Copyright Joliet, IL Patch
Police have concluded their investigation into a group chat titled "ThisB—NeedsToDie," which referred to a sitting school board member. MARLBORO, NJ — The Marlboro Township Police Department has concluded an investigation into a group chat discussing a sitting Board of Education member, Marlboro Police Captain Stephen Levy told Patch. On Thursday, Sept. 11, Levy said police were made aware of a text message group chat titled “ThisB—NeedsToDie,” which referred to an elected member of the Marlboro Township Board of Education. Shortly after these texts surfaced, Board Member Danielle Bellomo identified herself as the person that the group chat name was referring to, and Board of Education candidate Scott Semaya was accused of being among those in the group chat, though police did not release the names of those involved. A request for comment from Bellomo and Semaya was not immediately answered on Tuesday afternoon. Once police were notified of this text thread, Levy said they immediately began an investigation into the texts that included interviews, gathering written statements, reviewing text messages and images, and examining all evidence presented to them in the case. Given the nature of the incident and the elected officials involved, Levy said the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office was also made aware of the investigation and information presented to police. At the end of the investigation, and after consulting with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Levy said the police department determined that the incident does not meet the threshold of criminal activity and therefore, no charges will be filed by the Marlboro Township Police Department in relation to the case. In addition to Bellomo and Semaya, Patch has also reached out to Marlboro Township Public Schools Superintendent Michael Ballone and Marlboro Board of Education President Brian Cohen for comment on the investigation. This article will be updated as responses are received. “The content of these messages is completely unacceptable and those responsible are clearly not equipped to hold public office,” Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik said in an online statement after news of the group chat first surfaced. “Violence and threats of violence against public officials are seemingly becoming normalized,” Hornik continued. “In only a few months’ time, we have witnessed an alarming escalation in this type of behavior to an extreme, culminating in the murder of Minnesota Representative Hortman and activist Charlie Kirk. This must stop.” Around the time of the group chat going public, Bellomo posted screenshots of Facebook posts that said that Semaya had dropped out of the school board race, as well as his running mate Melissa Goldberg (though Goldberg was not said to be involved in the group chat). While Patch was unable to directly confirm with Semaya if he suspended his campaign, Goldberg did confirm to Patch that she was withdrawing her run for the board in early October, adding that she could not commit to the role in addition to her other responsibilities. Though Goldberg suspended her campaign for the board, she still ended up as one of the top-three vote getters for one of three open board seats on Election Night, according to unofficial results from the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office. Should she receive a qualifying number of votes in the election, Goldberg previously told Patch that she would not accept a seat on the board.
