NJ revokes real estate license of mayor’s wife

In the wake of a corruption scandal, a New Jersey panel yanked the real estate license of the wife of Morristown’s mayor.

The New Jersey Real Estate Commission revoked Mary Dougherty’s license late last month, the Daily Record reported. The spouse of Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty lost her credentials because of her role in a political corruption scandal.

Dougherty was banned from practicing real estate for one year for violating state law. While the charges brought against her in 2019 didn’t involve her real estate career, the commission decided to punish her to maintain public trust in licensees.

Prosecutors alleged Dougherty accepted $10,000 in cash in a coffee cup from attorney Matthew O’Donnell in September 2018, when she was running for Morris County freeholder. When she discovered the cash, she allegedly told the lawyer that she couldn’t take it, but could accept checks, which O’Donnell then allegedly provided under different names and entities.

Last February, Dougherty pleaded guilty to filing a false report to hide illegal campaign contributions. Prosecutors dismissed a separate charge for a cash bribe. She was given one year of probation and forced to surrender the contribution.

Later in the year, O’Donnell pleaded guilty to a pay-for-play scheme used to obtain taxpayer-funded legal contracts. Dougherty denied knowledge of O’Donnell’s activities.

If Dougherty again pursues a real estate license following her ban, she will be subject to a two-year probationary period, and her employer would have to notify the state commission of any potential violations.

At the time of the exchange with O’Donnell, Dougherty was an agent with Re/Max Select. Two years ago she joined Compass Real Estate, where her agent page remained online until being taken down midday Tuesday. It did not show any active listings.

Compass told The Real Deal that Dougherty is no longer an agent with the company.

— Holden Walter-Warner