Dear Editor:

As a 20-year resident of Parsippany and lifelong Republican, I was appalled to read how James Barbeiro and his bobble-head council took Justin Musella to task over his wife’s speeding ticket of years past. Barberio seems to be grasping at straws to maintain his credibility as mayor. Justin Musella is a threat to him and the jealousy is apparent. It echoes the tactics of Democrats vs. President Trump, and we all know where that crusade got the Dems.

So, if that’s the game Barberio is playing, why not bring up Barberio’s son’s drug bust in 2018 or better still, Barberio’s call for leniency of a friend of his son who was arrested for 11 pounds (!) of marijuana in 2011. Both of these incidents occurred before Marijuana was deemed legal. It appears to me that those are far bigger skeletons in the mayor’s closet than a simple speeding ticket.

In my case, I had to reach out to Barbeiro on two occasions for much-needed assistance with my senior tax freeze: once by email and once in person. On each occasion, I never heard back from the mayor—not once! I guess he was too busy with one of his coffee klatches or another opportunity to tout his “home town boy” routine. I now have zero respect for the man.

The town is changing due to Inglesino’s mass development projects, and not for the better. We need fresh blood, and we need someone like Justin Musella, who answers my every email and phone call.

By the way, “Barberio” is a Portugese word that refers to a blood sucking insect. Google it. I’m not resorting to any name calling. Just simply stating a fact.

Don Faruolo

Dear Editor:

I am a long-time resident of Parsippany and have not been involved with local politics. Recently, I have been watching the mayoral race and am concerned about the impropriety of the move to censure Justin Musella for a claim of abuse of his authority during a traffic stop.

This appears to be a weaponizing act by our local government to control who is in this election period. I do protest this “gaming” of the rules to damage opponents. This case has not produced any evidence in the police report of abuse of authority. In addition, it does seem that Mr. Musella, the passenger in the moving violation, did not attempt to “beat the ticket.” The police officer identified Mr. Musella at the beginning of the stop and exercised his discretion to issue either the ticket or a warning, and he made his choice. Why even bring this up two years after this incident?

Do not allow dirty politics to enter our city government, and such a transparent attempt at that would only cause a lack of trust in our city and its representatives. If this censure does occur, it will impact my future voting.

Michael E Poplawski

Dear Editor:

Less than three months before the primary election in Parsippany, the Mayor and his colleagues on the Town Council are delving into dirty politics, which is detrimental to the town.

Personal attacks are often used by incumbents in election primaries when they can’t defend their own decisions and policies. The Town Council meeting of March 4 stooped to a new low. It was extraordinary in its abundance of “holier than thou” sentiment and the absence of due process and justice. Based on unsupported innuendo, and the citation of a law, the Council moved into dangerous territory to pass a resolution of censure for Mr. Musella because, on video, Musella’s wife, who was driving, handed his business card, along with license, registration and insurance, to a police officer who had already recognized and acknowledged Mr. Musella. Since the police officer recognized Mr. Musella before he was handed the card by Musella’s wife, handing the card to the police officer was meaningless.

The March 4 Town Council Agenda did not include any notice of censure. Yet the censure was undoubtedly planned before the meeting. The Town Council is free to operate its meetings as it chooses, but such an important item as a censure of a Town Council member should be included in the agenda for discussion and should not be voted on in the same session, so there is a cooling off period. The original motion was to discuss the issue. That discussion quickly morphed into a vote for a resolution of a censure. The Town Council should implement that reform as soon as possible.

The censure theatrics are just the latest distraction to avoid discussing the Mayor’s record. Since the highly touted announcement in September 2024 of a partnership between the Mayor and the BOE, there has been no progress towards a signed shared annual revenue per pupil agreement or any other kind of agreement. The upside for the town from a revenue per pupil agreement is that the town pays no money to the school district UNTIL children living in PILOT Projects are enrolled in school. The downside is that even with such an agreement, there is little chance that the school district will recoup the full cost of educating those additional students. Based on demographic studies, estimates of a net increase of 300 additional students over the next few years will result in a low-ball estimate of $6 million to $7 million in additional costs per year. Those projected costs are in addition to the structural budget problems discussed at the March 13 Board of Education meeting.
Last year, instead of addressing the concerns of the town regarding the lack of revenue to fund the future influx of students due to PILOTS, the Mayor attempted another distraction and proposed an ill-conceived and nebulous BOE “audit” (later changed to a “review”). There was later clarification that the review would be of the number of students in the district. That number is closely monitored and updated constantly. It was a curious decision to hire an accountant for this purpose as such a review is not something an accountant would normally engage in or have experience in, especially one with no ties to Parsippany. This mismatch is mentioned in a Letter to the Editor by this citizen on 09/20/2024. Adding to the folly, months later there haven’t been any reported results for this engagement which should have required only a day of fieldwork.

The question was asked at the time whether hiring the auditor should have been charged to the Mayor’s campaign as this tactic was certainly for political purposes only and had nothing to do with good governance. Examining the ethics of this “review,” for which to this day, there are no findings, would undoubtedly be a much better use of the Town Council’s time than a censure for getting out of a speeding ticket with a warning, a benefit given to many, if not most people, not just Town Council members. If this is the worst thing on Musella, he must be very honest.

Voters need information on both candidates. Before the primary vote, there should be at least one debate, so the citizens of Parsippany are informed when they go to the voting booth.. Still, such

Respectfully,
Jack S. Raia

Dear Editor:

It appears as if the Barberio/Inglesino Administration is afraid that the residents of Parsippany have finally had enough of their mismanagement of the town. So at the March 4 Council Meeting, Councilman Neglia, AKA Barberio’s attack dog, went into a tirade that was orchestrated well in advance to try and tarnish the reputation of Councilman Musella. This fiasco is over a two-year-old traffic stop involving Councilman Musella and his wife.

I would like Barberion/Inglesino and all the other councilmen and women to record and state how many have handed out “PBA Courtesy Cards”. We all know this is a common occurrence in all cities and states. So why does this singular incident warrant such an over the top response from the Barberio/Inglesino Administration when PBA card wasn’t even involved? The answer is simple, they know that the citizens of Parsippany have had enough of the poor performance of the current administration, and Barberio and friends are grasping at straws to secure another term in office. (Note: According to Barberio’s own press release in 2023, Parsippany Police stopped 7,244 vehicles and only issued 3,397 summons, or 47% received a warning or were let go)

Barberio and Inglesino are turning Parsippany into their own Kingdom with the help of Councilmen Carifi, McGrath, and Neglia, who will vote in lockstep no matter what Barberio proposes. Remember the rush to approve the PILOT Programs at the end of 2023? Now, if ever there was a sweetheart deal that did not pass the smell test, that was it.

Councilman Neglia’s “sell by date’ in Parsippany politics is well past the due date. He offers nothing to the council except to unjustly criticize residents and other council members who do not fall behind the Barberio/Inglesino Administration. At Library Board Meetings he is also a nonfactor and rarely takes a position on anything.

Councilman Musella is Parsippany’s only hope in decades to break the mold of incompetent leadership that has plagued this town for far too long. This attempt to besmirch a good man’s reputation is despicable on so many levels. So, my fellow residents, do not let this smoke screen blind you to all the good work Councilman Musella has produced since joining the Council. Stand strong behind a good man who wants to do good things for Parsippany.

Richard Suarez
Parsippany

Dear Editor:

I am writing to urge my fellow residents to attend Tuesday’s March 18th meeting at 7:00 p.m. at town hall to speak against the censure that the Town Council is considering enacting.  

The incident (attempting to get out of a traffic ticket for speeding) took place almost two (2) years ago and was long forgotten until Musella’s opponent dug it up. The officer found that a warning was justified. From all indications, Mayor Barberio and his re-election team are looking to push Councilman Musella out of the GOP primary by revising what actually occurred.

Many important issues face Parsippany – and that’s what this election should be based on (not personal political attacks):

• Public Safety
• Education
• Economic Development
• Town Services (water/sewer/building/zoning/sanitation/etc)

I have been a resident of Parsippany for 57 years and have had pride in the town I call home.  I am highly disappointed that Parsippany would participate in a smear campaign, rather than a battle of how to support Parsippany residents and their issues.  Justin Musella has proven time and time again that he is here for the residents of Parsippany! 

You have an opportunity this Tuesday to make a difference. You can let the Mayor and Council know that this town’s leadership is not to be won using false accusations. I encourage you to prepare a brief statement expressing your thoughts on the tactics being used in this election. Your support will let the current administration know that the residents of Parsippany will not tolerate such behavior.

Sincerely,
Karin Kruse
Long-term Parsippany Resident

Dear Editor,

On March 4, 2025, I attended the Parsippany Town Council meeting. What I saw was shocking. Mayor James R. Barberio and his allies attacked Councilman Justin Musella, accusing him of breaking the law in a traffic stop. But here’s the catch—it wasn’t even Musella who got pulled over. It was his wife.

Instead of focusing on genuine issues, the mayor and his team dragged a private citizen into their political games. Then, Council President Paul Carifi Jr. asked if charges should be filed against Musella just because two residents spontaneously made an accusation about it… hmm. And what was this big crime? A speeding ticket—going 37 mph in a 25-mph zone. They are even talking about an ethics violation and censure over this nonsense.

Mayor Barberio acted outraged as if this were a major scandal. But let’s be real: Musella wasn’t caught in a bribery scheme, election fraud, or a shady deal. He wasn’t, for example, caught driving around with a woman who was not his wife. This was a simple traffic ticket—and it was not even his!

The hypocrisy was astounding. The same council members judging Musella have their ethical baggage. Yet they sat there pretending to be righteous, lecturing about “higher standards.” Then, Councilman Frank Neglia had the nerve to talk about ethics—something he wouldn’t recognize if it hit him in the face.

So why did the mayor put on this whole show? Because he is furious about Musella’s 12-point public safety plan. This plan challenges how things are done and threatens Barberio’s chances of getting re-elected. In Barberio’s world, speaking out is unacceptable. He’s not worried about losing to Parsippany voters—he’s terrified of losing his political connections.

But here’s the truth: the people of Parsippany decide elections, not Barberio’s political insiders. And when voters ask themselves if they are better off today than they were four years ago, the answer is no.

Mayor Barberio can have his loyalists do his dirty work, but the people of Parsippany aren’t fooled. They see what’s going on. And soon, they’ll make their voices heard.

Timothy P. Berrios

Dear Editor:

At the witch hunt council meeting against Councilman Musella over traffic stop that happened over almost 2 years ago, angry and arrogant councilman Neglia called his council running mate JIGAR Shah who admitted his role in the absentee ballots fraud debacle, ‘JIGAR PATEL’! 

 This hysterical mistake by Mr Neglia, clearly reveals what Mr Neglia thinks of the Indian community in Parsippany.

This exposes his ignorance about his running mate and Indians in town.

He always talks about being a friend of the Indian community, but that is to get their votes without earning it. He thinks all Indians have a last name Patel.

This is an insult to the Indian community. He rubber stamped all Indians as Patel. It is an insult to all Patels to call JIGAR Shah a Patel. What was Neglia thinking? Shame on you.

Parth Patel

Dear Editor,

There’s no place in politics for weaponizing the government to punish people who differ in ideology from the powers that be. 

We previously saw what the political persecution of President Trump did during the election cycle of 2024.

As an undecided voter, I felt compelled to speak up about the upcoming primary election for Parsippany Mayor, which should give everyone pause to think about what’s transpired over the past couple of weeks. 

Why am I writing about this now? Because as I follow the local news in town and I read about the recent turn of events, I have to question why a situation that occurred in 2023 is being brought forth into the public forum at this time? In other words, the real question should be: Why is it that the Mayor, as well as some of the Council members (3/4) are addressing something that took place over fifteen months ago NOW? Does the government in our town move that slow? It’s doubtful. It’s said that timing is everything and it seems to me that the timing of this censure vote is very obvious and with deliberate intention. 

As I followed this situation, I actually thought I might be watching a real-life episode of “Suits” rather than a Town Council meeting. I would venture to say most of my fellow citizens would view the actions taken at the March 4th Council meeting as unnecessary and certainly beneath all of our town leaders. 

 Mayor Barberio, I have always dealt with you respectfully as the elder statesman of Parsippany. I think it’s unbecoming of your office to set something like this in motion, particularly at this time. Councilmen Neglia, Carifi, and McGrath, I hope you reconsider your decision to join in on this action. 

I know Councilman Musella just like I know you all. That said, I’ve always respected him as my voice at town hall. At a time like this, I have to ask, shouldn’t the citizens of our town have the opportunity to judge our candidates’ qualifications based upon merit, accomplishments, and the virtue of their policies that would best benefit Parsippany? Given that I doubt anyone in public life is without indiscretion or baggage, is there any place for thinly veiled attacks on an individual for having opposing viewpoints? Or will we all get down in the dirt and start digging into each other’s lives? I strongly suspect no one would be immune, especially during such a critical time when we’re choosing our leadership in 2025. 

I will attend the final vote on these phony charges against Councilman Musella during the March 18th Council meeting and bring my neighbors to speak out.

I hope all people, regardless of political affiliation, show up and protest this injustice. 

Respectfully, 

John Cosgrove