Posted on: April 16, 2024, 09:48h.
Last updated on: April 16, 2024, 10:02h.
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, Sr. (D), 50, and his wife, Dr. La’Quetta Small, 47, the superintendent of Atlantic City Public Schools, are facing child endangerment charges in Atlantic County, NJ.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office on Monday charged the mayor and his wife with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child charges.
The mayor, the top local official in the casino town, was additionally charged with third-degree terroristic threats, third-degree aggravated assault, and disorderly persons simple assault. Mrs. Small is additionally facing three separate counts of disorderly persons simple assault.
Prosecutors allege that the Smalls physically and emotionally abused their 15/16-year-old daughter on multiple occasions between December 2023 and January 2024.
In the affidavit, the Atlantic City mayor is accused of hitting his daughter in the head with a broom causing her to lose consciousness. In another incident, Small Sr. allegedly threatened to “earth slam” the teenager down a flight of stairs.
Small Sr. is also accused of grabbing his daughter’s head to throw her to the ground and smacking her weave out of her head. Another incident involved the mayor allegedly punching his daughter in the legs, which resulted in bruising.
Mrs. Small is accused of punching her daughter in the chest and face, which also left bruises. Prosecutors say the charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Mayor’s Black Eye
Late last month, local law enforcement raided the Small home. At the time, there was speculation that the police presence was linked to a scandal in the Atlantic City Public Schools district that Mrs. Small oversees.
Small Sr. held a press conference about 48 hours after the raid where he told the media that the sting had to do with a “family issue.” The mayor said the investigation only suggests “I’m human.”
Small’s attorney, Ed Jacobs, said reports suggesting that the Smalls’ teenage daughter suffered the alleged abuse while pregnant with twins and could be charged with double murder was an “egregious rumor.”
Small has yet to comment on the charges pending against him. Over the past 24 hours, he instead shared to social media a series of videos of him working out in a gym with one caption reading, “Getting’ it in.”
Corruption Continues
Atlantic City’s governance has been under state control since 2016. Proposed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), the takeover came as a result of the Atlantic City government failing to reign in runaway expenses as its tax base dwindled due to casino closures.
Atlantic City’s decades-long political corruption also fueled support for a takeover. As Casino.org reported in March, since 1970, four Atlantic City mayors have been arrested on corruption charges.
The most recent scandal before Small involved his predecessor. In 2019, Frank Gilliam (D) pleaded guilty to embezzling $87K from a youth basketball program he oversaw. Gilliam resigned and was sentenced to one month in prison despite facing 20 years.
The guilty plea came less than a year after Gilliam was cleared of assault and harassment charges stemming from a late-night fistfight outside the Golden Nugget. The altercation reportedly began after the then-mayor became enraged at a man who walked too close to his car.
