Beauty and the blackmail: 'Too trusting,' says mom
Pageant directors will meet tomorrow to decide whether to allow Miss N.J. to continue her reign.
ATLANTIC CITY - Despite the pain an alleged blackmail attempt has caused, Amy Polumbo's mother says some good may come out of the ordeal that has made the newly crowned Miss New Jersey a household name.
"Amy is too trusting and too nice, especially if she wants to be in the entertainment field," Jen Wagner said yesterday. "She has to learn, you need to be careful out there. I hope this did toughen her up a little bit."
The 22-year-old Howell Township woman who hopes to act on Broadway won the state title last month in Ocean City, but soon had to deal with threats from an anonymous blackmailer to make public some personal photos she had posted on her former Facebook Web page.
Polumbo, her family and supporters say the photos do not show nudity or illegal conduct, but won't specifically describe them.
Directors of the Miss New Jersey pageant will meet tomorrow to decide whether Polumbo can continue to represent the state in the next Miss America pageant. At least two of the five board members said they see no big problem with the photos.
Mark Soifer, a spokesman for the Miss New Jersey pageant and one of its five board members, said the board will meet with Polumbo and her lawyer in Ocean City, then hold a news conference afterward to announce its decision.
"To me it seems to be kids having a good time at a party," Soifer said of photos he has seen that someone anonymously sent to pageant officials, trying to force Polumbo to resign. "It didn't seem to be anything serious."
That view was echoed by Sally Johnston, the coexecutive director of the Miss New Jersey pageant.
Soifer said the most recent photos were sent by someone claiming to be The Committee To Save Miss America, which threatened to send 24 more sets of photos of Polumbo to pageant officials at regular intervals.
Her attorney, Anthony Caruso, said he has delivered the photos to the state Attorney General's Office, and that they are investigating the matter. A spokesman for the office said its policy is not to confirm or deny the existence of any investigation.
Polumbo's mother also denied that the photos depicted anything racy.
"She didn't do anything wrong," Wagner said. "She could have backed down, but she didn't, and I'm proud of her."