9/12/2019 Patch Mail - RE: Question 4 or whatever we're on

Karen Wall <karen.wall@patch.com>

RE: Question 4 or whatever we're on

1 message

Phil Stilton <pstilton@shorenewsnetwork.com> Tue, Sep 10, 2019 at 12:47 PM

To: Karen Wall <karen.wall@patch.com>

In the early days of the fracture within the Toms River GOP where that political club endorsed former OC Prosecutor
Joseph Coronato, once all three candidates had filed their petition, I sent all three our service advertising/offering, just as
every media outlet salesperson should do.

Our service has strict guidelines as you see in the brochure we send, which you have a copy of. We allow companies
and businesses to post press releases directly, such as patch does, however there IS a charge for that service, whereas
patch allows it for free, I believe.

We charge that services as an access fee to our very large audience. It’s actually HUGE savings over traditional direct
mail marketing and gets our customers more interaction with our audience. Our service model is PR Newswire, which is
a very successful international press release model nationally, but scaled down for our large regional audience.

Each candidate received a copy. The campaign for Joseph Coronato purchased the service, however, did not utilize it,
but we ran their banner ads as part of their agreement (their choice on whether or not they actually use the service they
paid for).

Dan Rodrick informed us that his funds were low and he tried to negotiate, and I told him on political campaigns, we
cannot offer a discount to one and not all.

Art Gallagher contacted us on behalf of Maurice Hill and said that he is interested, but he did not want his name or the
campaign name on the releases and wanted them to be seen more as news. I declined that counter offer.

In the last few days of the campaign, which we did not even really cover, I was told by Dan Rodrick that there was a plan
to redevelop Ciga Geigy. I did not believe him and he said Mo was behind it. I did not believe it, so I contacted the
township and the township gave a statement which was published that there was no plan, so I took the township’s word
for it.

At that point, I even defended Maurice Hill on shore news network. Daniel Rodrick also sent out post cards regarding an
alleged agreement between Maurice and Scott Gartner. I also did not believe that.

In the final hours of the campaign the Toms River GOP had sent me copies of Maurice Hill’s petition and nj elec reports
that verified Dan Rodrick’s claim, so I decided it was a newsworthy story. It had nothing to do with the disagreement of
services we had several weeks prior. My mission was to stay out of the TR GOP primary because it was a no win
situation for Shore News Network to cover any republican positions while they were infighting with each other.

The Hill story was different, this was newsworthy and did verify that Hill was trying to push off this news until after the
election.

I have never spoken to Mo Hill, probably ever, but I was told shortly after running the story that for me releasing those
documents, I had become public enemy number one in the hill campaign…not the club, because obviously he needs their
campaign cash.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ik=503420b94d&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1644307721793078492&simpl=msg-f%3A16443077217… 1/2
9/12/2019 Patch Mail - RE: Question 4 or whatever we're on
It’s just the downside of being the messenger as you know. From there, I began hearing reports that because of my
coverage, Maurice Hill’s team was working to encourage some of our clients to stop advertising, which I confirmed, so in
my eyes, here was a political candidate running for office, trying to silence the truth through more nefarious means, so
covering Mo’s campaign doings became something I now had interest in. All of what we published happened and was
factual, but the facts were damaging to his campaign and were not accepted favorably by our readers.

It was then that Hill’s campaign began spreading rumors that I was now “working for the democrats”, which is also a lie.
We have never accepted a penny from Democrats for Shore News Network.

Somewhere along the line, a forged check from Jonathan Petro had started circulating and I was presented with that
check in the presence of Kevin Geoghegan, Kopp and Lotano by Art Gallagher. I knew instantly the check was bogus,
but these 4 knuckleheads believed it to be a smoking gun. I advised them it was not real because I had no business
dealings with the democrats. If I did, I would have owned up to it as I have nothing to hide. It didn’t even have Petro’s
right address and was a bogus bank account. I was more suspicious now because it was presented to me by Gallagher
who has a criminal history with check fraud.

Petro confirmed the check to be fraudulent.

That’s all there is on Maurice Hill… I do not wish for his victory now as he allowed such underhanded and devious
behavior to occur, but while doing the news stories, it was about being the media and uncovering sketchy arrangements
by elected officials. I also don’t support Kevin Geoghegan because in our conversation he brought up some pretty
disgusting topics he wanted to use against me, which I felt like it was almost an attempt to black mail me into giving him
favorable news coverage.

A few days after this interaction, I had agreed that Hill’s campaign leaves me along and we cover the news and we all left
amicably.

I received an email from art Gallagher suggesting I go after Petro’s campaign (which you now have) and I have not yet
told him, but I refused. I am not interested in getting in anyone’s good graces or being a political hitman for people who
tried to frame me of a bogus crime or whatever it was.

Today, I filed a complaint with the FBI’s internet crime unit and reported that check fraud.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ik=503420b94d&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1644307721793078492&simpl=msg-f%3A16443077217… 2/2