A recent article published in the Jackson Times has come under fire for promoting false accusations against Plumsted Township committeeman Dominick Cuozzo. The article quotes Katherine Tallon, a self-nominated, failed candidate for a vacant Republican committee seat, with no prior experience holding office, and a history of concocting salacious allegations against committeeman Cuozzo. Mrs. Tallon accused committeeman Cuozzo of “targeting and deriding” her during her screening interview, despite Cuozzo (at Tallon’s insistence) refraining from asking her any questions. A written statement signed by nine of the ten screening committee members, and further substantiated by several residents in attendance, refutes Tallon's claims, stating that committeeman Cuozzo was professional and respectful during the interview. The statement further asserts that it was Tallon who became belligerent and demanded not to be asked any questions.
The article also criticizes the screening committee for questioning Tallon as to public statements she had made that are not in line with the Republican platform, and promoting views not held by most Republicans. A member of the screening committee asked Tallon to explain her views, citing evidence from her Facebook posts. It was this line of questioning that formed the basis of Tallon's false accusations. Tallon went on to accuse them of using the questioning to, “assault, target, and deride” her. One of the screening committee members defended the questions, saying, “If someone is unable to speak and give an answer about their position on the platform and policy of their own party, they have no place trying to hold a leadership position from that party.”
Still, sources say Tallon has widely peddled the false account in an attempt to gain support for a recall vote against committeeman Cuozzo, a move Cuozzo believes to be a deliberate attempt to defame him, hurt his family, and further tarnish the reputation of the town of Plumsted. When asked for comment, committeeman Cuozzo stated, “I really have no ill will toward Kate (Tallon). It just makes me sick to constantly hear from people I know and care about that bold-faced lies are being told about me. Sticking a petition to recall me in someone’s face and getting them to sign it based on lies. It’s disgusting and it needs to stop.”
Perhaps most shockingly, Plumsted Township Mayor Bob Bowen made the extraordinary decision to remain silent and allow the public comments section of the following committee meeting to be inundated by defamatory remarks against Cuozzo, rather than addressing the situation. According to the audio recording of the meeting, Cuozzo repeatedly implored Mayor Bowen to correct the record, however the mayor repeatedly refused to do so, allowing the false accusations to be repeated throughout the meeting. Mayor Bowen only acknowledged the falsehood of the claims against Cuozzo at the conclusion of the meeting once many had already left. Cuozzo said this troubled him the most, “The decision for Mayor Bowen to remain silent when he could have easily prevented all of this drama. Yeah, that was pretty disappointing.”
This latest incident comes on the heels of an altercation instigated by Tallon with committeeman Cuozzo’s wife at the conclusion of a previous township meeting. According to sources present at the meeting, Tallon aggressively approached Mrs. Cuozzo, put her finger in her face and exclaimed, “Your husband is garbage!” in response to Cuozzo’s comments addressing a backlog of various municipal duties within the township. Tallon then allegedly proceeded to block Mrs. Cuozzo’s only means of exit from the facility in an apparent attempt to provoke a physical altercation.
Even within the Jackson Times article, which attempts to paint Tallon as a hapless victim in all this, is buried witness statements corroborating Cuozzo’s version of the events. The article is forced to acknowledge the comments made by Tallon were deceitful, but not until the 18th page. This begs questions of journalistic integrity. Sadly, “fake news” and articles quoting known falsehoods as truth have become an all too common tool of political activists parading as journalists.
