BREAKING NEWS - Newspaper Slams Baron Andy Boy's Manalapan Land Grab Scheme

Holy "I'm da Mayor so I'll get a $1 million dollar huge land grab for pennies on da dollar" Deal, Batman! If you think "Farmland-Gate" is going away any time soon, you can forget about that now. Now it's not just da Democrats going after Baron Andy Boy -- it's da Republican-leaning Asbury Park Press newspaper -- and they not only think this deal reaks of dead fish - they have both barrels blazing!

In a shockingly direct and damning editorial not by some peasant in da Kingdom by by da newspaper itself that could theoretically become be da lynchpin for launching an investigation, da Republican-leaning editorial folks paint not only a grim picture of da events surrounding "Farmland-Gate," they also paint a disturbing picture of da current Manalapan mayor! Here's da editorial - along with daTruthSquad's take:

Sure Smells Like a Conflict:

If it looks like a conflict of interest, sounds like a conflict of interest and smells like a conflict of interest, it hardly matters if the person at the center of the deal insists there is no conflict of interest — especially if that person stands to gain financially.

Gee, not much "Gray" area here. We may not be 100% sure of what the editorial is trying to convey here, but it seems like they keep using da term "conflict of interest" here alot. Do you think this means da newspaper feels there's some type of conflict of interest here? Sure comes across that way to us.

In Manalapan, if Mayor Andrew Lucas' attempt to get property he and his family recently acquired into the township's farmland preservation program — along with the tax break that comes with it — isn't technically a conflict of interest, it certainly has the appearance of someone using his official position to gain special advantage. Lucas should withdraw his application. If he doesn't, the township should put a halt to the process.

"If he doesn't, the township should put a halt to the process." Da question is - will da Manalapan Township Committee go this far, and how will "Lyin' Ryan Green" vote on this? And, somewhere along da line someone on that committee whose job it allegedly is to represent da people should tell da people da whole truth about it - or maybe publically call for a probe and leave that to some state or Federal investigation.

Lucas wants the township to preserve about 95 acres of his newly acquired property, known as the Burke farm, which is contiguous to his own farm. He has applied for farmland preservation through the state's Planning Incentive Grant program, under which the state typically pays 60 percent for development rights, the county 24 percent and the municipality the remaining 16 percent. The tract is currently assessed at $1.3 million.

All we know is he paid $42,000 in back taxes for 95 acres - and that's all we're allowed to know? Hmmmm, where in da entire state of NJ can any of us get a deal like that? You can't even buy 1 acre for that price. Do you have to be politically connected to get a deal like that? You have to wonder just how many games of Monolopy Baron Andy Boy played as a kid? You may think he pulled da card that says "Pass Go and Collect $1 million. Or, many who comment on daTruthSquad seem to feel he pulled da card that read, "Don't Pass Go - Go Directly to Jail!"

Essentially, the mayor could get the property for free at taxpayers' expense and a property tax break on that part of the property actually being farmed.

You have to ask yourself who else was in on this land grab deal? Da mayor of any town getting his/her own million dollar tax break on land essentially paid for to them by taxpayers? Now we're starting to believe why da newspaper here feels it is a conflict of interest. But wait --- there's more.....

Lucas, who is up for re-election next month, has painted himself as a victim of partisan politics and as a white knight trying to save his town from developers. Lucas and his family purchased the farm from Diamond Developers of Belmar, which had received preliminary approval in 2006 to develop eight single-family homes on the property.

This is literally da taxpayer-funded million dollar question -- why does da developer of all people want to keep da total price of da sale a SECRET - as Baron Andy Boy alleges? What is this developer keeping SECRET from da taxpayers of Manalapan and da state of NJ? Why is this deal so SECRET? IF DA DEAL IS USING TAXPAYER-FUNDED PUBLIC DOLLARS - HOW CAN IT BE A SECRET? What does da developer in this case have to hide? Did they only charge Baron Andy Boy $1 dollar? WE DON'T KNOW -- BECAUSE IT'S A SECRET! How can any land deal, especially one so CONTROVERSIAL and INVOLVING A SITTING MAYOR AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE be such a well-kept SECRET?

OH - AND DID WE MENTION THAT BARON ANDY BOY BOUGHT DA LAND THROUGH A DEVELOPER!!!!!

Neither of those portrayals undoes the appearance of special treatment. Lucas and his family own the land. They can prevent it from being developed simply by holding onto it. That way, the money spent to preserve that property could be used to acquire another parcel or be banked until a property in greater jeopardy of being developed became eligible for the program.

Another major point - now that Baron Andy Boy owns the CONTROVERSIAL 95 ACRES - they don't have to do anything with it. They could just farm it and leave it alone - but instead of just keeping it in their family, they're in effect selling it back to da state for farmland preservation and pocketing what could be over $1 million taxpayer-funded dollars + tax breaks! Now, to be fair, da GOP'ers are trying desperately trying to paint Baron Andy Boy as a "White Knight" trying to save land from greedy developers. Da Question here is --- who exactly is being GREEDY? And, they forget to tell you he made da deal WITH A DEVELOPER!

Lucas has refused to say how much he and his family paid for the Burke farm. County land records do not show a sale price for the property. Lucas said the seller insists that those figures remain confidential.

Hear that? Sounds like da sound of silence. DA SILENCE IS DEAFENING HERE!!!!! Is Baron Andy Boy trying to say here that da DEVELOPER has some secrets they are trying to keep under wraps? What book are we reading here -- Donald Trump's "Da Art of da Deal" or Baron Andy Boy's "Da Art of Da Steal????" One might think that taxpayers do not want to feel that their hard-earned money is being scammed from them. If he has nothing to hide - and that goes doubly for da developer, then simply tell da taxpayers who Baron Andy Boy wants $$$$$$$ from through Farmland Preservation to simply admit with evidense exactly what he and his family paid for it. Like Desi said, Baron Andy Boy has some "Splaining to do."

Although Lucas didn't vote on decisions on his own property, he led Township Committee discussions on other properties that could have competed for the same pot of money in the township's Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund — properties the township passed on. Officials have to squint real hard not to see an ethical red flag.

Squint? Apparently there is an ample supply of BLINERS in Manalapan Town Hall. Here's da deal here -- Either all of da members of da Manalapan Township Committee and da lawyer representing da people knew about this - approved it, and did nothing --- or they were possibly misled somehow into allowing this. Either way, unless this is temporarily stopped and investigated we da taxpayers will never know for certain, "Da Soybean King" Baron Andy Boy will become da richest Mayor in all da kingdom - and quite possibly he was aided and abetted in his venture by da Manalapan Township Committee. Because of all da SECRETS, we cannot know for absolute certainty.

Lucas should pull back the application until he is out of office. If he won't, the township should ask him to reapply when his career in township politics has ended.

Da bad news for Baron Andy Boy is da voters could decide his political fate in 30 days. Da worse for Baron Andy Boy is possibly da US Attorney could also decide his fate.

DaTruth is, any good lawyer will tell you that if it looks like a fish, swims like a fish and acts like a fish and smells like a fish, an argument can be made that something's fishy. No matter what Baron Andy Boy's handlers try to say about this, daTruth is - and all politics aside here - Baron Andy Boy is a sitting mayor of a town who is inches away from a seven-figure taxpayer-funded payday on an extremely questionable land grab, land bought from of all things a DEVELOPER who according to da newspaper REFESES TO ADMIT HOW MUCH BARON ANDY BOY PAID FOR DA $1.3 MILLION DOLLAR 95 ACRE PROPERTY - except what was admitted which was $42,000 in back taxes, there's no deed of sale on file with da county like all of us other peasants have to do when we buy and sell land, passed by a Township Committee that MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN THEIR OWN MAYOR'S DIRECT TIES TO DA DEAL, and now by design includes da SILENCE AND apparently da support of Baron Andy Boy's former police officer and darling of da Yorktowne Club running mate! Da deal has absolutely NO TRANSPARANCY - something that Mayor Andy Boy campaigned for in da past, and has way too many ethical questions that cannot be ignored.

Unless this deal is is either (A) INVESTIGATED, (B) PUT ON HOLD or (C) CANCELLED outright, we will never know for absolute certainty what was done and who did what.

What we are certain of this -- this is not "politically motivated" as some might lead you to think. If that was da case, then why would a GOP'er-leaning newspaper like da Asbury Park Press, which supports Christie and other GOP'ers turn its back so harshly on Baron Andy Boy?

To be fair, it should be noted that it is not illegal as any lawyer who handles real estate law or municipal law will tell you. However, there is a big difference between illegal and ethical -- and ethically this looks bad, smells bad and tastes bad and has no place in politics. By not disclosing da actual price and hiding da information from taxpayers who will be ultimately paying for it with farmland preservation, it means to us that someone or some entity in this case cannot be trusted. It's time to either come clean, or resign from office and this election for da good of da Republican Party and da people of Manalapan, because you can't have it both ways -- and better yet -- demand yourself da US Attorney step in and investigate this deal and da Manalapan Township Committee's role in it if you have nothing to hide.

And that's daTruth.