Eatontown Subpoenaed for Business With Birdsall Services

Eatontown is one of many towns subpoenaed by the Superior Court of New Jersey to provide all documents associated with its dealings with Birdsall Services Group (BSG).

The subpoena was issued by the State Grand Jury sitting in Trenton and was served on multiple municipalities that transact business with Birdsall Engineering.

On Wednesday, May 3, state investigators executed a search warrant at the offices of Birdsall Services Group. The exact reason for the investigation is currently unknown.

Mayor Gerald Tarantolo said the borough must provide any documents that "concern, refer or pertain, directly or indirectly to any and all contracts or other commercial or professional arrangements with BSG."

Mayor Tarantolo said the information requested is for the period Jan. 1, 2008 to the present. BSG became the borough's primary engineer on Jan. 1, 2009, replacing T&M Associates after they had served in the same capacity for 43 years.

T&M replaced BSG on Jan. 1, 2011 and again serves as the borough's primary engineer.

The subpoena orders the requested documents for a state grand jury in Trenton at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 6. The subpoena was received by the borough late last month.

Mayor Tarantolo said the borough will not be able to meet the deadline, but is will "fully cooperate with the court and provide the documentation requested."

"Initial review of the request indicated that thousands of documents will have to be retrieved and and copied placing an overwhelming workload on our staff," Mayor Tarantolo said in a prepared statement during Wednesday night's Eatontown Council meeting. "We ask the public's indulgence during this period and apologize for any delay of services that might arise during this document collecting and copying interval."