Union County Prosecutor: Mismanagement, But No Criminal Activity, by MusicFest Organizers

Citing "insufficient evidence," the Union County Prosecutor's Office announced that a five-month investigation into the financial dealings of the 2010 Union County MusicFest would result in no charges against the organizers of the week-long carnival and music festival that has drawn tens of thousands of people each September for the last 14 years.

The report — which included a 17-page letter from Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow — was sent to Union County Manager Alfred Faella Thursday afternoon. John Holl, spokesman for the prosecutor's office, announced the ruling about the financial dealings for the festival, which is free to the public. The festival, once held at Nomahegan Park in Westfield, moved last year to Oak Ridge Park in Clark. 

"The management of the event from the drafting of the contracts to the accounting of monies was poorly executed by the County of Union," Romankow writes. "An event of this nature requires constant oversight and personal involvement by those in County government who endorse it. It received neither. The use of public monies demands much more than it received." 

The investigation began in March, when Cranford resident Tina Renna, the founder of the Union County Watchdog Association and the County Watchers, wrote a letter to the Office of the Attorney General, alleging that as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars was missing from the parking receipts for MusicFest 2010. On-site parking cost $10 per car, and then-County Manager George Devanney asserted that as many as 80,000 people attended MusicFest.

The Attorney General referred the matter to the Union County Prosecutor's Office, which ultimately said it found evidence of mismanagement, but not criminal activity. Contracts between the county and the Hoboken-based This Is It! Concepts and Event Production, for example, were "vague and inconsistent," Romankow writes in his letter to Faella. The county and its contractors, at times, failed to abide by the terms of their contracts, and This Is It actually owes Union County more than $24,000. 

Overall, 2010 MusicFest cost Union County more than $1.12 million, Romankow reports. Some of the largest expenses included:

• About $343,000 for This Is It, 
• About $440,000 for the Union County Performing Arts Center, which contracted with the county to procure musical acts,
• About $200,000 in overtime for police and county employees (about $93,000 of that amount was in the form of comp. time),
• And $27,500 for Across the River, a Hoboken-based company that provided "consulting services" for the festival.

Revenue, meanwhile, came from parking, merchandise sales and the midway, which included a children's play area. From the merchandise and children's area, Union County made about $17,000, Romankow states. Parking generated $46,833.85 in 2010 – in a footnote, Romankow acknowledges "this figure does not equate to a multiplier of ten. However this is the figure that was provided." He adds that organizers' method for counting the number of cars that paid for parking was significantly flawed and, as a result, "there is no way to determine whether Devanney's estimate of attendance is accurate, nor is it possible to determine the number of vehicles that actually paid to park at the event." Inaccurate multiples of 10 aside, that means that roughly 4,600 carloads, or roughly 650 per day, were parked at the event lots.

A charity group also sought to raise money at MusicFest, which raised additional concerns, Romankow writes. Love Hope Strength, a Boulder-based nonprofit that raises money for cancer centers, according to its website, held a walkathon, a 50/50 raffle and organized the festival's beer tent. Cash proceeds from the raffle and beer tent totaled more than $42,000, Romankow states, but "there were no records to verify the amount" generated by the walkathon. Moreover, the money that was raised was carried by Devanney and stored in a county safe.

"County employees should not personally handle the funds raised by a charitable organization," Romankow recommends, adding "proceeds collected by charity should not be placed in a county safe." 

In addition, the board of Love Hope Strength's Union County chapter, according to Romankow's report, includes a number of county employees, including Devanney. Romankow argues that all county officials be required to disclose those positions.

Love Hope Strength national event director Sean Thomas, contacted by telephone Thursday afternoon, referred calls to the organization's press contact and executive director. Neither returned phone calls; the executive director's voice mail stated that she is traveling until Aug. 29. 

In a statement, county spokesman Sebastian D'Eliia wrote, "We thank the Prosecutor's Office for taking the time to conduct a thorough examination of the fiscal practices and controls of this event to ensure that it runs properly and efficiently. We've accepted the findings and will give serious consideration to implementing his recommendations in a thorough manner. Contrary to what some individuals have erroneously alleged, the report proves once again there was never any deliberate wrongdoing or criminal intent."

Faella, the county manager, did not return calls to his office. Holl, the prosecutor's office spokesman, referred questions back to Romankow's report.

Renna, when reached by phone, said she was disappointed. "It's outrageous. He holds absolutely no one accountable," she stated. "It's an obvious smokescreen.

"It's nothing I didn't expect," she added. "From the beginning, I said the Union County prosecutor should not investigating the county."

Red flags aside, organizers are ramping up for another the 2011 MusicFest, which runs from Sept. 14 through Sept. 18, and will include performances by Blondie, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, the Smithereens and Neon Trees.