Mo Hill Admin Officials Lawyer Up as Silverton EMS Seeks Gag Order in Gas Theft Suit

TOMS RIVER, N.J. – The discovery phase of Toms River Township's lawsuit against Silverton First Aid Squad is pulling former members of the Maurice “Mo” Hill administration deeper into the case, with two former officials seeking lawyers as attorneys question them under oath about events that unfolded while they ran Town Hall. Those requests for legal counsel came as they were answering depositions, allegedly, and ceased answering questions, requesting lawyers. Former Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill has retained Toms River attorney Kevin Starkey after unsuccessful efforts to have either the township or an insurance fund provide him with counsel. Shore News Network has now learned that former township Business Administrator Lou Amoruso also stopped answering questions during his deposition and requested an attorney before continuing. Starkey has ties to Hill's administration and the current anti-Rodrick slate in Toms River. His lawfirm Starkey, Kelly, Kenneally, Cunningham, Turnbach & Yannone represented Tom Nivison's family member on a recent drug manufacturing and distribution case. William Nivison eventually was convicted and sentenced to prison. The firm was also very active in the failed attempt to recall Mayor Dan Rodrick, organized by bankrupt businessman and Toms River MUA commissioner Phil Brilliant. Brilliant is also under fire for his role on the MUA after taking a free township taxpayer-funded healthcare plan for working just around 45 minutes per month as an MUA commissioner. He was appointed to that position by former Mayor Mo Hill. Hill has retained attorney Kevin Starkey as discovery examines decisions made during his administration involving Silverton First Aid. Former Business Administrator Lou Amoruso also requested legal counsel after questioning began during his deposition. Silverton First Aid and former Council President Kevin Geoghegan are asking the court for a sweeping protective order restricting access to depositions, recordings and exhibits. The developments come as Silverton First Aid and former Toms River Council President Kevin Geoghegan seek to shield the case between two public entities entirely from the public. Geoghegan requested the court issue a gag order to keep the details of the lawsuit a secret. Township attorneys are opposing that request, arguing a lawsuit involving public money, former public officials and alleged misconduct should remain open to public scrutiny and should not be hidden from public view. Hill and Amoruso Seek Lawyers During Discovery A strange development occurred during the questioning of two former officials who until now, were not viewed as accomplices or enablers to the $750,000 gas and benefits theft allegations. Hill's involvement became public this week when Shore News Network reported that the former mayor had retained Starkey while being questioned as a witness for Silverton EMS in the township's lawsuit. Hill is not officialy a defendant in the case at this point. He led Toms River during a period now central to the township's allegations against Silverton. Township officials contend Silverton stopped remitting the township's share of EMS billing revenue beginning in 2021 and improperly used municipal fuel without paying for it. Those allegations remain disputed and have not been proven at trial. Shore News Network previously reported that Hill initially sought township-paid counsel in connection with his testimony. When the township declined to cover his legal representation as a witness, Hill sought coverage from the Ocean County Joint Insurance Fund, which also declined. Shore News Network reported this week on Hill's decision to hire Starkey as the Silverton litigation moved deeper into depositions. Starkey is an experienced civil litigation attorney and currently serves as municipal attorney for Brick Township, according to Ocean County's government directory. Now another Hill administration official has sought counsel. According to deposition information reviewed by Shore News Network, Amoruso stopped answering questions during his deposition and requested a lawyer before continuing. Amoruso served in Toms River's administration during the years at issue in the lawsuit and at one point served as acting business administrator under Hill. Contemporary reporting confirms Hill appointed Amoruso to that role while then-Business Administrator Donald Guardian was on medical leave. That lawsuit claimed Amoruso made anti-gay comments such as "f-ggot" and "pillow biter" against Guardian. Guardian won that case which cost Toms River $697,000 plus legal fees. Seeking counsel during a deposition is not evidence of wrongdoing. Witnesses may retain attorneys for many reasons, particularly when questioning involves official decisions, potential liability or disputed conduct. But the growing number of lawyers entering the discovery process comes as the township seeks answers about how Silverton's financial arrangement was handled during the prior administration. The increase in former Hill insiders seeking counsel as witnesses also raises eyebrows and creates controversy and suspicion to many in the community. Silverton Seeks Sweeping Protective Gag Order Over Depositions The latest court fight goes beyond who has a lawyer. Silverton First Aid and Geoghegan have asked Superior Court Judge Craig Wellerson for an order restricting attendance at depositions and barring disclosure of deposition testimony, transcripts, recordings and exhibits outside the litigation. Township counsel has objected. In a Sept. 3 court filing on record with eCourts, the official court docket system for the New Jersey Courts, the township described the request as extraordinary because the lawsuit involves public entities, public money and the conduct of former public officials. “This is not a routine motion for a protective order in a civil case,” township counsel wrote. The township argued that Silverton's proposed order would effectively prevent public officials and employees from providing deposition material to journalists, websites or social media platforms. “Defendants seek an extraordinary, case-wide order that would keep secret every deposition and declare every transcript, audiovisual recording, audio recording and exhibit to be usable only for this litigation and for no other purpose,” the township wrote. The filing argues that New Jersey courts require a specific showing of serious harm before imposing such restrictions and that the public interest is particularly strong where government operations and taxpayer funds are involved. At this time, the only serious harm in this case appears to have been caused by Silverton EMS to the township's taxpayers. “Courts have been and must continue to be deeply resistant to allowing public officials to hide testimony concerning their official duties, the expenditure of public funds, or allegations of public misconduct,” the township's brief states. Judge Previously Rejected Blanket Secrecy in Silverton Case This is not the first fight over confidentiality. Silverton previously sought broad protection for financial records during discovery. In January, the court approved a narrower confidentiality arrangement covering legitimate private, proprietary or protected information rather than placing the entire case behind a wall of secrecy. Shore News Network previously reported that the judge limited Silverton's earlier confidentiality request. Under that order, sensitive materials could be marked confidential, but the restrictions were not applied automatically to everything produced in discovery. Earlier filings also show Silverton sought to keep portions of its financial records from public disclosure after the township subpoenaed its accountant. Township attorneys argued that Silverton, as a nonprofit organization, already has significant public financial-reporting obligations and had not demonstrated the specific harm required for blanket confidentiality. The new motion appears to push the confidentiality issue further by targeting deposition attendance and dissemination of testimony itself. Judge Wellerson will decide whether Silverton has demonstrated sufficient legal grounds for those additional restrictions. Lawsuit Centers on Fuel and EMS Billing Revenue Toms River filed the lawsuit against Silverton First Aid and Geoghegan in Ocean County Superior Court under docket OCN-L-002730-24. The township alleges Silverton improperly used approximately 24,000 gallons of municipal fuel and stopped forwarding the township's agreed share of EMS billing revenue. Earlier Shore News Network reporting showed the township alleges Silverton began keeping 100% of certain patient billing revenue in mid-2021 despite an arrangement requiring a portion to be returned to Toms River. The complaint also alleges fuel fobs connected to Silverton were used at township pumps despite an agreement requiring Silverton to cover its own fuel costs. Silverton and Geoghegan have denied wrongdoing. The litigation has grown substantially since it was first filed. Shore News Network reported in May that the township's claimed damages and statutory penalties could exceed $2 million. Discovery has focused increasingly on what former township officials knew, what decisions were made inside Town Hall and why the financial arrangements continued during Hill's administration. Why the Depositions Matter Depositions are where attorneys can question witnesses under oath before trial. For Toms River, testimony from Hill and Amoruso could help establish how the administration understood Silverton's arrangement, whether officials knew billing payments had stopped and what oversight existed over access to township fuel. It could also determine if the two former officials were co-conspirators to a ruse that allowed the agency, run by their friends, to take free fuel from the township. That could change the stakes and even the defendants in the case if it turns out the entire operation was a pre-planned and well-orchestrated conspiracy by township officials. For Silverton and Geoghegan, those same witnesses may provide information supporting their defense or challenging the township's interpretation of the agreements. That makes the testimony potentially important to both sides. It also explains why the battle over whether deposition material can be publicly discussed has become one of the most consequential procedural fights in the case. There is no evidence that Hill or Amoruso committed a crime merely because they retained attorneys, and neither is currently named as a defendant in the township's civil complaint. Sources: Ocean County Superior Court filings in Township of Toms River v. Silverton First Aid Squad, OCN-L-002730-24; Toms River Township records; prior Shore News Network reporting; Ocean County government records; confidential sources, Phil Brilliant/Facebook