MIDDLETOWN, N.J. — The Middletown Board of Education voted Tuesday night to reject Board President Frank Capone’s proposal to rehire Bruce Padula as the district’s attorney, marking another setback for Capone amid ongoing controversy.
The board considered a professional services agreement that would have hired Padula Law Group, LLC from February 17 to June 30, 2025. However, the resolution failed after board members Leonora Caminiti, Joseph Fitzgerald, Deb Wright, and Mark Soporowski voted against it.
Capone and Jacqueline Tobacco were the only members in favor.
Caminiti, Soporowski, and Wright accused Capone of attempting to rush the reappointment through without proper discussion. The proposed hourly rate for Padula’s services, to be covered by Middletown taxpayers, was not disclosed in public documents.
The board blocked the sketchy move.
The vote comes just weeks after Capone and Tobacco were implicated in a scandal involving an alleged $20,000 payment to former Toms River employee Art Gallagher. The payment was allegedly connected to efforts to undermine a tenured teacher who had been a political opponent of Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick.
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