A former New Jersey councilman has been accused of money theft from a Democratic club. In the past, the Democratic lawmaker faced accusations of selling amphetamine and cocaine to a police informant.
A grand jury indicted Flemington, New Jersey, resident Malik D. Johnston on a charge of theft by unlawful taking, a third-degree offense, according to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday. The initial charges against him were made in October. Johnston could spend up to five years in jail and pay a fine of up to $15,000 if found guilty of the third-degree offense.
Johnston, 47, was a Flemington Democratic Club officer and a former township council member.
On June 2, 2023, a Bridgewater bank charges Johnston, also known as Pippin J. Folk, with stealing $1,000 from the Flemington Democratic Club’s account.
Prosecutors claim that Johnston was no longer a member of the Flemington Democratic Club when the withdrawal occurred.
The authorities withheld information regarding Johnston’s method of accessing the account and whether or not he used the pilfered funds.
Following the accusations, Johnston disregarded community calls for his resignation from the township council. He did not, however, seek reelection in November 2023.
Johnston has previously been in violation of the law.
A Hunterdon County Grand Jury indicted Johnston in June 2023 on eight drug-related counts. Indictments against the troubled Dem included two counts of third-degree cocaine possession, two counts of third-degree methamphetamine possession, two counts of second-degree cocaine distribution, two counts of second-degree methamphetamine distribution, two counts of second-degree possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, and two counts of second-degree possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée M. Robeson claims that between December 2022 and February 2023, Johnston sold cocaine and methamphetamine to an undercover cop in Raritan Township.
On June 3, Johnston will have his pretrial hearing in that particular case.
In March 2023, during a Flemington council meeting, a lady accused Johnston of supplying narcotics to her teenage daughter.
The mother claimed that when they were outside Burlington Coat Factory, the councilman asked her daughter, who was then eighteen, if “she does crystal.”
According to reports, the teenager asked her mother what “crystal” was when she got home.
The mother claimed that because she had battled an opioid addiction four years earlier, she was aware that the word “crystal” was slang for drugs.
“Malik, you need to stand down now. This is not going away.” A second woman at the council meeting urged Johnston to step down from his post.
