Atlantic City's Next Mayor Has Own Woes

Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:07 AM EDT

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ATLANTIC CITY — This scandal-plagued gambling resort has a new mayor, but Robert Levy's successor has his own set of problems.

William "Speedy" Marsh become acting mayor just after Levy resigned Wednesday. The former mayor had slipped out of sight for two weeks before returning to public view just to leave his position, citing ill health and a federal investigation into his Vietnam war record.

Marsh, the City Council president, must repay the city more than $363,000. The money is his portion of a settlement that he and another man received to resolve a lawsuit claiming they were wrongfully fired from their jobs as city workers due to political retaliation.

However, the settlement was approved by the City Council after the other plaintiff, Lorenzo Langford, had become mayor — something the court cited when it determined in May that the deal was "infected by intolerable conflicts of interest." The court ordered the two to repay the money.

Marsh is involved in court proceedings about exactly how the money is to be paid back. His private lawyer, Frederic Bor, did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday evening.

After being sworn in as mayor at City Hall Wednesday, Marsh responded to only one question from a reporter, asking how he would go about restoring public trust in Atlantic City's dysfunctional government.

"Truthful, thoughtful leadership and being amenable to the residents," Marsh said. "Be honest about how we're going to move forward toward making Atlantic City a serious place they want to invest in. I'm going to do that."

Despite his debt to the city, Marsh is looked upon favorably by many residents. This is largely because he staunchly opposed former Council President Craig Callaway, who is serving a 40-month prison term for bribery.

Levy had faced a recall drive from residents upset over his close ties to Callaway. Three of the nine members of last year's council are either in prison or under house arrest after pleading guilty to corruption charges.

Of the remaining council members, one is under indictment on charges of helping to set up another councilman who was lured to a motel room and filmed having sex with a prostitute.

Still another councilman is facing charges he drunkenly drove his city-owned car across the Boardwalk and onto the beach in the wee hours. He was on his way home from a party celebrating the arrests in the sex-and-video case.

Levy's lawyer, Edwin Jacobs, said the former mayor resigned due to numerous health problems, and a pending federal investigation into whether he improperly received $24,000 in military disability payments after faking parts of his Vietnam war record.

Levy checked into the Carrier Clinic, a northern New Jersey substance abuse and mental health treatment facility, on Sept. 26, but did not make public the reason why.

Jacobs said Levy had been overmedicating himself with pills for severe back pain, as well as a different type of drug to treat post-traumatic stress syndrome stemming from his Vietnam war service.

The lawyer said he is in negotiations with federal prosecutors to resolve the criminal investigation into Levy's military record and payments.

Jacobs did note a positive aspect of Levy's problems: At least Levy hadn't been arrested on charges of taking bribes, like four of his eight predecessors.