mackwater.zip

File photo of 302 West State Street in Trenton at the corner of Calhoun St. on the morning of Monday, September 23, 2013, the day of a press conference by Trenton mayor Tony Mack speaks before demolition began on the Glen Cairn Arms complex on the opposite corner. A crane in front of the Glen Cairn Arms is reflected in the window at left.

(Michael Mancuso/The Times)

TRENTON – Detectives from the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office executed a search warrant at a city building owned by Mayor Tony Mack on Thanksgiving Day, a spokeswoman said this afternoon.

The search comes after The Times reported Thursday that Mack did not pay for any water usage at the building for five years.

Detectives searched the building at the corner of West State Street and Calhoun Street on the authority of a warrant signed off on by a Superior Court judge, prosecutor's office spokeswoman Casey DeBlasio said today. DeBlasio would not comment further, but said no arrests have been made.

The building searched that morning, 302 West State Street, was used as Mack’s campaign headquarters during his 2010 run for mayor. Its first-floor commercial space currently houses the law offices of James Rolle, Mack’s nephew who the mayor appointed to the city’s Board of Education earlier this year.

Water usage records obtained by The Times showed meter readings at the building recorded zero water use every quarter from the end of 2008 to September of this year.

During part of that time, Mack rented out apartments on the second and third floors, hosted a kickoff party for his campaign inside, and ran the successful mayoral bid that included workers coming in and out.

Mack was still charged the minimum Water Works service charge, but paid his bill infrequently and was subjected to 14 shutoff notices since taking mayor in July 2010. It was unclear whether the water was actually shut off, however.

Mack purchased the building under a limited liability company called Foremost Development and Construction, whose incorporation papers list him as the only officer.

The prosecutor's office arrested and charged Mack's half-brother Stanley "Muscles" Davis in December 2010 after catching him in a sting operation where he performed a private contracting job on city time and with Water Works equipment. Davis, who was indicted along with two other Water Works employees, pleaded guilty and began a six-year state prison sentence last year.

The grand jury in that case debated indicting Mack, but was advised against doing so by the prosecutor's office, which did not believe it had enough evidence to convict the first-term mayor.

Trenton Water Works is a municipal utility run by the city’s Public Works Department, over which Mack has authority as mayor. The utility serves the capital city along with Ewing, Hamilton, Lawrence and Hopewell Township.

Mack is under federal indictment on separate corruption charges. His trial in that case is set to begin Jan. 6.

2 trchristie HINDASH.JPG

CONNECT WITH US: On mobile or desktop:

• Like Times of Trenton on Facebook

• Follow @TimesofTrenton on Twitter