College trustee in Twitter controversy spurned by Essex County as well

Joseph DiBella has already taken a leave of absence from his role on the Brookdale Community College Board of Trustees.

NEWARK -- A community college trustee facing a firestorm after his Twitter account allegedly "liked" racist tweets has lost another gig.

Joseph DiBella (Brookdale Community College)

Essex County officials said they sent a letter to the insurance firm that employs Joseph DiBella to request that he stops doing work for the county while an investigation into the tweets is completed.

"We are appalled at the content of these posts and believe that having Mr. DiBella represent and work with Essex County is inappropriate," Essex Human Resources Director Robert Jackson wrote to insurance and benefits broker Conner Strong & Buckelew, where DiBella works as managing director and vice president.

"We request, that while the prosecutor's investigation is ongoing, Mr. DiBella be prohibited from performing any further work on Essex County business or servicing the health benefits accounts of Essex employees (and) retirees."

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The firm confirmed to the Asbury Park Press that it has removed DiBella from Essex work for now.

DiBella, who is also a trustee at Brookdale Community College, has been under fire since the controversial "likes" popped up on his Twitter account last month. He has denied making the posts, and blamed the activity on a computer hack. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office is investigating the incident.

After allegedly receiving a death threat over the matter, DiBella took a leave of absence from the unpaid trustee position.