TOMS RIVER, N.J. — A scheduled fundraiser at the Clarion Hotel has sparked political infighting in Toms River, as local resident Paul C. Williams issued a blistering public statement accusing organizers of exploiting the township’s police department for political gain.
Key Points
- Paul C. Williams criticized a TRRUE fundraiser, alleging no proceeds go to Toms River Police.
- He accused group leaders Phil Brilliant and Chris Raimann of using the event for political purposes.
- Williams claimed past TRRUE events also misled donors and failed to deliver on stated goals.
It is being billed as an event to support the Toms River Police Department, but the money raised will be used to fund a political operation, using the police only as a name on a flyer to draw activity.
The event, associated with the group TRRUE (Toms River Residents United for Equality), has come under scrutiny after Williams alleged that none of the proceeds are actually going to the Toms River Police Department.
A flyer circulating for the event misleads donors into thinking money will be donated to the police department, such as 911 calls and repeatedly naming the Toms River Police Department, even using the department’s logo in its advertising.
In a written statement submitted to local media Wednesday, Williams claimed, “The TRPD is being completely exploited for the political benefit of a bunch of inept and failed so-called ‘leaders.’”
The criticism was directed primarily at TRRUE Chair Phil Brilliant and Treasurer Chris Raimann, as well as their supporters.
According to public records, Brilliant filed for bankruptcy. In a letter to the editor of a local newspaper, Brilliant thanked former Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill for putting him on the Municipal Utilities Authority where he receives medical benefits.
Raimann works as a civilian employee with the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, where he makes $87,288 annually. Raimann, a former Toms River school board member, was embroiled in several scandalous court cases and allegations of bid rigging with board contracts. One former school board member called Raimann a ‘terrorist’, to which Raimann replied by filing a police report for harassment. That case was dismissed.
In 2018, the Toms River School Board filed ethics charges against Raimann, according to an Asbury Park Press report.
Williams alleged that TRRUE was functioning as a “cover for fundraising efforts” for the group’s leadership and accused them of using emotionally charged messaging to mislead the public.
TRRUE did not respond to the allegation.
He also challenged the group’s assertion that it had successfully prevented cuts to the police department, calling those claims “wholly exaggerated.”
The police department was never ‘cut’, according to township officials. Instead, officers have been promoted, eight new police emts were hired and more special police officers were hired by Mayor Dan Rodrick and the township council.
TRUEE politically opposes both.
“They are simply playing on people’s emotions, naïveté, and gullibleness,” Williams wrote.
TRRUE was founded last year along with its affiliated Facebook page “Toms River Residents for Transparency,” which Williams claims has a history of misrepresenting fundraising intentions.
He cited a previous fundraiser held at the Silverton First Aid Squad, alleging that, like the current event, none of the funds went to the named beneficiaries.
Williams further criticized the group’s failed past efforts to launch a recall petitions against Toms River elected officials, which has yet to materialize, despite fundraisers and nearly a year of promises.
There is still no recall petition and there isn’t going to be one,” he wrote.
