Privileged Borough conversations engaged by Councilman Brenden Sharkey
Dear Englishtown Borough,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
Records requested:
A Monmouth County whistleblower has tracked a pattern of behaviors after an odd encounter with a public official at a professional event. Through surrogate contacts, the official has entertained numerous private online conversations through Facebook and other platforms to obscure and plan certain actions and discussions concerning official business in Englishtown, NJ.
Councilman Brenden Sharkey has made posts within a private Facebook group called "Englishtown Residents", soliciting contacts to his government email address from a group inaccessible to the public. Additionally, a succession of investigators have produced evidence that more than one private direct message was sent to contacts directly discussing borough business, and other individuals. Screenshots of those private dialogues have been furnished to the investigator.
Additionally, this post occurred within a private Facebook group directly discussing borough business, namely a defined "environmental committee" of the local body. Screen shots of the publicly-inaccessible dialogue have been documented and catalogued from February 2026.
This request is for any and all private Facebook messages made and received by Councilman Brenden Sharkey through his personal Facebook account of the same name. Specifically, this request is for messages in which Englishtown Borough business, events, policy, legislation, finances, employees, contractors, appointees, or other Englishtown public officials and associated contacts, are discussed. Additionally, we kindly ask for a full documentation of the entire post and all replies within the private group, as the public is being denied full transparency of a dialogue that should not be privileged, and concerns an official capacity within the Englishtown municipal government that spurred several discussion points and responses.
In the past, towns often deny such requests saying they "do not exist". Any denial of the existence of these private conversations and posts, (which become public domain and requestable via OPRA once official government business is discussed) will be followed by civil legal action including subpoena and full legal retention of all associated META records (1 Meta Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025) pertaining to this request. The requested material is known to exist, and is well-documented by whistleblowers with serial screenshots of the private dialogues in question, including direct messages. All materials discovered through a judicial subpoena of META's platform but denied to exist by the municipality and individuals in question during this request, will be referred to all relevant ethical, regulatory, and legal authorities for review and discipline for intentionally being obscured. The investigators will also seek monetary relief from the guilty parties for any attempt to intentionally deny the existence of official borough conversations later discovered to be real.
We prefer to correspond and receive content relevant to this response over email, and expect compliance of OPRA timelines for statutory response windows.
The Truth Shall Set You Free
NJ Awakening
Good afternoon,
Our office represents the Borough of Englishtown.We are in receipt of your
OPRA request dated March 11, 2026. To assist us in identifying and
reviewing any potentially responsive records, could you please clarify the
specific timeframe and/or subject matter for the records you are seeking?
As currently drafted, the request is open-ended, and a defined date range
or subject matter will allow us to more accurately locate and evaluate any
posts or messages for responsiveness under OPRA. Upon receipt of this
clarification, we will proceed with processing your request accordingly.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you, and
we look forward to your response.
Veronica A. Acevedo
Plosia Cohen LLC
51 Gibraltar Dr.
Suite 3B
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
[1][email address]
908-888-2547 – phone
908-888-2548 – fax
This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise
protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. If you have
received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply and delete it
from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents
to anyone. Please send us by fax any message containing deadlines as
incoming e-mails are not screened for response deadlines. The integrity
and security of this message cannot be guaranteed on the Internet.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Veronica Acevedo,
We would like any direct or private messages from December 15th 2025 through March 15th 2026.
Any messages including the specific terms or subjects mentioned in the original request, including:
Englishtown Borough business, events, policy, legislation, finances, employees, contractors, appointees, or other Englishtown public officials and associated contacts, are discussed.
Additionally, any messages with these words contained anywhere within:
Patsy
Fierro
Sean
Atterbury
Lou
Sarti
John
Alite
Janet
Leonardis
Daniel
Francisco
Jonathan
Cohen
Kim
Humphrey
Neil
Calise
Crystal
Bob
Cusic
Trevor
Martinson
Alex
Dinicola
Joann
Damante
Paul
Stephen
Steve
Dubois
Barrett
Setticase
Joe
Joseph
Paul
Robilotti
Cindy
Chanin
Zsusa
Ahearn
McCarthy
Sabin
Reynolds
election
primary
censure
lawyer
ballot
budget
finance
vote
arrest
criminal
prosecutor
drug/s
weed
cannabis
cocaine
Plantopia
Scarlet
Bud
Ruuted
rebate
coupon
gun
firearm
permit
press
media
subpoena
prison
jail
record
court
police
Englishtown
hall
pizza
Quick Chek
English Club
Stamford
redevelopment
construction
police
reporter
journalist
expunge
plea
council
mayor
developer
fire
More specifically, the subject discussion made by Brenden Sharkey within a private group about public business concerning the "Environmental Committee" occurred around February 6th, 2026. His government email was shared to solicit responses from this private group post. We expect the entire dialogue, with replies and correspondence, on the subject post to be shared publicly for full transparency.
We expect all dialogues made privately and within this subject post to be made public if pertaining to Englishtown Borough operations, as there is no legal privacy privileges by elected officials on these subjects.
Yours sincerely,
NJ Awakening
Hello,
Thank you for your email. I am out of the office beginning Thursday,
March 19, 2026, and will return on Tuesday, March 23, 2026.
For any time sensitive matters, please contact Jonathan Cohen at
[email address].
Thank you.
--
Veronica A. Acevedo
Plosia Cohen LLC
51 Gibraltar Dr.
Suite 3B
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
908-888-2547 – phone
908-888-2548 – fax
This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise
protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. If you have
received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply and delete it
from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents to
anyone. Please send us by fax any message containing deadlines as incoming
e-mails are not screened for response deadlines. The integrity and security
of this message cannot be guaranteed on the Internet.
Good morning,
As you are aware, our office represents the Borough of Englishtown. Thank
you for your response. We acknowledge receipt of your clarification;
however, the Borough requires additional time to gather and review any
responsive records.
Accordingly, we respectfully request a two-week extension, making the
Borough’s response due April 8, 2026.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns in the meantime.
Thank you.
Veronica A. Acevedo
Plosia Cohen LLC
51 Gibraltar Dr.
Suite 3B
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
[1][email address]
908-888-2547 – phone
908-888-2548 – fax
This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise
protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. If you have
received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply and delete it
from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents
to anyone. Please send us by fax any message containing deadlines as
incoming e-mails are not screened for response deadlines. The integrity
and security of this message cannot be guaranteed on the Internet.
Good morning,
As you are aware, our office represents the Borough of Englishtown. At
this time, the Borough requires additional time to complete its search for
responsive records and conduct a thorough review. Accordingly, the Borough
will need an additional two-weeks to respond to your request, making the
new response deadline April 22, 2026. The Borough will endeavor to respond
sooner, if possible.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for
your continued patience.
Veronica A. Acevedo
Plosia Cohen LLC
51 Gibraltar Dr.
Suite 3B
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
[1][email address]
908-888-2547 – phone
908-888-2548 – fax
This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise
protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. If you have
received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply and delete it
from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents
to anyone. Please send us by fax any message containing deadlines as
incoming e-mails are not screened for response deadlines. The integrity
and security of this message cannot be guaranteed on the Internet.
Good afternoon,
The Borough is in the process of responding to your OPRA request and
requires an additional one (1) week to respond, making our response now
due April 29, 2026.
At this time, we are awaiting final confirmation regarding the existence
and scope of potentially responsive documents. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, the Borough will endeavor to provide a response sooner, if
possible, upon completion of that review.
Thank you for your patience.
Veronica A. Acevedo
Plosia Cohen LLC
51 Gibraltar Dr.
Suite 3B
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
[1][email address]
908-888-2547 – phone
908-888-2548 – fax
This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise
protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. If you have
received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply and delete it
from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents
to anyone. Please send us by fax any message containing deadlines as
incoming e-mails are not screened for response deadlines. The integrity
and security of this message cannot be guaranteed on the Internet.
On Mon, Apr 6, 2026 at 10:38 AM Veronica Acevedo <[2][email address]>
wrote:
Good morning,
As you are aware, our office represents the Borough of Englishtown. At
this time, the Borough requires additional time to complete its search
for responsive records and conduct a thorough review. Accordingly, the
Borough will need an additional two-weeks to respond to your request,
making the new response deadline April 22, 2026. The Borough will
endeavor to respond sooner, if possible.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for
your continued patience.
Veronica A. Acevedo
Plosia Cohen LLC
51 Gibraltar Dr.
Suite 3B
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
[3][email address]
908-888-2547 – phone
908-888-2548 – fax
This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise
protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. If you have
received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply and delete it
from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents
to anyone. Please send us by fax any message containing deadlines as
incoming e-mails are not screened for response deadlines. The integrity
and security of this message cannot be guaranteed on the Internet.
Good afternoon,
Please see the attached documents responsive to your OPRA request. Names
have been redacted in accordance with the privacy exemptions set forth
under the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.
The Borough requested that Councilman Sharkey provide all records
responsive to your request. The attached materials reflect the documents
produced to us in response. However, Councilman Sharkey declined to
execute a certification confirming that his production is complete and
accurate.
Accordingly, while we are providing the documents received, the Borough
cannot represent that this production is exhaustive and assumes no
responsibility for any potential omissions or inaccuracies.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Veronica A. Acevedo
Plosia Cohen LLC
51 Gibraltar Dr.
Suite 3B
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
[1][email address]
908-888-2547 – phone
908-888-2548 – fax
This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise
protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. If you have
received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply and delete it
from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents
to anyone. Please send us by fax any message containing deadlines as
incoming e-mails are not screened for response deadlines. The integrity
and security of this message cannot be guaranteed on the Internet.
On Wed, Apr 22, 2026 at 5:01 PM Veronica Acevedo <[2][email address]>
wrote:
Good afternoon,
The Borough is in the process of responding to your OPRA request and
requires an additional one (1) week to respond, making our response now
due April 29, 2026.
At this time, we are awaiting final confirmation regarding the existence
and scope of potentially responsive documents. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, the Borough will endeavor to provide a response sooner, if
possible, upon completion of that review.
Thank you for your patience.
Veronica A. Acevedo
Plosia Cohen LLC
51 Gibraltar Dr.
Suite 3B
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
[3][email address]
908-888-2547 – phone
908-888-2548 – fax
This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise
protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. If you have
received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply and delete it
from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents
to anyone. Please send us by fax any message containing deadlines as
incoming e-mails are not screened for response deadlines. The integrity
and security of this message cannot be guaranteed on the Internet.