Local cops were ready to press charges in the vile text-message scandal targeting a MAGA-loving New Jersey board of education member — but the Democratic county prosecutor declined to take the case.
Cops in affluent Marlboro, NJ announced the development this week, noting they consulted with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, which determined the vile behavior did not “meet the threshold of criminal activity.”
Mom of three Danielle Bellomo was the subject of a disturbing group chat labeled “This Bitch Needs to Die,” and during one public board meeting, a member was caught on camera texting, “Bellomo must be cold — her nips could cut glass right n.”
Danielle Bellomo was frustrated with the lack of criminal charges in the case. LP Media
Cops, Bellomo wrote on Facebook this week, told her they were ready to move forward with charges “for terroristic threats, cyber harassment, conspiracy to do harm, and cyber harassment through a deep fake video.”
“However, The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office ultimately chose not to pursue these charges,” she wrote.
The allegations didn’t rise to the level of an “indictable” offense, Monmouth Prosecutor Raymond Santiago’s office told The Post.
“To say the Prosecutor’s Office ‘decline(d) to move forward’ in this matter is a mischaracterization,” a spokesman said, describing the text messages as “clearly disturbing and offensive.”
“Jurisdictionally, our office is tasked with prosecuting indictable matters, whereas lower offenses are charged and prosecuted at the municipal level. After a careful and thorough evaluation, we advised the Marlboro Police Department that, legally, there was insufficient evidence to constitute an indictable charge.”
The MAGA-loving mom of three said she fears for the safety of herself and her family. Danielle Bellomo/ Facebook
Outrage was immediate.
“This is not surprising unfortunately. Woman to woman…I am very glad that you’re safe and hope the disgusting pigs that put you through this will stay under their rocks,” one woman responded to Bellomo’s post.
“Does ‘alleged’ mean no threats were made?” another person wrote.
“This is going to turn into a total freefall with what we’re allowed to say,” a third commenter predicted. “Things are about to get wild.”
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The controversy came to light in September, when five men — allegedly including board vice president Chad Hyett; then-candidate Scott Semaya; former board candidate Nirav Kadakia; former public school teacher Lenny Thor; and Mitesh Gandhi, the husband of a current board member — were caught in the group chat.
The Post’s story on the controversy caught the attention of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who called it “wrong. And evil” in an X post.
Semaya quickly dropped out of the race, as did his running mate Melissa Goldberg.
“We all saw what happened with Charlie Kirk,” Bellomo, 38, said, noting the conservative activist had been threatened before his Sept. 10 assassination. “This same group of people had a lot of hatred toward me. When you pair that all together, it does create a fear for my life.
The controversy erupted after someone snapped photos of Semaya as he typed out a text message about Bellomo and posted the image to social media. Obtained by the NY Post
“I reported these messages for the safety of my family,” she said, adding, “just knowing that these people are out there, planning and wanting to do harm to you, is not a way to live in the community.”
She is set to appear in New Jersey court next week as she seeks to extend a protective order against Mitesh Gandhi.
A lawyer for Semaya said in a statement that it’s “a sad state of affairs when private communications that were never intended to become public actually went viral as a result of Scott’s privacy being invaded,” adding “we have maintained from the outset that Scott never committed a crime.”
On Nov. 4, voters elected incumbents Michael Lilonsky and Valentina Mendez to the board, along with newcomer Kerry Ann Jankowski.
Unofficial results showed Goldberg would have been elected had she stayed in the race, but she declined the position, according to a report, clearing the path for fourth-place finisher Mendez.
The disturbing texts created a firestorm at a Marlboro Board of Education meeting last month, where residents ripped the group and called for change, while Bellomo said the district’s civility policy — which would have banned the chat participants from school property — should have been implemented.
The board then canceled its next meeting before hastily scheduling one Tuesday, which Bellomo skipped.
“I said nothing had changed with the safety so why are you scheduling this impromptu meeting,” she recalled of board president Brad Cohen. “He said basically because we wanted to do.”