Atlantic Coty- Speculation is rampant that Atlantic City Mayor Robert Levy will resign this week. A city official who does not want to be named told FOX News that Levy’s departure could come on Tuesday or Wednesday.
But state Sen. James Sonny McCullough said he has been given no indication that Levy will quit.
Levy called in sick to work a week and a half ago and has since disappeared. With his resignation, “this circus will come to an end,” the official said.
The strange case of the missing mayor began when information was revealed that suggested Levy lied about his military service and has been falsely collecting military benefits. The official said a federal investigation is close to concluding that Levy illegally took military benefits he wasn’t entitled to receive, and a plea deal is currently being worked out with prosecutors.
The Press of Atlantic City was first to check out Levy’s accounts that he was a 20-year Army veteran with two Bronze stars and two tours of duties in Vietnam. The newspaper learned that Levy lied when he said he was a Green Beret, and used the false claim to bump up his veterans’ benefits payments by about $25,000.
The allegedly phony Special Forces soldier has said he should’ve corrected the record years ago.
“Just something that occurred, you know … just something that occurred and I am sorry for having it done,” Levy told reporters recently.
But on Sept. 26, Levy got into his city-issued Dodge Durango and drove off. A Levy spokesman issued a statement saying the mayor was going on indefinite medical leave, and an aide said he’s in the hospital, but few people seem to know where or for how long he’s been seeking medical care.
The reason behind the hideout may be because Levy’s lawyer, who would help orchestrate his resignation, has been out of the country and is expected to return Monday.
While McCullough, a Republican from Egg Harbor Township 20 minutes away, said he has not heard back from the mayor’s wife, Hazel, about any plans to resign, and Acting Mayor Domenic Capella has not heard anything definitive about a departure, a high-ranking attorney and someone with federal sources told FOX News that the mayor will resign.
Sources within the city’s Democratic Party also said Chairman Ron Ruff is preparing to submit three names of people who could possibly replace the mayor, and is hoping to get a letter of resignation soon.
City Councilman Bruce Ward asked a judge on Friday to declare the mayor’s seat officially vacant so that the council can name a replacement.
Gov. Jon Corzine has said the state is looking into legal options. Cappella is acting as mayor on the claim that Levy asked him personally to take over his job duties. City officials say the day Levy disappeared, he signed an order transferring his powers to Cappella.
“He doesn’t have to give it to you in writing, it can be verbal. I have had conversation with him last Wednesday where I wanted to find out how he was doing. He told me to continue the day-to-day business, that he would be back soon, and do what I do every day,” Cappella said.
Unfortunately for Atlantic City residents, they are no strangers to this kind of controversy. Over the past 40 years, five Atlantic City mayors have been convicted of a variety of criminal offenses, four of the city’s last eight mayors have been investigated for corruption, and three city city council members are either in jail or under house arrest.