Chris Myers, New Jersey Mayor, Resigns After Alleged Encounter With Male Escort

MEDFORD, N.J. -- The town's married mayor, accused on a website two months ago of having sex with a prostitute at a California hotel, resigned Monday.

The anonymous allegation against Republican Chris Myers, a father of two, included a photo of a man who appeared to be him in his underwear.

The person making the allegation claimed to be a prostitute. He said Myers contacted him through a male escort website and they met at a Newport Beach, Calif., hotel. He complained Myers paid him $500 but didn't fulfill promises of a car and other gifts. He said on the website that the broken promise was the reason he was taking his story public.

The website was taken down soon after becoming public.

Myers, in an interview with a reporter for the Courier-Post newspaper in October, refused to comment on the allegations but didn't deny them. At a November township council meeting, Myers denied the claims, calling the Internet "a murky, anonymous place."

His resignation letter submitted to town officials Monday did not mention the scandal.

"My work commitments will not allow me to devote the time that is needed in the months ahead," Myers wrote.

Some other council members have complained that the allegations against Myers have gotten in the way of the business of the town of 23,000 residents about 20 miles east of Philadelphia. Myers missed one township council meeting and postponed another after the allegations surfaced.

Myers won the GOP nomination for a congressional seat in 2008 but lost the general election. He has been suspended as a vice president at technology manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp.

Comments

[Bonnie Brill]

10:26 AM on 12/09/2011

Another family values Republican goes down in a blaze of hypocritical glory...

[ThEbor]

12:03 PM on 12/07/2011

Closeted-gay Republican..yawn. The "prostitute", on the other hand, I find to be a much more interesting character. He got the $500 -- but he was also expecting a car (new or used?) and gifts (that's really open-ended -- uh...moving on...). Admittedly, I'm unfamiliar with the cost schedule associated with the activities implied, but given the economy, and the location (I presume costs are higher in LA than, say, Topeka), it sounds like the two shared at leasts a couple of hours of bliss together, for $500. But the car and gifts? Either the sex was cosmically epic, or outlandish promises were made in jest or sarcasm, or the prostitute is just making that part up, or...maybe some controlled or illegal substances were involved. Perhaps one or both were just party babbling. The pol is resigning because of work conflicts, yet he is on administrative leave. Maybe there is a substance abuse issue on top of all the rest -- I'm thinking Ted Haggard redux. Clearly, we don't know all the facts, and what really passed between these two is he said/he said. In the end, it's sad and everyone loses.

[Provit2me]

10:38 AM on 12/07/2011

I have a theory that a lot of straight people don't want gay marriage because somewhere inside they are either afraid they will act on their feelings or their spouse will come "OUT" and that will ruin the lie they have been trying so hard to live.

[Darter75]

09:26 PM on 12/08/2011

Dream,dream,dream. Wishing everyone is gay ain't gonna make it happen.

[Rose LoveMinx]

09:15 AM on 12/07/2011

Some of the worse Homophobes of all time are closeted Gay Men-Google "Rush Limbaugh Gay" and you will get tons of hits from gay men who have actually had a "relationship" with him, which is not surprizing since he was arrested and subsequently fired from a former radio job for propositioning a male prostitute in the 70's I don't know why people don't look beyond his arrest at customs a few years ago for possessing a big bottle of Viagra which was not in his name, when he was only in the company of 4 men (he never travels anywhere with his "wife" ) and had just spent a couple of weeks in the Dominican Republic, which is notorious for it's sex trade, including boys of all ages. http://pssht.com/biography/rush_limbaugh.html

[Darter75]

09:37 PM on 12/08/2011

I think you are lying about Rush Limbaugh. I didn't see anything in your libelous post that proved anything.So, if anyone goes to the Dominican Republican they are looking for homosexual sex? How would you know such a thing anyway?

[Justjack1]

05:35 AM on 12/07/2011

That Escort brought shame to the game, you don't violate discretion like that...

[craig asia]

04:13 AM on 12/07/2011

"He has been suspended as a vice president at technology manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp."

Does anybody know why he was suspended? Is it because of this?

[Big Game Hunter]

02:43 AM on 12/07/2011

How, oh, how, did I know this was a family values Republican before I even read the article..

[MichaelMcKLA]

02:24 AM on 12/07/2011

Oops.

[Hellz Angel]

02:21 AM on 12/07/2011

I knew the guy was a Republican before I read the article. The psychological phenomenon is known as "projection," and you find it in people who are militantly "anti" something. For example, Strom Thurmond railed in favor of segregation and seemed to relish being a racist (although he later changed his mind). However, even during his most publicly racist era he fathered children with an African American woman. People "project" their own desires outside. Don't worry: you can still dislike criminals and perverts without worrying about being one yourself. But if you find that you're *obsessing* over some segment of the population and feel that this group of people deserve no rights whatsoever, you may need to do some self-examination.

[Darter75]

09:28 PM on 12/08/2011

So how about all these posts that obviously hate Republicans, family men and anything conservative. Are they secretly wanting to be like most other Americans? Secretly wanting to have a wife and children and go to church on Sundays?

[ReealOne]

02:00 AM on 12/07/2011

Ohhhhh what a tangled web we weave, when we practice to deceive......

The fact that the mayor is gay MUST NOT be the cause of him giving up his job - and I'm sure the majority of the people feel this way. I imagine that the problem comes when people find that he has been living a lie, which sadly many gay people ends up doing because even in this day and age, discrimination against being gays is still very much alive.

I feel sorry that his wife and children had to find out this way. I can't even begin to imagine what that feels like.

[Not2BeFooled]

01:53 AM on 12/07/2011

I thought he looked a little cockeyed

[Justjack1]

05:33 AM on 12/07/2011

LMAO

[patters85]

01:35 AM on 12/07/2011

Chris Christie better watch his back when passing thru Medford. His fellow party member is friendly with the fellas.

[Leefeller]

01:26 AM on 12/07/2011

Sorry for his wife and kids, but what is with the so called prostitute placing the information on a web site? Is this like placing bad or rubber checks on a billboard?t Almost seems like blackmail, guess not if he posted the information before hand? Promised him a car? Boy the GOP is lucky they do not believe in scruples!

[SeattleNick]

01:26 AM on 12/07/2011

Why is it Republicans who are getting caught with boys. When they say they are straight. Democrats show a little skin and have to leave office in disgrace. I know you are going to say there are GOP members who have to leave office but it is at the end of their terms and then they always turn back up ei Newt. This sorry excuse for a man leaves his spouses when they are sick. Even McCain did the same to his wives.

[greetings101]

01:19 AM on 12/07/2011

wouldn't it be easier to just go to a bar and meet someone there instead of paying for sex? all you need is a glass of beer and suddenly everyone is beautiful.

[starmanx]

02:33 AM on 12/07/2011

Ha! It never fails.