MSNBC rachel maddow

from MSNBC's Rachel Maddow show

A case that dominated headlines in Hunterdon County for years is receiving national attention because a former assistant prosecutor is drawing parallels between his firing and the Gov. Chris Christie "Bridgegate" scandal.

In both cases there are charges of wrongdoing, and links forming circles.

Ben Barlyn appeared yesterday evening, Jan. 30, with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow.

Her show started with a case in nearby Warren County, involving charges of wrongdoing among officials whose paths later crossed with Barlyn in Hunterdon County.

An 11-minute clip started with a recap of a 172-page state Commission of Investigation report that slammed how the Warren County SPCA had evolved to become an organization "above the law" and that existed "for the personal benefit" of "some participants."

The report said that the Warren SPCA had "wielded its authority in highly inappropriate ways."

TIMELINE:

Trout's contentious tenure and its aftermath

Among its findings were that over a seven-year period, the Warren SPCA had purchased 65,000 rounds of ammunition, along with equipment that most citizens associate with SWAT teams, not enforcement of the prevention of cruelty against animals.

Maddow pointed out that this included a "sniper rife," laser and night sights, tear gas, handcuffs and Apache ankle rigs.

She started naming names, beginning with Michael Russo, "one of the people in charge" of the Warren SPCA "back in its sniper rifle and tear gas days."

Then a map appeared of New Jersey, highlighting the shared boundaries of Warren and Hunterdon counties.

Hunterdon County Assistant Prosecutor Bennett Barlyn, foreground, in an August 2010 photo.

The rest of the news segment started with the election in November 2007 of Republican Deborah Trout as Hunterdon County sheriff.

Maddow's segment referenced news stories through the next several years, including those written by the Hunterdon County Democrat in print, and online at NJ.com.

There were questions and accusations throughout Trout's tenure, starting with her hiring decisions and devolving to include charges of political influence in Gov. Christie and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno's offices. Guadagno was elected Monmouth County sheriff the same year as Trout.

Among the charges dropped against Russo and Falat were ones that they used Sheriff's Department equipment to create fraudulent identification cards. One of them, Barlyn said, was given to a wealthy doctor and corporate executive who donated, along with his wife, more than $10,000 to Christie's first campaign and then served on a transition team.

"Maybe this whole insane story would have gone away," said Maddow, if not for the claims filed by Barlyn alleging wrongful termination.

Barlyn was fired, he has asserted repeatedly, after objecting publicly at a department meeting to the dismissal, three-and-a-half years ago, of 43 counts of official misconduct and other crimes that had been filed by his office against then-Sheriff Trout, then-Undersheriff Russo and a then-Sheriff's Office investigator, John Falat Jr., previously employed by the Warren County SPCA.

Maddow interviewed Barlyn, who spoke about his belief that Christie administration politics were behind his firing. Maddow drew a comparison between statements released by Christie spokespeople in connection with the dismissal of the 43 counts in 2010 and Bridgegate, a story that broke after Christie's landslide re-election in November.

This month the New Jersey SPCA has dominated local news, following its takeover on Jan. 15 of the Hunterdon Humane animal shelter and the filing of cruelty charges against shelter president and director Theresa Carlson.

This week the first of about 200 animals — a state SPCA investigator called the situation "hording" — from Hunterdon Humane are being offered for adoption by four other New Jersey shelters.

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