His website boasts his business expertise.
It promotes how his private sector experience and ideas will “overcome government neglect,” declaring he’s a hometown boy from Washington Township in Gloucester County.
“With a background in finance and a history of corporate development, O’Hanlon brings a unique perspective to the challenges facing our township,” his website says.
William O’Hanlon wants to be mayor.
But questions about his past, his relationship with some controversial figures in New Jersey politics and new allegations of ducking payments for campaign-related services appear to paint a curious picture. Further, local Democratic officials say they are now challenging his petition to run, alleging signature irregularities and doubt about his residency.
O’Hanlon, 59, was named in a 13-count federal indictment last April for wire fraud, tax evasion and other charges related to an alleged timeshare marketing scam.
The criminal charges came less than a year after state Attorney General Matthew Platkin won a $10 million default judgment in a civil case against O’Hanlon and his company in May 2022. The state alleged O’Hanlon and the company “preyed on timeshare owners, many of whom were elderly.”
The judgment was vacated five months later, but the Attorney General’s office says the case is ongoing.
O’Hanlon’s foray into politics in a corner of New Jersey that most people would have a hard time finding on a map hardly makes him a major figure in Democratic circles.
One of five New Jersey communities named for the father of our country, nearly 50,000 people live in Washington Township, located about 18 miles southeast of Philadelphia. So many former Philadelphia residents moved across the Delaware over the years that it is known as South Philly South.
Two New Jersey businesspeople and a controversial political operative — himself under criminal indictment related to alleged election fraud from a different campaign — claim O’Hanlon hired them for campaign work. They say O’Hanlon is reneging on the payments.
O’Hanlon’s campaign said he did not authorize the campaign payments to the two businesspeople. It claims he was exonerated in the state case and refused to comment on the ongoing federal case. But he has other things to say.
THE CAMPAIGN’S START
There are two stories about the launch of O’Hanlon’s campaign. One version comes from the candidate, and the other comes from James Devine, who said he was hired to run the campaign before he and O’Hanlon parted ways.
Devine, 62, a Union County Democrat from Rahway, was facing an unrelated state investigation before he worked for O’Hanlon.
Devine — who enjoyed brief national prominence after unapologetically posting social media messages using hashtags including #HuntRepublicans after a rifle-wielding gunman shot four people at a Republican congressional baseball team practice in 2017 — said he only met O’Hanlon once in person, and then they spoke by phone and texted over several months.
He said he started to work on the campaign in the late fall of 2023.
“I was given broad authority to do whatever was required to advance a campaign strategy that we discussed and he approved,” Devine said.
O’Hanlon’s representative describes the relationship differently.
Michael Storch, who said he was a contract employee for the campaign, said in an email that O’Hanlon was approached by Devine after announcing his mayoral candidacy.
“Several members of the Democratic party in Washington Township advised (O’Hanlon) not to have any relationship with Mr. Devine, as he had a reputation for being an unscrupulous individual,” Storch said. “Knowing how it feels to be falsely accused, Mr. O’Hanlon hired him.”
Storch said Devine was responsible for O’Hanlon’s first campaign website, which suggested O’Hanlon served in combat during the Gulf War even though Navy records show O’Hanlon’s ship wasn’t in the Persian Gulf during that time. The website also intimated O’Hanlon facilitated a $173,000 state grant for Washington Township public schools while municipal and school officials reached by NJ Advance Media said they had no recollection of O’Hanlon.
Storch said O’Hanlon had nothing to do with the claims, which have since been taken down, and O’Hanlon’s relationship with Devine ended after a dispute over campaign payments, he said.
“Mr. Devine has been paid $30,000 to date for services he is yet to render.” Storch said.
Earlier this month, Devine was indicted on three criminal election fraud-related charges. The accusations from the state Attorney General’s office stem from Devine’s efforts to get to Lisa McCormick, a little-known perennial candidate who in the past has run for the Legislature, for Congress, for the U.S. Senate and for governor, on the Democratic primary ballot for the 2021 governor’s race.
If found guilty, Devine could face up to 13 years in prison, the Attorney General’s office said.
Devine wouldn’t comment on his case, but pointed to his post on X where called the indictment “selective prosecution.”
“I made a careless mistake for which I take full responsibility and I am sorry for my error. I do not know how it happened, but my mistake somehow resulted in the submission of the wrong list,” the post said.
THE LAWSUITS
The mayoral campaign by O’Hanlon comes as he mounts a defense against the April 2023 federal fraud charges, which included charges against his wife Karen Stefanowski and five others, three of whom have already pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors said the group participated in a “telemarketing scheme to defraud timeshare owners over the age of 55.”
The criminal charges came less than a year after New Jersey’s attorney general won a $10 million default judgment in a civil case against O’Hanlon and his company, William Andrews Burns LLC (WAB), in May 2022, over allegations based on more than 100 consumer complaints.
The lawsuit said O’Hanlon’s company cold-called timeshare owners and used high-pressure sales tactics and misrepresentations to persuade them to pay upfront fees ranging from $594 to $2,899. In exchange, the company promised to rent or resell their timeshares, it said.
The default judgment was vacated in September 2022 after O’Hanlon’s attorney claimed in court documents that O’Hanlon had health problems and confused the civil case with the then-pending federal criminal charges, so he mistakenly didn’t answer the court regarding the judgment.
O’Hanlon’s attorney declined to comment, and Stefanowski’s attorney did not respond to inquiries.
NEW ALLEGATIONS
While O’Hanlon remained free on bail in the federal case and he explored his mayoral aspirations, different allegations emerged that he was dodging payments for his campaign.
In December 2023, the O’Hanlon campaign hired political marketing company Kaplan Strategies, owner Doug Kaplan said.
Devine, whose request for pre-trial intervention was denied the same month, was the point man, Kaplan said.
Kaplan, who said he wasn’t aware of the charges against Devine or O’Hanlon, said Devine instructed him to run a poll in Washington Township to see what voters thought about O’Hanlon.
The poll asked 245 residents: “If the Democratic primary election for Mayor was held today, would you support Bill O’Hanlon or do you prefer someone else?”
More than 50% said they were “unsure,” 18% said they would vote for O’Hanlon and 21.6% said they would vote for “someone else,” according to results shared with NJ Advance Media.
The $7,200 fee due to Kaplan was charged on O’Hanlon’s credit card with O’Hanlon’s permission, according to a string of text messages shared with NJ Advance Media.
But two months later, O’Hanlon’s campaign had a change of heart, Kaplan said.
“Mr. O’Hanlon initiated a chargeback dispute (with his credit card) following the revelation through our efforts that his chances of winning were slim,” Kaplan said, and the credit card company took back the money.
Kaplan said he reported the incident to the authorities but he would not specify to whom he made the complaint.
Paul Westcott said his company L2, too, was hired by Devine on behalf of the campaign. He said Devine placed two orders in the fall of 2023 for voter data for canvassing and direct mail, totaling $15,000.
The credit card payments were disputed, Westcott said.
“We found that Mr. O’Hanlon was the individual that `paid’ for the orders on his card and then canceled the charges,” Westcott said.
Devine said he is also owed money by O’Hanlon. He wouldn’t say how much, but said it did not involve a credit card dispute.
“I won’t discuss details, because I may be a witness for others or the government,” he said. “Everything I did at his expense was intended to enable him to overcome great obstacles in pursuit of being elected.”
O’Hanlon, though, said through his spokesman that the credit card was used without his permission.
The campaign did not respond to questions about the text messages in which O’Hanlon appears to give Devine permission to use his credit card. The campaign also did not address questions about payments that Devine said he is due.
THE MAN WHO WANTS TO BE MAYOR
O’Hanlon’s biography stops short of calling him a hometown hero, but exactly where his home is remains unclear.
Public records show O’Hanlon and his wife Karen Stefanowski don’t own any property in the township or anywhere in New Jersey. The couple did purchase a home together in Loxahatchee, Florida, in April 2023 for $769,000, according to public records.
Months later, O’Hanlon, who has not held any public office, registered to vote in Gloucester County in October 2023, public records show.
O’Hanlon provided local Democratic officials with a Blackwood, Washington Township address when he was seeking their endorsement for his mayoral bid, officials said.
The home — in a modest neighborhood dotted with speed bumps, backyard playgrounds, American flags and banners supporting the Phillies — is not associated with O’Hanlon in public records. No one answered when a reporter knocked on the home’s door and neighbors said they weren’t aware of any renters.
Asked about his relationship to the property, O’Hanlon sent a photo of a vehicle — a Rolls Royce that two people familiar with the car said was O’Hanlon’s — sporting lettering that promoted the candidacy parked outside of the Blackwood home, along with a letter from an attorney who gave a legal opinion supporting O’Hanlon’s residency.
“It is not uncommon for an individual to maintain contact with various states,” the attorney’s letter said, citing the address in Blackwood that he said is on O’Hanlon’s driver’s license. “By both conduct and intention, William O’Hanlon has established his right and desire to be a New Jersey resident, along with the benefits that residency provides.”
O’Hanlon’s campaign would not share a copy of the driver’s license or explain whether he was renting the property.
The newly updated campaign website says: “Welcome Home Bill.”
O’Hanlon’s website bio says he survived a “medical miracle” heart surgery in 2016, has been a sober alcoholic for seven years and is a devout Irish-Italian Catholic who believes “in the daily recitation of the Rosary.” The website includes a link to a YouTube video titled “The Fifteen Promises of Rosary.”
It also says he’s the CEO of an unnamed “international holding company” and manages more than 120 employees, and while his companies are “on course to make more than $20 million in revenue this year,” he’s stepping down to run for mayor.
Along with pledging an unspecified but “significant” tax cut, O’Hanlon promises to “beautify” the Black Horse Pike with dogwood trees funded by landlords. “I have agreed to donate my mayoral salary to help,” if landlords can’t pay, the website says. NJ Advance Media was unable to find any participating landlords. O’Hanlon did not provide any names when asked.
The website bio does not address O’Hanlon’s legal troubles other than to claim he was exonerated in the case brought by the state attorney general, but it says: “I believe in second chances.”
Washington Township’s current mayor, Laurie Burns, who was endorsed by the local Democratic committee for re-election, would not comment on O’Hanlon, her only opponent for the endorsement.
Even without the endorsement, O’Hanlon filed by the March 25 deadline to run in the Democratic primary, officials said.
But Chris Milam, chairman of the Washington Township Democratic Executive Committee, said the group is challenging O’Hanlon’s petition to run.
“We’ve noticed a couple of inconsistencies with regards to signatures on the petition, and we’re also concerned with his residency,” Milam said. “We have it on good sources that he is a resident of Florida and we are not swayed by the letter from his attorney.”
O’Hanlon didn’t respond to questions about the allegations.
If O’Hanlon’s petition is tossed out, he can still run as an independent. He would have until June 4 to file, officials said.
“I want to be your Mayor,” O’Hanlon’s website says. “I want to serve you.”
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