Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small has made his first public response after investigators raided his home Thursday.
"I would like to thank each and every one of you who reached out to me and my family over the past few days," the mayor wrote in posts shared to his social media. "I would like to also extend a special thanks for The OVERWHELMING support we have received in person and on Social Media."
"Mandy," as the principal is fondly known, is accused of failing to report a student's claims of abuse at home, and then telling the parents while failing to report the allegations to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, as required under her job that makes her a mandatory reporter.
The mayor and his wife were under investigation by DCPP, BreakingAC confirmed.
Small, who just turned 50, made a brief public appearance Friday at the opening of a local recording studio, but made no mention of the issues.
He is expected to speak about the warrants served at his home during a news conference with his wife, Dr. LaQuetta Small, and attorney Ed Jacobs.
"When you hear they did and what they were looking for you will see it for what it is," he said, adding, "We are good over here."
Small indicated the support he has received from people since the raid has outweighed those he accused of clout chasing "to troll and be unadulterated (clown emoji)..."
"We won’t entertain them," he wrote. "We will just keep them where they belong and focus on the overwhelming majority which loves, supports, and cherish us."
He ended by reminding those reading what he said during his State of the City address: "Ain't no stopping us now."
The post let people know about the news conference and said it would address "the sensationalised and unheard of nature of The Raid by The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office and other matters."
Small's confident push back against any allegations is not a surprised to anyone who knows the mayor has come out victorious in previous fights against charges, including a full acquittal of him and five co-defendants at voter-fraud trial.
The monthslong trial costs the state a lot of money, and was a black eye that some say they still feel.
A source told BreakingAC that the reason the Attorney General's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability is not overseeing the investigation is because a "senior official in the Attorney General's Office wants nothing to do with any investigation involving Marty Small."
Small recently celebrated the 13th anniversary of that acquittal in a social media post sharing the front page story that announced the victory.
"It was a political witch hunt and they wasted 5 Million Dollars of taxpayers money," he wrote in the post. "I thank god and the jury for seeing us through and I’m better for going through this experience."
In an unprecedented sight, the jurors in that case drove in a circle around the Criminal Courthouse parking lot in Mays Landing, beeping their horns and waving as Small, his co-defendants and their attorneys cheered.
The news conference is set for 9:30 a.m. Monday in City Council chambers on the second floor.
