'Super pooper' suspect resigns from Kenilworth, demands $1M from police

Alex N. Gecan | Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Holmdel high school track 'pooper' makes court appearance Thomas Tramaglini, schools superintendent in Kenilworth, made his initial appearance in Holmdel Township municipal court.

Thomas Tramaglini, the suspected Holmdel High School track pooper, has resigned as superintendent of Kenwilworth Public Schools, according to a notice on the district's website.

Tramaglini, 42, of Aberdeen, has also taken the first steps in suing the Holmdel police department for at least $1 million.

Tramaglini was charged May 1 with public urination or defecation, discarding and dumping of litter and lewdness by police after Holmdel school staff and coaches told a school resource officer "that they were finding human feces" at or near the high school track and football field "on a daily basis," Holmdel police said at the time.

"Based on events unrelated to his service for Kenilworth, it has become clear to both Dr. Tramaglini and the Kenilworth Board of Education that his continued service as superintendent of schools has become too much of a distraction to the main mission of the district," a July 26 notice on the district's website read.

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"In recognition of this fact, and in an effort to avoid legal fees and expensive litigation, and in the best interests of all concerned, including the faculty, staff and students of the Kenilworth School District, Dr. Tramaglini has tendered, and the board has accepted, his resignation effective September 30, 2018," according to the notice.

Tramaglini's contract would have run until July 1, 2020, according to the statement.

Tramaglini's salary with Kenilworth was $147,504, according to state pension records.

The school district is searching for an interim superintendent, according to the statement.

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Tramaglini's attorney, Matthew Adams, issued a written statement on his client's behalf after a June court date. You can watch video from that appearance above.

"The hallmark of our system of justice is the presumption of innocence. Unless or until proven guilty at trial within the framework established by the rules of evidence, every defendant enjoys that basic, liberty-defining right," Adams wrote.

"Leaks, half-truths and outright falsehoods about a good man with an exceptional record of public service are not a substitute for admissible evidence," Adams wrote.

Adams did not specify who had leaked information what or what he believed to be half-true or false.

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Adams forwarded to the Asbury Park Press a notice of tort claim — a preliminary step in a civil suit — against the Holmdel Township Police Department.

The notice claims that Holmdel police "unlawfully photographed" Tramaglini by taking his mugshot and then made it public.

"The amount claimed is estimated to be in excess of $1 million, which includes, but is not limited to, the reasonable financial loss of income, harm to reputation, emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and intrusion on seclusion," according to the notice.

Alex N. Gecan: @GeeksterTweets; 732-643-4043; agecan@gannettnj.com