Former N.J. Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell faces another investigation into his conduct — this time by his church
Caldwell's bishop informed colleagues of the investigation hours after he stepped down as Gov. Mikie Sherrill's No. 2.
Former New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell, who resigned last week following an investigators found that he had made inappropriate and sexually charged comments to women and violated ethics rules, , is now being investigated by his church, according to an email from a bishop reviewed by The Inquirer.
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Cynthia Moore-Koikoi, the bishop of the Eastern Pennsylvania and Greater New Jersey Episcopal Area, sent a brief email to colleagues on Sept. 25, just hours after Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Caldwell’s resignation that day.
“I write to inform you that I have received a complaint concerning Rev. Dale Caldwell, Lt. Governor of New Jersey and licensed pastor. The complaint is being processed according to the policies and procedures of the United Methodist Church,” the bishop’s email said.
She asked that they pray for him “and all those impacted by this process,” the email said. Moore-Koikoi included a Bible verse, 1 Corithians 4:5a: “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes.”
In an interview Thursday, Caldwell saidhe was not facing any new allegations of impropriety. The Eastern Pennsylvania and Greater New Jersey Episcopal Area was simply “investigating the investigation, based on the same information.”
“It’s a piling on, and it’s crazy,” said Caldwell, the senior pastor at Covenant United Methodist Church in Plainfield. He said he intends to continue on in this role and that no one has asked him to step aside.
Caldwell and his attorney have vociferously denied the former lieutenant governor and secretary of state did anything wrong and have criticized the findings of the four-month investigation by former Attorney General Christopher Porrino, who served under Gov. Chris Christie.
Caldwell, 66, left his job as president of Centenary University to run with Sherrill last year. The investigation found Caldwell hit on a female staffer’s friend, and when she turned him down, he told the staffer that ambitious women like them needed a man in a position to help them, “but you young women are looking for young sperm.”
Caldwell denied making the comments, “but we did not find his denial credible,” Porrino’s report said. The state trooper accompanying Caldwell that day told investigators he never heard Caldwell make that statement.
Caldwell said Thursday he couldn’t understand why they “disregarded” the testimony of the trooper, ”who was two feet away."
The report said Caldwell also repeatedly brought personal guests to ticketed events without clearing it with the ethics officer and without paying for the extra tickets. The practice continued even after warnings, attending an ethics training, and being told about the investigation.
In releasing the report, Sherrill said it “lays out a pattern and practice of long-term concerning behavior.”
His attorney said when Caldwell “learned that reimbursement was appropriate in one particular situation, he reimbursed $175 for the event.”
Caldwell said he resigned “for the good of the state of New Jersey” because the matter distracted from the Sherrill Administration’s important work.
When asked to comment, a Sherrill spokesman referred back to the governor’s earlier comments defending the thoroughness of Porrino’s investigation.
Caldwell and his attorney have said they are weighing their legal options. When asked what he might do, he said he could “sue for harassment.” He lamented “there was something wrong with the American system of justice” because it would take an enormous amount of money to prove he did nothing wrong.
“I can leave with my head up. I have a 22-year-old daughter and she was seeing all these people attack her dad,” Caldwell said. “I have a good life and opportunities. The number of supporters are many more than the detractors.”
Staff Writer Aliya Schneider contributed to this report.
