal courts last summer, Weber says the prosecutor's office is referring the issues to those officials for administrative review and "any action you deem appropriate."

Of the more than a dozen officials connected to the Dover court or municipal government whom NJ.com has attempted to reach in the last few weeks, none have spoken to the substance of the investigation — though some acknowledged knowing it occurred. Few returned phone calls or emails at all.

Neither Close nor Wubbenhorst returned messages seeking comment on any steps they might have taken to address or investigate the issues discussed in the letter.

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Morris and Sussex Municipal Courts Division Manager Tricia Nikiel, Dover Court Administrator Sonia Barria and Municipal Prosecutor Douglas Cabana all acknowledged having seen the letter, though each said he or she couldn't comment on the findings it reported. Dover's other current municipal prosecutor, Lisa Thompson, said she's not familiar with the letter, though she was listed as CCed on it.

Nikiel said her own office's annual "snapshot" review of the courts did not find any extraordinary issues.

Former Municipal Prosecutor Manuel Fanarjuan, listed as the prosecutor on each of the tickets discussed in Weber's letter, told NJ.com he knows nothing about the allegations. He was not listed as CCed on the letter.

"I am certain that tickets were dismissed, because tickets get dismissed all the time — so far as I know there wasn't anything untoward during my tenure," Fanarjuan said. He also said he never heard of cases being sent to the non-existent "Courtroom 2."

Edward Correa, a co-founder of the We Are United & Organized, a grassroots advocacy group, said he first heard rumors of improper activity in the courts in 2011 and brought them to the state Office of the Attorney General. The state then referred those allegations to the county prosecutor's office, though it's not clear whether others may have also brought similar concerns to authorities, he said.

"I was surprised to read in the paper that the chief of police was going to sue the mayor," alleging the mayor tried to involve him in illegal activities, said Correa, a former alderman candidate and a frequent critic of the mayor's.

Last year, Police Chief Harold Valentine said Dodd had recently asked him to "participate in unlawful activities," but would not specify what those activities were.

At the time, two officials in the Morris County Prosecutor's Office told the Star-Ledger the office was investigating allegations that traffic tickets issued to at least two people connected to the mayor's campaign were dismissed for unknown reasons. The letter, however, appears to discuss only one campaign worker. A report by the Star-Ledger at the time did not specifically quote any officials saying the investigation was tied to Valentine's allegations.

Dodd — who has not returned calls placed recently by NJ.com to his municipal office or business — denied the accusations at the time.

"I have never heard of it," he said last year. "No one has brought anything like that to my attention."

Attorney Adam Kleinfeldt said at the time he planned to file a lawsuit on Valentne's behalf, claiming Dodd violated a whistleblower law and retaliated against the police chief. Those accusations came immediately after the Dover Town Board of Aldermen created a civilian public safety director position to oversee the police and fire departments, despite Valentine's objections.

Kleinfeldt told NJ.com this month the lawsuit he discussed last year has not yet been filed. Valentine, also listed as CCed on the prosecutor's office letter, declined comment.

The Dover Joint Municipal Court serves Dover, Mine Hill, Wharton, Mount Arlington and Rockaway Borough.

The prosecutor's office denied a public records request seeking documents that included the November letter.

The letter can be read below:

11-20-13 Letter on Dover Tickets Investigation

— NJ.com reporter Justin Zaremba contributed to this story