Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. addresses search warrants served at home

[The Bobster]

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. addresses search warrants served at home

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. held a press conference Monday to address the search warrants served at his home last week.

www.cbsnews.com

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. addresses search warrants served at home​

By Tom Dougherty , Tom Gardiner , Nikki DeMentri

April 1, 2024 / 1:13 PM EDT / CBS Philadelphia

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) - Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. claimed allegations that a crime was committed at his home are false after search warrants were served last week by the county's prosecutor's office.

Small and his lawyer held a press conference Monday morning. The mayor stood with his wife, who is the city's superintendent of schools, along with their son and daughter to address what he calls rumors circulating about his family.

Small said he and his family are dealing with a personal matter.

The mayor didn't talk about what the personal matter is, but he did address accusations, he said, have been made against him.

"We don't have Atlantic City housing authority money in our house. We don't have City of Atlantic City money in our house. I didn't steal anything. My wife didn't bring Atlantic City Board of Education money to our house, as alleged. No, we don't have drugs in our house. And no, we don't have guns. This confirms I'm human. This is a human element, this is a family issue. And anyone who works in this organization always says family first."





The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office responded with a statement reading, in part, "Both Mayor Small and Dr. Small were treated with dignity and respect during the entire process. As an example, detectives took great effort to ensure that any juveniles living at the residence were clear of the residence and not present during the execution of the search warrant."

 

[The Bobster]

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr., wife charged with abusing teenage daughter

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife, La'Quetta Small, have been charged with physically and emotionally abusing their teen daughter.

www.cbsnews.com

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr., wife charged with abusing teenage daughter​

By Tom Dougherty

Updated on: April 15, 2024 / 3:30 PM EDT / CBS Philadelphia

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) - The mayor of Atlantic City and his wife have been charged with physically and emotionally abusing their teenage daughter between December 2023 and January 2024, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife La'Quetta Small have been charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds said.

The mayor has also been charged with terroristic threats, aggravated assault and disorderly persons simple assault.

La'Quetta Small, who is the superintendent of Atlantic City Public Schools, was also charged with three separate counts of disorderly persons simple assault.

Atlantic County prosecutors said the charges are connected with those brought against Atlantic City High School Principal Constance Days-Chapman for failing to report child abuse last month.





Prosecutors allege the mayor once hit his daughter multiple times in the head with a broom, resulting in her losing consciousness.

During another incident, prosecutors said Small Sr. threatened to hurt his daughter by "earth-slamming" her down the stairs, allegedly grabbing her head and throwing her to the ground. He allegedly also smacked the "weave out of her head," according to prosecutors.

Small Sr. is also accused of bruising his daughter during another incident after repeatedly punching her in her legs.

CBS News Philadelphia reached out to the city of Atlantic City for comment. A spokesperson said any comment would come from the mayor's lawyer, Ed Jacobs.




The prosecutor claimed La'Quetta Small once punched her daughter multiple times in her chest, which left bruising. She's also allegedly dragged her daughter by her hair before beating her with a belt on her shoulders.

La'Quetta Small also punched her daughter in the mouth during an argument, prosecutors said.

CBS News Philadelphia reached out to the Atlantic City Public Schools' superintendent's office. They had no comment.

The prosecutor's office's Special Victims Unit is handling the investigation.

A timeline of events​

On March 28, five search warrants were executed at the mayor's and his wife's home and cars. Ed Jacobs, the mayor's lawyer, said cellphones and laptops were among "a long list" of items seized during the search.

On April 1, the mayor held a press conference with his wife, lawyer and daughter present addressing the search warrants.

Small Sr. denied any wrongdoing, claiming they were dealing with a "private family matter."




"We're dealing with a challenging time," the mayor said then. "And if I wasn't Mayor Marty Small or she wasn't the superintendent, you wouldn't hear of this."

 

[The Bobster]

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. not resigning after being charged with abusing teen daughter

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. will not resign after he and his wife were charged with abusing their daughter, according to his lawyer.

www.cbsnews.com

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. not resigning after being charged with abusing teen daughter​

By Tom Dougherty

Updated on: April 16, 2024 / 3:47 PM EDT / CBS Philadelphia

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) - The mayor of Atlantic City will not resign after he and his wife, the city's superintendent of schools, were charged with physically and emotionally abusing their teenage daughter, according to his lawyer.

Mayor Marty Small Sr. and La'Quetta Small were charged with endangering the welfare of a child by the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office on Monday. The mayor was also charged with terroristic threats, aggravated assault and disorderly persons simple assault.

"Mayor Marty Small remains the mayor in the city of Atlantic City and will continue to faithfully perform all of his duties as mayor," Ed Jacobs, Small's attorney, said in a statement. "He and his wife La'Quetta and their two children remain a close and loving and intact family."

Jacobs said the mayor and the superintendent were not arrested and no bail was set because the complaints were issued on summonses. He said both Small and his wife are "completely innocent of any wrongdoing and will ultimately be vindicated."

Charing documents filed by the county's prosecutor allege Small and his wife emotionally and physically abused their teen daughter between December 2023 and January 2024.





The complaint alleges in January, Small hit his daughter multiple times in the head with a broom, causing her to lose consciousness.

The mayor also allegedly threatened his daughter in early January by repeatedly telling her he would "smack the weave out ya head" and "earth slam" her down the stairs, according to the complaint.

The Atlantic County prosecutor claimed La'Quetta Small once punched her daughter multiple times in her chest. She also allegedly dragged her daughter by her hair before beating her with a belt on her shoulders and punched her daughter in the mouth during another argument, the prosecutor alleges.

On March 28, five search warrants were executed at the mayor's and his wife's home and cars. Jacobs said cellphones and laptops were among "a long list" of items seized during the search.