Seaside Heights Parking Official, BOE Member Charged in Coverup of Accident

The Seaside Heights Parking Authority supervisor, who is also a member of the borough’s Board of Education, has been charged in what authorities say was a coverup of an accident in which a man on a bicycle was struck and a bicycle was stolen from police evidence to cover it up.

Todd M. Genty, 54, of Seaside Heights, is charged in the case. Genty is charged with witness tampering and evidence tampering. He has also been charged with Failure to Stop, Leaving the Scene of an Accident and Failure to Report an Accident.

Genty’s arrest stems from his involvement in a motor vehicle collision with a bicyclist on January 19, 2018 in Seaside Heights. On that date, at approximately 4:32 p.m., a male later identified as Robert C. Lay, 66, of Seaside Heights, went to Seaside Heights Police headquarters to report a collision during which he was struck by a Seaside Heights township vehicle, according to a statement issued Thursday by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

---

Get Daily Island News Updates Your email address:* Please enter all required fields Correct invalid entries

Lay told police that while riding his bicycle north on the Boulevard at approximately 3 p.m., he was struck at the corner of Dupont Avenue. Lay said that the impact knocked him to the ground. Lay reported that he was struck by what he believed to be a Seaside Heights Police vehicle. He also said that while he was on the ground, the vehicle drove past him and parked. The driver then allegedly exited the vehicle, approached him, and began to yell at him, calling him a “drunk.”

Lay went on to report that the driver allegedly agreed to ”make things right” by giving Lay cash and replacing his damaged bicycle. While relating the event to Seaside Police, Lay complained of pain to the back area of his head. Tri-Boro First Aid Squad was contacted and arrived to examine Lay,who refused treatment at a hospital.

Lay, authorities say, ended his statement by saying that the unidentified driver never called for assistance and never asked if he needed any first aid. Allegedly, the bicycle he was riding was placed against a wall, and both he and the driver left the scene.

Seaside Police Ptl. Chris Linnell immediately initiated an investigation into Lay’s report, officials said. The investigation confirmed that the collision took place, the date, time and location of the collision, as well as the identity of the driver and the borough vehicle involved. Linnell found the involved vehicle was assigned and operated at the time of the collision by Seaside Heights Parking Enforcement Supervisor Todd M. Genty, who failed to contact headquarters by radio or phone regarding the incident. Linnell reported the results of his investigation to Detective Stephen Korman of the Seaside Heights Police Office of Professional Responsibility.

Korman and Linnell allege that Genty replaced Lay’s damaged bicycle with a bicycle taken from the police department’s temporary evidence / property area. The victim positively identified a photo of his bicycle that was damaged during the accident in addition to a photo of a bicycle that he found upon his arrival at his residence after the collision. This bicycle was confirmed to be a bicycle that was located within the police department’s temporary evidence / property area, according to prosecutors.

At that time, Chief Thomas Boyd directed Korman to turn the investigation over to the Ocean County Prosecutor to avoid any conflict of interest and for further review. After reviewing the case evidence, Senior Assistant Prosecutor William Scharfenberg approved the above charges against Genty.

​Genty, accompanied by his attorney, Jeffrey Caccese of the Comegno Law Group in Morristown, surrendered at Seaside Heights Police Headquarters. He was charged and released on a summons to answer the charges at a future date.