BY LEV D. ZILBERMINTS
NEW BRUNSWICK – A Middlesex County judge has removed William Tambussi and Heather Taylor from the powerful Rutgers Board of Governors, effective immediately. The cause for the removal, which took effect June 27, 2024, was the violation of residency laws by William Tambussi and Heather Taylor.
“Local Talk” did diligent research for this story. What follows is compiled together from multiple sources. As usual, credit is given to each source for information provided.
According to a story reported by nj.com on June 28, “The ruling on William Tambussi board position resulted from a lawsuit filed by the Rutgers faculty union in January, before the indictment was unsealed earlier this month (June 2024).
“The AAUP – AFT, the union representing full-time Rutgers faculty members, filed the suit arguing Tambussi no longer lives in Camden County, which he is supposed to represent on the board. …
“The union also successfully argued in the lawsuit for the removal of Heather Taylor, who represented Middlesex County until she moved in 2022 to Monmouth County.”
Tambussi is aware of his removal. BOG and Governor Murphy Stay Mum.
According to the nj.com June 28 article, “Reached by email, Tambussi declined to comment on the judge’s order. He said he was proud of his nearly 10 years of service to Rutgers and Rutgers – Camden during his term, which he said was set to expire in three days.
“I had the opportunity to work with outstanding people who worked hard for Rutgers and the opportunity to advocate for the Rutgers – Camden campus resulting in, among other things, the $60 million Cooper Street Project and the new Camden waterfront ball fields,” he said.
According to an exhaustive article by Charlie Kratovil in the June 27 online issue of New Brunswick Today, “Ben Bucca became a Judge in 2016 after (then – Governor) Chris Christie nominated him.
“Superior Court Judge Benjamin Bucca, who worked as a tennis coach at Rutgers for over a decade, ruled that the law requires at least one member of the Board of Governors (BOG) to reside in Camden County, a requirement that Tambussi no longer met since he moved to Brigantine two years ago.
“The BOG and Governor Phil Murphy – who jointly had the power to remove Tambussi but opted not to – have stayed silent about the matter, failing to respond to repeated inquiries from New Brunswick Today.
“Michael Carucci of Sills, Cummis & Gross attempted to argue on behalf of the ousted Rutgers board members that they are not considered state government officeholders, and the university itself is not a public entity, but rather a ‘public – private’ institution.
“Carucci and his colleague, former NJ Attorney General Peter Verniero, also tried to argue that the residency requirement only applied at the time of appointment, and that once he was seated on the board, Tambussi was free to move outside of Camden County.
“But after hearing arguments from both sides, Bucca ruled that Tambussi and his BOG colleague Heather Taylor, who was supposed to reside in Middlesex County but relocated to Monmouth County in 2020, were both disqualified from the board effective immediately.
“Outside attorneys representing the university unsuccessfully asked for a stay of Bucca’s decision pending an appeal, suggesting Rutgers might spend additional taxpayer and tuition-payer resources on challenging the ruling.”
According to The Daily Targum online article of June 30, “As of 2012, one of the eight gubernatorial appointees must live in Camden, while another must live in Essex County. Of the seven Trustees appointments, one must live in Essex County and the other in Middlesex County.”
The Daily Targum noted that both Taylor and Tambussi’s workplace websites continued to list their affiliation with the Rutgers Board of Governors as of June 30. “Local Talk” checked both sites. As of July 22, both former governors still listed their affiliation with the Rutgers BOG. This implies that they hope to win the legal battle.
Tambussi indicted for being part of a corrupt political organization
“Local Talk” previously covered Tambussi’s indictment in the June 27, 2024 issue. The excerpt below is from the June 27 “Local Talk” article.
According to a January 31, 2004 nj.com article, “Tambussi sold his home in Haddon Heights, Camden County, on June 12, 2022, according to property records.
“Those property records list his new address as an apartment in the Curtis Center, a luxury apartment building in Philadelphia that overlooks Independence Hall and the tony Washington Square Park. Meanwhile, Tambussi registered to vote at a home he owned in Brigantine, Atlantic County, a few days before the sale of his Haddon Heights home closed. “Tambussi was first appointed to the Board of Governors in 2014…
“While Tambussi’s term on the Board of Governors is up later this year, this lawsuit will prevent Tambussi from claiming that he can serve on the body as a holdover appointee – a position Tambussi has served in before. “Taylor, who was appointed by the Board of Trustees in 2019, sold her North Brunswick, Middlesex County home on October 16, 2020, according to county property records. She changed her voter registration on January 22, 2022 to her new home address in Manasquan, Monmouth County.”
Philip A. Norcross’s lawyer is Kevin Marino, who himself is being sued by Kelli Nyre for sexual harassment. Mr. Marino was previously the chair of Seton Hall University’s Board of Regents. Ms. Nyre is the wife of Joseph Nyre, ex-President of Seton Hall University.
“Local Talk” covered the lawsuits by the Nyres against SHU earlier this year, in February.
According to New Brunswick Today, “Tambussi was first approved to join the BOG in 2014, after Christie nominated him, and despite friction between Norcross and Murphy, Tambussi was re-nominated to the seat by Murphy in 2020.
By the end of his time on the BOG, Tambussi had also accumulated positions on both of the new Camden Boards, after being installed under shady circumstances to at least one of them: The Rutgers-Camden Board of Directors.”
According to a June 27 article on nj.com, “If convicted, (of racketeering) Tambussi faces up to 20 years in state prison and fines of up to $200,000.”
