“I think public officials are held to a higher standard, they have to be.”
That’s the stance that Stephen Monson is taking in the midst of the latest controversy surrounding former deputy mayor and current Bordentown Township committeewoman Anita DiMattia.
DiMattia was arrested for a D.W.I in May of 2010. Now after months of legal battles, fines and a suspended license, the police recordings of her arrest are finally public.
Monson, a township resident and retired deputy attorney general who often enforced D.U.I. offenses, has lobbied for the police dash cam recordings of the arrest.
Monson often competed against DiMattia during his political career though he insists his latest effort against her is ethical rather than political.
“I’ve said right from the get go that this is an ethical issue,” said Monson, who also claims that he has no plans to run in the future.
DiMattia was the Deputy Mayor at the time of her arrest. In the recording, she is seen telling officers that as the Deputy Mayor, she is also the liaison to her township police department.
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“Now do you want to call my chief in my township?” asks DiMattia in the video.
The officers refuse however and instead take her into custody after her Breathalyzer test reads .21, almost three times the legal limit in New Jersey.
Video of DiMattia while in custody captures further conversation between her and the police.
“Are you asking me is there a way you can walk out of here and not have a D.W.I.?” asks the officer.
“I’m not saying maybe not with a D.W.I. but careless driving, reckless driving, whatever,” says DiMattia.
NBC10 tried to reach out to Committeewoman DiMattia but did not receive a response. She also reportedly declined to comment when a local print outlet asked her about the tapes.
DiMattia is still on the township committee under the mayor. Her term ends later this year.
