Atlantic City mayor says raid at his home stems from a 'family matter' – not corruption

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. spoke Monday for the first time since the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office served a search warrant at his home, addressing speculation about potential corruption charges and his possible connection to a case involving his former campaign manager.

Small, joined by his attorney, Ed Jacobs, said the search of his home last Thursday was prompted by a "family matter" and does not stem from his actions as Atlantic City's mayor. He dispelled a long list of rumors surrounding the search warrant, but gave few specific details about the nature of the investigation. No charges have been filed.

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"There's no corruption," said Small, a Democrat who plans to run for a second term in next year's election. "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. ... No, we don't have drugs in our house. And we don't have guns."

For the last few months, county prosecutors have been investigating Small and his wife, La'Quetta, who is the superintendent of Atlantic City Public Schools, Jacobs said. The details of the investigation are protected from public disclosure. Authorities went to the couple's home to gather multiple cell phones and laptops.

"(The Smalls) have done absolutely nothing to obstruct or interfere with that investigation," Jacobs said.

In the days since the search warrant was served, there has been speculation that the case is tied to charges that were filed last week against Constance Days-Chapman, the principal of Atlantic City High School. Days-Chapman formerly served as the mayor's campaign manager and now chairs the Atlantic City Democratic Committee. Small described her as a close family friend.

"We're often at each other's house," Small said. "We're often in each other's company."

Prosecutors alleged Thursday that Days-Chapman had failed to disclose a report from a juvenile who said she was "emotionally and physically abused" by her parents. The student allegedly said she had reported abuse to Days-Chapman before she went to another school staff member for help. Days-Chapman denied that she knew about the situation earlier and said that she would notify the Division of Child Protection & Permanency following the more recent report, prosecutors said.

According to investigators, Days-Chapman met with the child's parents at their house to share what she had been told by the school staff member. DCPP told investigators that the office never received a report of abuse from Days-Chapman or any other representative from the school.

Days-Chapman has been charged with hindering apprehension of another, obstruction of justice and failure to report child abuse.

Small and his attorney declined to answer questions about whether one of Small's children was the juvenile who reported abuse. Small expressed support for Chapman-Days.

"You did absolutely nothing wrong," he said.

During the 45-minute press conference, Small questioned whether there may be "political and racial" motivations for the investigation and the public nature of the search warrant served at his home, where authorities spent about 3 1/2 hours.

"Twenty law enforcement officials with guns, rifles, battering rams and more (ascended) to our proximity," Small said.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office issued a statement Monday denying that the search of Small's property was excessive.

"The men and women of this office involved in the search conducted themselves in the highest professional manner," the statement said. "Standard operating procedures and protocols in executing residential search warrants were utilized to ensure the safety of all occupants of the residence, neighbors and law enforcement alike."

Small said rumors about the investigation have included claims online that his daughter was pregnant with twins, that he and his wife assaulted her and that she had a miscarriage.

"My daughter is not pregnant," Small said "My daughter has never been pregnant."

The mayor added that the speculation has put strain on his family as they try to navigate a private matter.

"This confirms I'm human. This is a human element," Small said. "This is a family issue."

Jacobs said he hopes "common sense" will result in no charges being filed against Small and declined to confirm whether case involving Days-Chapman is related to his family.

"We're not here to try a case that has never been brought," Jacobs said.