Mayor: Sorry I drunkenly passed out in employee’s bed, without pants

MAHWAH — Mayor John Roth was reprimanded by his township council at Thursday night’s meeting for for drunkenly passing out in an employees bed, pantless, at a January party.

Reading from a statement during Thursday night's meeting, Roth confirmed earlier reports and admitted that he "consumed too much alcohol and embarrassed myself, the host and others" at the Jan. 10 gathering. He said he got too comfortable by removing his pants and climbing into his host's empty bed to "rest," according to video of the statement posted by NorthJersey.com.

“To my family, the event host, the township’s employees, town council and all the residents of Mahwah, I’m sorry. I let you down,” Roth said in the video. Roth said his actions were wrong. and he feels "nothing but regret, remorse and sincere sorrow" for his actions.

Roth said in the video an anonymous letter was sent to every township department head and council members detailing his conduct, and calls made claiming there had been "inappropriate touching of a female employee" at the party.

An investigation by township labor attorney Raymond Wiss concluded that “no crimes had been committed, no laws were broken, no assault or inappropriate touching occurred, no property was damaged and no complaints have been filed with the township by anyone," Roth said in the video.

Township lawyer Brian Campion told NJ.com the report also recommended Roth get immediate counseling on township policies and anti-discrimination laws, and seek an evaluation regarding alcohol consumption and the impact it might have on his behavior.

Roth chided the release of the letter to the media and said it caused his family "embarrassment and hurt" and was an "unnecessary distraction for the township."

The Mahwah-Ramsey Daily View reported that a letter signed by two dozen employees alleges that workers have been subjected to a hostile work environment because of the mayor's efforts to keep a lid on the incident. The letter demanded private and apologies or the mayor's resignation over the incident, according to the Daily Voice report.

Although a “censure” was on the posted meeting agenda, Roth was only reprimanded in a resolution that stated the mayor’s behavior was “unbecoming an elected official," according to NJ.com's coverage of the meeting. The resolution was not included with the publicly posted agenda.

Several residents spoke about Roth's behavior during the public portion of the meeting, including one resident who called for his resignation, according according to NJ.com's coverage. Another resident said that a third party should have done the investigation, according to NJ.com.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ