NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Michael Mahony, the longtime chief housing inspector for the City of New Brunswick, made donations to help keep his boss, Mayor Jim Cahill, in office.

Mahony spent a night in jail last week, and is currently facing charges that he dealt cocaine.  The mayor suspended Mahony after New Brunswick Today inquired about his job status.

In total, Mahony gave at least $1,250 to a political campaign fund supporting the city’s mayor, who has been in office since 1991.

In September 2008, Mahony gave $500 to Cahill’s re-election fund, and made another $500 donation again in April 2009, according to election records.

In 2010, when the Mayor faced a primary challenge from Patricia Bombelyn, Mahony gave just $250.

In 2011, Mahony sold his home at 347 Livingston Avenue for $420,000 and moved to Milltown with Anita Burke, an employee of the South Brunswick school district.

Burke earned an annual salary of $51,976 as of 2012, and Mahony makes $54,066 according to this year’s city records.

Their new home, at 69 Cleveland Avenue in Milltown, was the site of Mahony’s arrest according to police.  Mahony and Burke jointly purchased the home for $245,000 in July 2011.

Though police would not tell other newspapers the location of Mahony’s “distrubtion quantity amount of cocaine,” New Brunswick Today has learned that the stash was found in the New Brunswick Elks Lodge at 40 Livingston Avenue.

The website of the Elks, a fraternal organization with chapters all across the country, says that “Elks invest in their communities through programs that help children grow up healthy and drug-free.”

According to business records on the state website, Mahony is listed as the treasurer for the entity that owns the Elks Lodge in New Brunswick.

Editor at New Brunswick Today | 732-993-9697 | editor@newbrunswicktoday.com | Website

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.