A Haddon Township elected official pleaded guilty Wednesday to a criminal charge for steering a disgruntled employee to a lawyer who successfully sued his own municipal government -- and accepting a $7,000 referral fee for it.
Paul Dougherty resigned as a township commissioner Tuesday, hours before a public meeting of the three-member body that administers this town of 15,000 in Camden County. His resignation was part of a plea deal but was not mentioned in an email he sent to two fellow commissioners announcing his decision to step down.
According to authorities, he was contacted in 2013 by a Haddon Township police officer who was having issues with her superiors and had just been suspended, according to the charges.
"The officer asked Dougherty for help with the suspension and Dougherty, despite the clear conflict of interest presented by his status as a township commissioner, told her that she had the basis for a lawsuit against the township," a statement from state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
The law firm the officer hired to sue the town paid Dougherty a referral fee of $7,106, the statement said. He later returned the fee to the law firm after learning he was under investigation, officials said.
His plea agreement recommends probation instead of jail time. He also forfeited his position as a township commissioner and is permanently barred from public office and public employment in the state.
Dougherty, who also works as an attorney, had not attended a government public meeting since mid-July, after he was charged with leaving the scene of a crash and driving with an expired license.
Dougherty, 48, also serves as municipal prosecutor in several towns in Camden and Burlington counties, including Cherry Hill, Clementon and Medford. He had served on the elected three-member commission since 2007 and was paid $21,000 annually for the position.
Dougherty is scheduled to face a municipal court judge in Estell Manor on Oct. 22 to answer charges from the July driving accident. The hearing was moved out of Camden County to avoid any conflict of interest from Dougherty's work as a prosecutor.
Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bduhart. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.