Former Brookdale trustee Joseph DiBella continues to insist that his account was accessed illegally
A hacker wasn't responsible using the Twitter account of a former college trustee to "like" racist tweets, an investigation reportedly concluded.
Brookdale Community College Trustee Joseph DiBella (Brookdale Community College)In a letter obtained by APP.com, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office refuted Joseph DiBella's claim that his social media account had been tampered with.
The letter said an "exhaustive" investigation showed there was no evidence the account had been improperly accessed by a third party.
DiBella resigned from his position at Brookdale Community College after taking criticism from student and faculty groups for liking tweets that made disparaging remarks about former President Barack Obama.
DiBella this week continued to deny he was responsible for liking the tweets. DiBella said he hired a "national forensic technology company" that determined he didn't press the like button.
He refused to name the company nor would he share any of the alleged report that showed how they reached such a determination.
DiBella or someone posing as the former Republican Howell mayor liked posts that used racial epithets against Obama and activist Rev. Al Sharpton. Another post questioning whether Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is a woman was also liked by DiBella's account.
He admitted he wrote other tweets critical of Clinton and Obama.
A like next to a post on Twitter is generally accepted to indicate support for whatever is expressed in the tweet.
DiBella took a leave of absence in September after he came under fire for allegedly "liking" racist posts on Twitter. He resigned last month.
Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.