TOMS RIVER, N.J. — Earlier this year, Toms River Township stopped dispatching the Silver First Aid Squad after township officials learned that the non-governmental 501c3 corporation had cheated the township out of $750,000 under the administration of former Mayor Mo Hill. That matter was referred to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
In an October lawsuit, the township revealed more details of the allegations and claimed $750,000 in lost service fees owed by the embattled medical corporation.
The lawsuit was first reported in the Asbury Park Press today.
Mayor Dan Rodrick responded with the following letter:
Back in July we referred Silverton First Aid Squad to the Ocean County Prosecutors Office. It had come to our attention that Silverton EMS may have improperly taken up to $750,000 dollars in ambulance service fees and over 24,000 gallons of the township’s fuel. In addition to referring the matter to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, we recently filed a lawsuit against Silverton EMS in Superior Court, where we will fight to get back every penny of the taxpayers’ money. Now that it is public, I can share the details.
Silverton EMS is a non-governmental, 501c3 Corporation run by former Council President Kevin Geoghegan. They had contracted with the Town in 2019 to handle a portion of our emergency medical calls and they were supposed to split the insurance billing revenue with the Township. According to our records, in mid-2021 Silverton First Aid began violating the contract and keeping 100% of money – while Geoghegan was on Council, serving as the president. This is one of the reasons we referred the matter to the prosecutor.
The Council never held a vote to change the terms of Silverton’s contract and Mo Hill’s Administration made no attempts to collect the money, which is another reason we referred the matter to the County Prosecutors Office. Former Mayor Thomas Kelaher stopped dispatching Silverton in 2018 for similar reasons. At the time, Silverton had to hire an attorney.
In addition to failing to turn over the Township’s portion of the revenue, we learned that gas fobs registered to former Councilman Geoghegan were used to fill Silverton vehicles at Township pumps for the last three years without payment. We believe they may have illegally taken over 24,000 gallons of fuel. Their contract, which was signed by former Council President Kevin Geoghegan, expressly states that Silverton must pay for its own fuel. This was not authorized by the Town Council and may also constitute theft.
All of this happened while Geoghegan was working as Silverton EMS’s Business Administrator and serving as President of Town Council. The Prior Administration made no attempts to get the money back. Attorneys for the IAFF who represent our EMTs, filed a complaint with the State of New Jersey’s DCA alleging similar improprieties.
There have been false and misleading reports about the Township’s EMS response time on social media. I want to reassure the public, our ambulances are getting to calls faster than ever before. We’ve hired 28 EMTs and doubled the number of ambulances on the road. Our average ambulance response time has decreased as a result of these changes. Under the prior administration there were 2 to 3 ambulances on the road in the day. We now run 6 ambulances. Silverton and all Toms River neighborhoods are covered, including the barrier Island.
Here’s the rundown:
That action came as the squad received notifications from the township to cease fueling their vehicles with township taxpayer-provided fuel.
The township had first brought the accusations to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer. The prosecutor’s office has not officially made any announcements regarding that criminal investigation.
Toms River has filed a lawsuit against the Silverton First Aid Squad and its president, former Councilman Kevin M. Geoghegan. The lawsuit alleges that the squad improperly used 24,000 gallons of township-provided gasoline violating a shared services agreement.
The lawsuit, filed in Ocean County Superior Court, accuses Geoghegan of “official misconduct” and seeks reimbursement for the fuel costs.
According to the complaint, Toms River agreed to dispatch the Silverton First Aid Squad for emergency medical calls under the condition that the squad would cover its own fuel and maintenance expenses for its ambulances. The township claims that Silverton First Aid did not uphold its end of the agreement, resulting in the unauthorized use of township fuel.
Geoghegan says he’s being targeted politically, and said he will file a countersuit against the township.
According to the former, now deceased mayor, Former Mayor Thomas Kelaher invalidated that agreement after Silverton First Aid became a for-profit entity and broke the terms of the agreement.
The township’s lawsuit also requests that Silverton First Aid’s tax-exempt status be revoked and demands repayment of the funds it claims are owed.
The legal filing notes that Toms River billed insurance providers for “load fees” associated with emergency medical services and ambulance transports. Under the agreement, Silverton First Aid was to receive 80% of these fees from the township’s third-party billing service, while Toms River retained the remaining 20%.
Those fees reimburse the township for fuel and other services provided by the volunteer first aid agencies operating in the township.
The case will proceed in Ocean County Superior Court, where both sides are expected to present their arguments in the coming weeks.