“Pay it Back”

Republican Candidate for Sheriff Bill Parenti calls on his opponent to do the right thing and pay back taxpayers for his abuse of union-time.

September 24, 2019 – September 24, 2019 – Today, Chief Bill Parenti, the Republican candidate for Somerset County Sheriff, renewed his call for his opponent to repay taxpayers for his continual abuse of paid union-time.

According to records obtained from the Franklin Township Clerk, Russo used 1,012.5 hours of union-time from 2014 prior to his retirement in June of 2016 – or the equivalent of 83 paid days off. Russo was only entitled to 10 days a year – but as the evidence shows, Russo consistently took nearly 3 times that amount.

“A key component of law enforcement is trust, both within the community and the department,” said Parenti. “Russo’s repeated abuse of taxpayers has violated the community’s and public trust. It’s incomprehensible that my opponent abused taxpayers for years, and believes he did nothing wrong.”

According to the records obtained through the Open Public Records Act, Russo took 361.5 union-time hours in 2014, 372 union-time hours in 2015, and 273 union-time hours over a six month period in 2016. This is the latest news concerning Russo’s abuse of taxpayers – as Russo was severely reprimanded by his superiors earlier in his career for leaving his post, for not being available when on duty, for failing on assignment, and failing to properly patrol his district due to union-related activity. Earlier this year, Russo’s abuse of union time was detailed by Advance Media.

“Darrin Russo should come clean – today – and tell taxpayers just how much he abused their trust during his career. As police officers, we are stewards to the public and taxpayers. I will continue to dive deeper into my opponent’s recorded union-time to see just how far he went in ripping off taxpayers,” concluded Parenti.