A Hoboken harassment case involving books and letters anonymously sent to a few official’s homes was resolved at the beginning of the summer after about 17 months of trying to reach a conclusion.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
A 72-page transcript of the June 23rd plea in Secaucus Municipal Court indicates that Mayor Ravi Bhalla, his brother, Amardeep Singh Bhalla, Council President Emily Jabbour, 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen, Nancy Pincus, and Kim Gerlach all filed citizen’s complaints against Matt Majer claiming he harassed them by sending items to their homes in February 2022.
The packages were sent shortly after the board of education’s $241 million high school referendum backed by Bhalla and his allies failed by about a 2-to-1 margin. Majer was a part of the group that openly opposed the measure.
” … I don’t think the context of the political nature really is relevant here, Judge, because the defendant, he sent these items, whatever his intent was for sending the items, it wasn’t done in a political fashion,” said Secaucus Municipal Prosecutor TJ Legg.
” … One suggesting oral sex, another one asking what your kids would think of you based on the way you’re acting. So there were other comments, not the ones that Counsel refers to, that were much more alarming, that were much more serious … When I watched Ms. Jabbour’s reaction in speaking to the police, sure in the beginning she was very cavalier and very, oh, this is just a political thing, until she mentioned the note referring to her children. At which point her demeanor changed.”
Secaucus Municipal Court Judge Karen Boylan, who heard the case once it was transferred out of Hoboken due to elected officials being involved, was critical of Majer sending a note in Hindi to the mayor and his brother.
“I don’t know if you used Babbel to translate into Hindi, I don’t know why it was sent to the people that it was sent, I just know that you present yourself as a good citizen, right, committed to your town and concerned about the fiscal responsibility or whatever your issues were, right, which are logical and rational; and then you behave like a fourth grader, right? I mean truly like a fourth grader,” she stated on the record.
Ultimately, Majer pleaded guilty to one count of harassment against Gerlach, who was the administrator for an unnamed Hoboken Facebook group, for sending her a copy of “The Babylon Bee’s Guide to Wokeness.”
He also entered into a 12-month conditional dismissal program, which would give him a clean record if he stays out of legal trouble for a year. The court indicated that he had no priors, which made him eligible for the program.
“Factual basis for that complaint of harassment will include allocution as to having
committed the same act to a total of four parties, Ms. Gerlach being one of them, the other three being Ms. Pincus, Ms. Jabbour, and Mr. [Ravi Bhalla],” Legg also said, per the transcript.
Under those conditions, everyones besides Gerlach agreed to drop their complaints, the court transcript shows.
There is also a mutual no contact order, with all parties agreeing not to file civil lawsuits as well. Majer is still allowed to attend public meetings such as those of the city council.
The court also noted that his actions likely wouldn’t have been considered threatening or harassing if he hadn’t sent the packages anonymously. The transcript also did not mention how he was identified as the sender.
Majer was represented by Joseph Maurice, a partner at Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf LLP. They both did not respond to inquiries seeking comment.
In a lengthy statement, Singh Bhalla claimed that the contents of the packages Majer sent to their homes contained “racially charged, threatening, sexually suggestive, and highly offensive messages” that were also hateful and brought grief to their families.
“We are responding as a means of education for the public, and to send a clear message that threatening and harassing behavior is not acceptable and will be addressed in accordance with the law,” he said.
“I am also ready to move on. Mr. Majer has accepted responsibility for his actions, and my Sikh faith requires me to forgive him and accept him as a contributing member of our wonderful town. Again, these actions do not reflect our everyday experience of Hoboken as a broad, diverse and welcoming community.”