Thomas Tramaglini, 42, the superintendent of Kenilworth School District in New Jersey, has resigned as of Thursday last week after he was named a lead suspect in the search for a person who was defecating next to a local high school track every day.
Tramaglini was charged with “public urination or defecation, discarding and dumping of litter and lewdness” which was occuring “on a daily basis” around the Holmdel High School track that Tramaglini ran around in the mornings, according to reports.
The allegations made headlines and he was dubbed the “Pooperintendent.”
On Thursday, the Kenilworth School District released a statement regarding the resignation of Tramaglini:
"Based on events unrelated to his service for Kenilworth, it has become clear to both Dr. Tramaglini and the Kenilworth Board of Education that his continued service as Superintendent of Schools has become too much of a distraction to the main mission of the district,” the statement reads. “In recognition of this fact, and in an effort to avoid legal fees and expensive litigation, and in the best interests of all concerned, including the faculty, staff and students of the Kenilworth School District, Dr. Tramaglini has tendered, and the Board has accepted, his resignation effective September 30, 2018."
Tramaglini’s contract, where he was making about $150,000 a year, was supposed to run all the way through July 1, 2020, but because of the recent charges, he will be departing early.
But Tramaglini isn’t going down quietly.
Matthew Adams, Tramaglini’s attorney, released a written statement in defense of his client saying that these allegations are “falsehoods,” that he is a “good man with an exceptional record of public service,” and that he is being denied his “presumption of innocence.”
"Leaks, half-truths and outright falsehoods about a good man with an exceptional record of public service are not a substitute for admissible evidence," the statement reads. "Today was only the beginning of the constitutionally secured due process that Dr. Tramaglini is entitled to receive."
Adams and Tramaglini aren’t only pushing back against these allegations, but they are suing the Holmdel Township Police Department for $1 million because they "unlawfully photographed" Tramaglini when they took his mugshot and then made it public.
"The amount claimed is estimated to be in excess of $1 million, which includes, but is not limited to, the reasonable financial loss of income, harm to reputation, emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and intrusion on seclusion," Adams wrote.