Dear Editor,

I’ve been following Parsippany Mayor James Barberio’s recent attempt to “censure” Councilman Justin Musella for his role in a minor traffic stop almost two years ago and feel compelled to offer my thoughts.
First, allow me to introduce myself. I’ve lived in Parsippany for 25 years and have been involved in law enforcement for almost 50 years, including 24 years as a supervisory Special Agent with the United States Secret Service. As someone who has conducted countless state and federal investigations and made more than my share of arrests, I know what’s required to establish probable cause that a crime has been committed.
Let’s examine the facts. On August 23, 2023, Justin Musella was the passenger in a vehicle driven by his wife Courtney while moving to a local train station. At approximately 7:42 a.m., a Parsippany police officer initiated a traffic stop because he observed the vehicle driving over the posted speed limit. The bodycam video captured by the officer, if viewed in its totality, depicts the officer approaching the vehicle and before any documents are handed over, the officer looks inside and in a friendly tone, immediately greeted Musella by name, a clear indication that he knew exactly who Musella was.
Moments later, Courtney Musella (the driver) handed several items to the officer, including her driver’s license, vehicle registration, insurance card, and her husband’s business card. After performing a routine check of Courtney’s record, the officer issued a warning and allowed them to leave. It’s important to know that all three individuals were professional, polite and respectful during the encounter. Musella never asked for a break, and to his credit, he took full responsibility for the incident, stating that he was trying to reach the train station to catch a certain train.
Now let’s be clear about the scurrilous accusation leveled by Barberio and his followers, suggesting that Musella’s actions constitute a law violation. The decision of this officer to issue a warning instead of a speeding ticket was entirely discretionary, a very common practice. The driver’s presentation of Musella’s business card had no obvious impact on the officer’s decision to issue a warning, as evidenced by the initial cordial exchange. Musella did not verbally advise the officer of his official position nor did he suggest to the officer that the issuance of a summons would somehow be detrimental to the officer. Musella admitted to the officer that he was wrong to encourage his wife to drive quickly, took full responsibility, and apologized. So, Mayor Barberio, where’s the crime? And why did you wait until now to raise this issue, less than 100 days before the primary?
In the interest of context, allow me to remind your readers of when this police bodycam video first came to our attention. In December 2023, on the day of the Council meeting at the Parsippany PAL, a meeting where upwards of 900 residents showed up to voice their objections to the Barberio/Inglesino PILOT scam, thousands of Parsippany residents received a text message with a link to a (fake) website that featured photos of multiple political figures who were accused of various crimes, including Musella and Robert “Gold Bar Bob” Menendez. The website included portions of the Parsippany Police video of the encounter with Musella four months earlier. I called Parsippany Chief of Police Rich Pantina. I asked about the circumstances of the video’s release and was shocked to find out that it was released to an anonymous individual on the same day he/she filed an OPRA request. For anyone who has ever filed an OPRA request with the Township of Parsippany, you know that it can take weeks or months to receive the requested information, so the unexpected and unprecedented efficiency on the part of the Township of Parsippany suggested something strange was going on! This is the kind of disgusting behavior that has turned off countless Parsippany voters and is one of the many reasons this former Barberio supporter has been enthusiastically supporting Justin Musella for Mayor!
The public response to this latest politically motivated stunt has been highly supportive of Musella, and for Barberio, it is backfiring. The residents of Parsippany are not stupid and can recognize desperation when they see it, so Mayor Barberio, I call on you to debate Councilman Musella so the public can see who is most qualified to lead this township.
Dennis Letts