Disability Client In PASP Program Volunteer Work Included “Removing Rust” From Salem County Clerk Candidate’s Fence (While that candidate was a Freeholder)

Beth Timberman

We don’t do a lot in Salem County here at The Bob & Steve Show. In fact, the last time we did anything in Salem County we wondered if taxpayers paid for the orange juice Bob Gant spilled on his shirt before beating an inmate at the old county jail.

Well, it’s election season and we’re back in Salem County. Remember the time a client in the state’s Personal Assistance Service Program (PASP) performed volunteer community service hours such as “removing rust off” former Salem County Freeholder Beth Timberman’s fence? Neither do we, because no one ever reported it. But it’s true, according to the volunteer’s own log (and an email) volunteer hours were performed on Timberman’s fence while she was serving as a county Freeholder.

Apparently, one of our sources knew this happened because in an email dated October 24, 2014 a county official responded to “OPRA 167.” I’ve copied and pasted the email below. I, simply because I can and I felt like it, chose to redact the names of the county official and the person who filed the Open Public Records Act request.

From: "XXXXX, XXXXX" <xxxxxx@salemcountynj.gov>
Date: October 24, 2014 at 12:05:04 PM EDT
To: "xxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com" <xxxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com>
Cc: "XXXXXX, XXXXX" <xxxxxxxxxx@salemcountynj.gov>
Subject: OPRA167 Shirlee Manahan Project Freedom PASP: response

Dear XXXXXX:

Attached please find two PDFs relating to your OPRA request for “Correspondence promoting or reflecting relocation to Project Freedom” and “Volunteer work assignments (hours and locations clients reported) for disability clients in the PASP program from 2005-2012.”

There were redactions of the client names per HIPAA privacy regulations.

Because redactions can be considered a partial denial, you have denial rights of appeal.

A screen shot of your rights are provided below.

Please contact me with any questions.

Thank you.

XXXXXX.

Below are the two PDFs referenced in the above email. Scrolling through you will find interesting items including required reports of volunteer hours with items including, “helped my landlord paint a fence and clean up brush 8 hours” and “beth timberman continued removing paint and rust off 2 hours”

There is also an email that says, in part, “I am working on Beth Timberman’s gates removing all the rust off them for her to paint them. I am doing so well with them that Jeff Ridgway wants me to do the same for the fences near the courthouse.”

As you scroll through you will also notice lots of volunteer hours at Salem County Democratic Party in 2007.

As you review the documents below you might want to ask yourself why an elected official who wants to be an elected official again would have had a person with a disability performing volunteer work at her house. Is that the type of person you want to vote for?

A Tale Of Two Tort Claims

As most of our readers know The Bob & Steve Show was notified former candidate for sheriff in Salem County, Bob Gant, filed a Notice of Tort Claim because he apparently plans to sue us, and 18 other entities and/or persons, for a total of $350,000.

As far as The Bob & Steve Show is concerned this is nothing more than Gant attempting to crush our First Amendment rights. As to everyone else named in Gant’s notice, if he goes through with this and files an actual lawsuit it will likely go down as one of the most frivolous lawsuits ever filed in New Jersey. Really, this whole thing is just Gant being a sore loser.

There was another Notice of Tort Claim filed that folks are now learning about. According to NJ.com Katie Brennan, “who accused a former top Murphy staffer of raping her in 2017, is seeking damages from the state of New Jersey for inflicting ‘emotional distress’ by employing her accused rapist,” has filed a Notice of Tort Claim and accused “the administration of acting “unlawfully, intentionally, negligently and/or with reckless indifference” when it hired and retained Albert J. Alvarez.”

NJ.com provided a link to Brennan’s Notice of Tort Claim here.

There are some very big differences between these two tort claims.

First, Gant claims to be suffering “both mentally, physically and emotional and economically as a result of the aforementioned breach.” Frankly, I think the only thing Gant suffers from is being a sore loser and even made fun of his “suffering” in a blog post yesterday. Brennan, in her Notice of Cort Claim states she is suffering from “emotional distress and other damages.” I absolutely, positively believe her!

Second, what happened to Katie Brennan is real and should never happen to anyone. Frankly her attacker is lucky she isn’t one of my sister because I guarantee if she were I would have hunted her attacker down by now, and I’m sure Bob would be with me. What happened to Gant was nothing, he’s just mad that he was unable to bully people into not talking about the fact he beat up a defenseless man in the old jail.

Finally, look at the signatures of the certifications. Brennan’s lawyer signed her Notice of Tort Claim, as is usually the case. Gant signed his, which tells me not even his lawyer really believes his line of BS.

Bottom line: we hope Brennan gets justice, both civil and criminal. She deserves justice! Gant, on the other hand, is just a sore loser, upset he couldn’t bully people to not talk about the bad he has done.

Updated at 7:37PM to include Gant’s Notice of Tort Claim below:

Former candidate for Salem County sheriff Notice of Tort Claim names The Bob & Steve Show.

My Mom Is Going To Be Pissed! Former Salem County Sheriff Candidate Bob Gant Is Attempting To Crush The First Amendment.

Bob Gant

Former Democratic candidate for Sheriff in Salem County, Bob Gant, may soon face his toughest opponent ever – my mom. When she reads this blog post and learns Gant has named The Bob & Steve Show in a Notice of Tort Claim she’s going to be mad, and she’s a lot tougher than a handcuffed inmate.

Seriously though… yesterday Bob Greco and I were notified by radio station management that the Notice of Tort Claim was delivered to the station for the “Bob and Steve Radio Show.” Management was upset at first because they thought they were being sued, after it was explained to management that it was for “Bob and Steve” they were trying to figure out why we were laughing.

We were laughing because Gant’s Notice of Tort Claim is a bunch of garbage.

In his Notice of Tort Claim Gant writes, “October 9, 2018 Said named individuals wrongly released the Claimants personnel file.” The problem with this claim is The Bob & Steve Show released legal documents that were obtained through OPRA requests after he denied ever assaulting an inmate at the old Salem County Jail. The Bob & Steve Show doesn’t have, nor ever had, his personnel file.

Another obvious problem with Gant’s claim is The Bob & Steve Show didn’t write anything about Gant on October 9, 2018. And, since October 9, 2018 was a Tuesday and our radio show airs on Saturdays we certainly didn’t talk about Gant on October 9, 2018. We didn’t even know who he was on that day. The only post on The Bob & Steve Show blog on October 9, 2018 was about Vincent Squire. The headline was, “Did Camden County Freeholder Candidate Vincent Squire Break The Law Again.”

The fact is the first time The Bob & Steve Show ever mentioned Bob Gant was on October 11, 2018 in a blog post titled, “Challenger Sheriff Candidate Gets Paid To Campaign. Is He Costing Salem County Taxpayers Money?”

Perhaps Mr. Gant should come clean and admit the reason why he is threatening to sue 19 different entities and/or people with his Notice of Tort Claim is he is angry that after denying he ever beat an inmate at the old Salem County Jail The Bob & Steve Show found the former inmate, interviewed the inmate on the radio show and then proved the inmate was being truthful by releasing legally obtained legal documents and not a personnel file.

Every blogger, news reporter and radio personality should pay close attention to Gant’s threats of a lawsuit as it is nothing more than a frivolous attempt at suppressing our First Amendment rights. As a reminder the First Amendment is clear, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” And, bloggers and radio personalities, like us or not, are members of the press.

This story gets better, in his Notice of Tort Claim Gant states, “The claimant has and continues to suffer both mentally, physically and emotional and economically as a result of the aforementioned breach.”

Gant lists four items, “mentally, physically and emotional and economically” after the word both. Maybe it’s a good thing he doesn’t work in the jail because the counts would be off considering he obviously does not understand “both” means two and not four? Perhaps the reason he answers the question “State the total amount of your claim and the basis on which you calculate the amount claimed” with $350,000 is so he can pay to go to college and learn what the word “both” means.

What is it with this guy? Is he so upset that we didn’t back down from the attacks by him and his buddies on social media and exposed his lies that he is now going to try to bully us through the courts?

Of course, I am very curious as to exactly how Gant “continues to suffer both mentally, physically and emotional and economically.” My guess is all the time he spent trying to bully Bob and I into not breaking the story of him having once beating an inmate caused a mental strain which led to the physical problem of erectile dysfunction that led to emotional stress and losing the election made him economically unable to afford Viagra. So, now he wants to sue. If you have a better explanation, I’ll listen.

Gant tried to bully us once and failed. This frivolous Notice of Tort Claim is just more of the same. This story likely isn’t going to go away soon, so expect to see more.