Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam resigned Thursday, hours after he pled guilty to federal wire fraud charges for allegedly stealing $87,000 from a local nonprofit youth basketball league, which he used for lavish personal expenses.
“It is with a heavy heart that I tender my resignation as mayor of the city of Atlantic City effective immediately,” Gilliam wrote in a letter dated Oct. 3. “I would like to apologize to the residents of…. Atlantic City who deserve stability and respect.”
Gilliam faced significant pressure from state government to step down, including from Gov. Phil Murphy and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-19th District. Meanwhile, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said that he began the formal process to have Gilliam removed from office.
City Council President Marty Small Sr. is expected to be sworn in Friday as interim mayor.
From left, Office of the Governor Special Counsel Jim Johnson, Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver and Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam, as the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs issues it’s Atlantic City Implementation Plan on April 23, 2019. – AARON HOUSTON
Gilliam pled guilty to the wire fraud charges at the federal courthouse in Camden on Thursday.
In December, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was seen raiding Gilliam’s home and carrying out boxes of cash. Gilliam was also involved in a brawl outside the Golden Nugget Casino at 2:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning last November.
And his legal woes are by no means the first allegations of corruption among Atlantic City officials.
Mayor Michael Matthews admitted to extortion in 1984, while Mayor Robert Levy was sentenced in 2008 for lying about his military experience to falsely claim over $24,000 of veteran’s benefits.
“This is just another example of why strong, continued state oversight of Atlantic City is vital to protect the billions taxpayers and businesses invested there over the years,” former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who served as the state’s chief executive during the 2016 state takeover of Atlantic City, said on Twitter of Gilliam’s guilty plea.
In September 2018, Murphy announced the state would carry on its oversight of the seaside town, meaning it would continue to have absolute control over whatever decisions the city government made.
And in April, Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver – who also serves as head of the state Department of Community Affairs – said that oversight would continue for the next few years, likely extending at least beyond the end of Murphy’s first term as governor.
