Stafford Mayor John Spodofora secretlyenlisted the police department he over-sees to investigate a political opponent a criminal probe that led to a grand jury sub-

poena, a U.S. Navy investigation and the sei-

zure of emails and files critical of Spodofora,

an Asbury Park Press investigation found.

The mayor said he asked for the criminal in-

vestigation after the critic posted a phony

Facebook page that lampooned the mayors

Vietnam War record. The mayor called it iden-

tity theft a crime that typically requires

some showing that the perpetrator wanted to

make money or buy goods illegally. None of

that was evident in the Facebook parody.

The critic, Earl Galloway, said he was mak-

ing a free-speech political statement about

Spodoforas exaggerated military service.

THE MAYORS

SECRETPOLICEERIK LARSEN @ERIK_LARSEN

COURTESY PHIL STILTON

The doctored portrait ofMayor John Spodofora thatappeared on Facebook.

To see an interview with Spodofora, scan the QR

code or visit APP.com Also online, see a copy of

the police report

Timeline of inquiry

June 3, 2014

Stafford Mayor John Spodofora meetswith Police Chief Joseph Giberson andDetective Drew Smith about fraudu-lent Facebook page with his name andlikeness.

June 4, 2014Det. Smith contacts with AssistantOcean County Prosecutor Robert Arm-strong, who says there is sufficientevidence to warrant subpoena ofFacebook information.

June 27, 2014Armstrong OKs grand jury subpoena ofGoogle, based on information linkingthe Facebook page to a Gmail account.

Sept. 15, 2014Information from Google promptsinquiry by the Naval Criminal Investiga-tive Service, which leads to civilianemployee Earl Galloway, and a trove ofemail and pictures related to the mayor.

UndatedDet. Smith shares the trove with themayor, who is advised there was in-sufficient evidence to pursue chargesof wrongful impersonation.

SOURCE: INVESTIGATION REPORT BY DET. DREW

SMITH, STAFFORD TOWNSHIP POLICE

DEPARTMENT

See MAYOR, Page A15

From top: Stafford Mayor JohnSpodofora; Stafford Police Chief Joseph Giberson III; Earl GallowayBelow: Stafford Township police report

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ASBURY PARK Sal-vatore Swain steps to thelectern and gets right tothe point.

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