Department of Nepotism

Toms River Regional school district, the subject of state and federal criminal probes, is mired in a number of nepotism conflicts that prevent the board of education from voting, or even discussing, Superintendent Michael J. Ritacco's job unless board members first jump through a rarely used legal loophole. Ritacco, whose home was raided by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service in April, supervises the relatives of five of the nine board members. One board member's relative also works for a company that sells meat to the school district's cafeteria, an Asbury Park Press investigation found.