No remorse from once popular NJ mayor — blames health for guilty plea

✅ Sal Bonaccorso was just sworn in for a seventh term as mayor

✅ Pleaded guilty to corruption charge and agreed to quit public office

✅ Says his medical condition forced him to take plea deal

CLARK — Mayor Sal Bonaccorso, who resigned from office last week just days after being sworn in for a seventh term as part of a corruption case plea deal, continues to protest his innocence, despite pleading guilty.

In a post to a Facebook community group, Bonaccorso said it was a previously undisclosed medical condition that led him to give up the office.

The popular Republican, who has led Clark Township since 2001, admitted to using township materials to run his business as part of a plea deal announced Friday. The deal forces Bonaccorso to never hold a public position again.

In a post shared late Friday afternoon to the Clark Neighbors Facebook group, Bonaccorso said he was diagnosed "late in the campaign" with an aortic aneurism that would lead to "major heart surgery" in the future.

"The advice he has given me is to control long-term stress, blood pressure and weight. As you can imagine, any further legal fight over the next year would not be good for any of these," Bonaccorso wrote.

His attorney, Robert Stahl, said the decision was "the best course forward for his health, his family and the town he so dearly loves and has devoted more than two decades to.”

The mayor was accused of using township resources to run his business, fraudulently obtaining permits for his company to remove underground storage tanks and working without proper licensing. Bonaccorso pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit official misconduct and forgery.

"Mayor Bonaccorso has devoted decades to public service," his attorney said. "He was a consummate Mayor, relentlessly advocating for his community and its residents. He earned the respect and trust of Clark’s citizens and he devoted substantial hours every week to bettering Clark, acting more as a full-time Mayor rather than the part-time position the role called for."

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A handful of emails used to run business, mayor says

Bonaccorso said he was investigated for using a fax machine twice a month for seven years and sending "a handful" of emails, which had a value of $200. He also was charged with signing an engineer's name to permits for the removal of residential oil tanks.

"The engineer and I had a working business agreement including that his license would be used to apply for these permits, and he was compensated," Bonaccorso wrote.

Stronger Clark, a public advocacy group, said the mayor's resignation closes a "difficult chapter" for the township.

"Now is the time to look forward with hope. With new leadership and elections ahead, we have the opportunity to demand transparency, integrity, and a commitment to our community’s well-being. Together, we can use this moment to reflect, learn, and create a brighter future for Clark," the group said on its Facebook page.

The township Republican committee has two weeks to submit nominees to serve as interim mayor until a special election in November. Council President Angel Albanese is serving as acting mayor.

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