People who enjoy the drama of New Jersey politics can appreciate the constant spectacle of a permanent candidate Hirsh Singh.
Former political consultant King Penna is suing Singh over an unpaid bill of $159,463 from the 2020 Republican US Senate primary.
The lawsuit, filed in July 2022 by two Morristown seniors, Anna and William Ricker, alleges they loaned Penn and his consulting firm $70,000 two weeks before the primary election with the promise of repaying the $77,000 in 65 days. Penna never paid them back.
In court documents filed by Penna and his firm, Kingmaker Strategies LLC, Penna claims Singh never paid the July 22, 2020, invoice.
“As a result of Singh’s wrongful refusal to pay for services rendered to him … Singh was unjustly enriched,” Penna alleged in his complaint. Penna is now asking a judge to make Singh pay his bill and court costs, with interest.
Penna’s debt does not appear in reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. The invoice, Penna claims, was never reported.
Penna denies any personal responsibility to the Rikers, saying their contract is with his firm.
He said the Rickeries “breached the covenant of good faith and honesty implied in the promissory note because they brought the action knowing that repayment was dependent on Hirsh Singh paying, which he did not do.”
In their court filing, the Rykers say they later agreed to extend the loan until Oct. 12 in exchange for an additional $3,000 in interest, with an additional $100 per day if payment is not made by Oct. 20, 2020. That would bring the amount owed to $156,400 as of today.
Penna told the court he needed the funds to pay for design and printing services for Singh’s Senate bid.
Records show no complaint was filed with the Federal Election Commission, but it could be an illegal campaign contribution by Penna.
Singh lost the July 2020 primary for a chance to face U.S. Sen. Cory Booker by two percentage points, 38%-36%, to Rick Mehta, a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official.
The following year, Singh sought the Republican nomination for governor in a campaign run by Penna, despite the alleged failure to pay his 2020 invoices.
Singh has lost six campaigns in five years, most recently unsuccessful bid for a seat on the condo board in Atlantic City. He ran twice for governor, twice for the US Senate and once for Congress, never making it out of the Republican primary.
After losing to Mehta, Singh spent months representing himself looking for a list. Mehta later sued Singh for defamation; this case is still pending.
Funding for Singh’s campaigns has always seemed a little funny. When he ran for governor in 2017, his father was able to put $1 million into Singh’s campaign because his son still lived at home.
Penna also caused controversy.
During last year’s gubernatorial primary, he stalked the wife of GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Cittarelli during a debate on NJ 101.5, but Melinda Cittarelli beat him easily.
