Borough hall's wall of shame? Councilman proposes removing Merla's name from Keyport building BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer In light of the former mayor's recent admission of accepting bribes in return for no-bid government contracts, Keyport Councilman George Walling wants John Merla's name removed from the outside of borough hall. A 2004 plaque marking the completion of construction at the building lists Merla and the other members of the Borough Council at the time, including fellow Operation Bid Rig defendant Robert Hyer. Hyer was also accused of accepting bribes but died before seeing trial. "I would like to have the council's consent to have [Borough Clerk] Allyson [Cinquegrana] find out the price of removing the sign outside borough hall with the former mayor's name on it and have it replaced without his name on it," Walling said at the Jan. 23 Borough Council meeting. "As he sat here ... before this governing body, who asked him to step down ... he defiantly said, no, he's innocent. He repeated it several times, and then he copped a plea and said he's guilty. I feel it's a disgrace, and it should be removed." No other council member commented on the issue. Current Mayor Robert Bergen agreed to allow the clerk to look into the cost of replacing the plaque. Later, during the public comment portion of the meeting, resident and Planning Board member Donald Blanks defended Merla, calling him "a stand-up gentleman," and received a round of applause for the comment from some members of the audience. Blanks is also an employee of Merla's at the Uptown Bar & Grille, Broad Street. "With all due respect to George Walling, I don't think it's fair to ever refer to him as 'a disgrace,' for somebody who dedicated so much time ... to this town. It's easy to sit back and look at things from the outside, that because he took a plea, he's guilty. But facing all the negative press throughout this past year and to run the government and still be involved as one of the only individuals who stayed in office all this time, you have to give the man a lot of respect for that. I mean, he must have felt that he was innocent. And being faced with a federal government with unlimited resources, it's hard to go to court and fight ... with limited funds. You're bound to lose. You're in a no-win situation." Blanks said Merla "took the right road" in the interest of his children by taking a plea and reducing the amount of time he would have to spend away from them. "His back was against the wall. He had no other option," Blanks said. "It's easy to sit back when you're not in that situation. I think we should take an overall view when judging this individual, especially someone who gave so much to the town. It's easy to kick a man when he's down. From my experience with the former mayor, he's been a stand-up gentleman." After the brief applause, Walling responded. "He had a chance to be a stand-up gentleman when members of this board, this governing body, asked him to step down, clear his name," Walling said. "We all stated that. We had no problem with him doing that, going forth and defending his honor. You're saying because a lack of funds, he said OK, judge." Blanks said Merla's guilty plea needs to be viewed "from an overall perspective." "When they offer you a deal, you're smart to take it," Blanks said. "Especially if you have two young children and you want to spend some time in their life. This is the most important time in their lives." Blanks said Merla was "a bigger man" for taking the plea, rather than fighting to have his name cleared. But Walling wasn't buying Blanks' rationale. "I mean this sincerely," Walling said. "I'd go into debt to keep my name cleared." Blanks repeated his premise several times, that no amount of money would ever be enough to take on Uncle Sam. "You're going to lose, regardless," Blanks said. "You can't beat the federal government. We know that. And I don't believe everything the federal government feeds us. I'm still waiting for the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq." Former Councilman Joseph Wedick also spoke on the subject. During the public portion, Wedick suggested that Walling's idea be taken a step further by having Merla's name removed from the Keyport High School Hall of Fame. Wedick also suggested that the council ask the FBI for copies of the undercover video and audio tapes recorded of Merla during the time he accepted bribes. "This way we can all see exactly what happened and not have it filtered by the press or anybody else," Wedick said. "We can put it on the Keyport Web site." Bergen said he would ask the U.S. Attorney's Office for the tapes, but was hesitant to have them aired on the borough Web site. Rather, he proposed having interested parties view the tapes at borough hall. Wedick conceded that Merla was a likable character who "can work the room better than anyone I've ever seen." He could "pat you on the back and have you laughing," Wedick said. But, he added later, "he's a confessed felon."