Municipal courts still NJ cash machine: APP investigation looks at how the system hurts you

Kala Kachmar | Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Former municipal Judge Thompson accepted into PTI Former Monmouth County municipal Judge Richard B. Thompson is accepted into the pretrial intervention program. He had pled guilty to charges that he falsified records as part of a five-year ticket-fixing scheme.

The Asbury Park Press in an exclusive 2016 report gave you a look inside New Jersey's notorious municipal courts — a system that has helped cash-strapped towns treat hundreds of thousands of residents like human ATMs.

More than a year later, the cash grab continues, driven by a politically "incestuous" relationship between judges, prosecutors, police and local officials.

Are judges issuing guilty verdicts and approving pleas to keep local officials happy, all at the expense of you, the taxpayer?



Learn more in our follow-up investigation, coming soon to APP.com.

In the meantime, check out these stories on NJ's flawed municipal court system:

More: NJ chief justice: Stop turning municipal courts into moneymakers

More: Exclusive: Inside the municipal court cash machine

More: Ticket-fixing Jersey Shore judge avoids jail, might get record expunged