TOMS RIVER, NJ – The politically connected law firm of Dasti, Murphy, McGuckin, P.C. earned $1,808,191.35 in public contracts in Ocean County in 2019 and that was before the firm picked up lucrative new contracts in Jackson, Manchester, Lacey and Toms River. The information is part of a financial disclosure report filed by the firm with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission on July 10th.
The law firm also donated $41,240 in total to political campaigns, many of which rewarded the firm with public contracts after winning their elections. More then 25% of the law firm’s political donations were in Toms River, $11,000 in total, going to the political election campaign of Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill, Councilman Josh Kopp, Matt Lotano and Kevin Geoghegan. Last month, Those politicians hired McGuckin to a lucrative “mother lode” contract worth an estimated $500,000 annually according to the Toms River Municipal Budget. Greg McGuckin was appointed as the Director of Public Law, a no-bid contract that is now in court, possibly of violating the township’s pay to play law.
McGuckin’s firm’s $2,000,000 annual public take could possibly reach $3,000,000 this year with the additional jobs the firm gained after the 2019 elections.
This year, as an assemblyman, McGuckin proposed a law that sought to fine New Jersey citizens $15,000 for violating Governor Phil Murphy’s executive orders. Those fines would have been levied against defiant business owners, people hosting parties and even not wearing face masks in public. McGuckin eventually pulled that bill after it was reported by Shore News Network.
Last month it was also reported by Politico that McGuckin’s firm was one of several firms linked to New Jersey lawmakers to receive PPP loans meant for small businesses. Throughout the pandemic, the firm regularly represented towns and government agencies as business in the public sector continued uninterrupted during the pandemic save for a few meetings postponed in the early days for technical viewing issues.
“Cleary Giacobbe Alfieri Jacobs, LLC — which employs both Sen. Joseph Lagana (D-Bergen) and Assemblymember Sean Kean (R-Monmouth) — received somewhere between $1 million and $2 million. Both Citta, Holzapfel & Zabarsky, the law firm of Sen. James Holzapfel (R-Ocean), and Dasti, Murphy, McGuckin, Ulaky, Koutsouris & Connors, whose partners include Assemblymember Gregory McGuckin (R-Ocean) and Sen. Chris Connors (R-Atlantic), received between $150,000 and $350,000,” Politico reported.
The firm lists the following public contract income:
- Atlantic City $3,676
- Barnegat Board of Education $59,972
- Barnegat Township $41,523
- Berkeley Township $32,155
- Island Heights $1,430
- Jackson Township $67,221
- Lacey Township $81,529
- Lacey MUA $17,598
- Lakewood $68,384
- Manchester $123,970
- North Hanover $5,785
- Ocean County Board of Social Services $100,754
- Ocean County Surrogate’s Office $40,526
- Ocean Township $77,454
- Plumsted LUB $8,831
- Plumsted MUA $30,303
- Point Pleasant $162,848
- Point Pleasant Beach $17,482
- Robbinsville $98,270
- Seaside Heights $4,850
- Ship Bottom $22,325
- Stafford Township $90,634
- Surf City $15,685
- Tabernacle $10,634
- Toms River $165,300
- Upper Freehold $3,000
- Hamilton Township $65,639
- Tuckerton $36,238
- Beachwood $4,768
- Manasquan River Sewerage Authority $690
- Medford Township $20,500
- South Toms River Sewerage Authority $3,450
- Belmar $271,845
- Howell $46,547
- Medford Lakes $3,364
- New Hanover $3,000