Toms River, NJ – George Gilmore, the aging 77-year-old chairman of the Ocean County Republican Organization who received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump after his federal criminal convictions, was unanimously re-elected to lead the county party.
He was convicted on three federal counts:
Two counts of failing to pay over employee payroll taxes to the IRS.
One count of making false statements on a bank loan application
Gilmore and Vice Chairwoman Ruthanne Scaturro were returned to their leadership positions during the organization’s annual reorganization meeting.
However, since the abolition of the county line on local election ballots in New Jersey, Gilmore’s ability to win contested elections has waned since his conviction and past resignation as chairman.
While Gilmore easily wins county elections in New Jersey’s most Republican-leaning counties, he has not been successful at the local levels in Brick, Toms River, Plumsted, Jackson, and other towns where his backed candidates have lost, or are expected to lose in 2026 and 2027.
Convicted in federal court, later pardoned
Gilmore, born in April 1949, has led the Ocean County Republican Organization for decades and remains one of New Jersey’s most influential Republican political figures. He is just six years younger than Mitch McConnell, who is suffering what many are describing as near-death medical ailments in recent weeks.
From Chairman to Convict
In 2019, a federal jury convicted Gilmore of two counts of failing to collect, account for, and pay over employee payroll taxes and one count of making false statements on a loan application submitted to OceanFirst Bank.
Federal prosecutors alleged Gilmore spent millions of dollars on luxury purchases, including artwork, antiques, and home improvements, while failing to pay approximately $1 million in payroll taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service.
In January 2020, Gilmore was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He never served the prison sentence after then-President Donald Trump granted him a full pardon on Jan. 20, 2021, Trump’s final day in office.
Although the pardon eliminated the criminal penalties, the New Jersey Supreme Court later suspended Gilmore’s law license based on the conduct underlying the federal convictions.
GOP praises Gilmore’s leadership
The Ocean County Republican Organization said the unanimous vote reflected the confidence Republican committee members continue to have in Gilmore’s leadership.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the unanimous support of our committee members,” the aging federally convicted and pardoned Gilmore said in a statement. “Ocean County Republicans have built one of the strongest and most effective political organizations in the country by remaining united, focused on our principles, and committed to delivering results for our candidates.”
Vice Chairwoman Ruthanne Scaturro said the organization would continue working to support Republican candidates and conservative policies throughout Ocean County, but in her own hometown of Brick Township, Democrats control the council majority, and Democrat Mayor Lisa Crate is coming off a sweeping re-election bid last year.
The organization credited Gilmore with maintaining Ocean County’s status as one of New Jersey’s strongest Republican counties, noting that the county gave President Trump some of his largest vote margins nationwide in both 2016 and 2024.
Gilmore has nothing to do with the population makeup of Ocean County, but is just a benefactor of being the chairman in a county where Republican voters are the majority, although in some towns, those voters have solidly rejected Gilmore-backed candidates.
Gilmore’s recent political follies extend to U.S. Senate and Congressional candidates who failed to make it out of the primary state, and/or lost in the general election to Democrats.
In 2025, Gilmore held a fundraiser for openly gay former New Jersey Governor James McGreevey in his race for mayor of Jersey City. Gilmore has also lost control of Brick Township, Toms River, and Plumsted and is facing serious uphill battles this year in Manchester and Jackson.
He also served as a partner in 1868 Public Affairs, a lobbying group headed by New Jersey Democratic Party Chairman LeRoy Jones. Gilmore was ousted from that partnership shortly after his federal tax conviction.
Legal, financial, and tax troubles continue to follow Gilmore and his wife Joanne in recent months as the couple still owes estimated millions of dollars to the IRS and have been in court battling a foreclosure, and a lawsuit blaming his accounting firm Witham, Smith, and Brown for malpractice over his tax delinquency and his wife’s role and responsibility.
