BRIDGETON, N.J., Aug. 3 (UPI) -- An influential South New Jersey politician resigned his elected office after a political activist published nude photos of him on a Web site.
Louis Magazzu, who also has resigned as chairman of the county Democratic Committee, submitted his resignation as a Cumberland County freeholder Tuesday, The News of Cumberland County reported. The board of freeholders serves as a county council.
In his letter, Magazzu, a Vineland resident, said he sent the photos to a woman he has had an online relationship with for several years. Magazzu, who is separated from his wife, said he never met the woman face to face.
The photos were published by Carl B. Johnson on his Web site magazzuwatch.com, the Vineland Daily Journal reported.
"The Web site isn't about posting shots of Lou naked or anything," Johnson said. "It is about exposing the underbelly of local politics. He was the figurehead, the person who ran the party and the freeholder board for a decade. Even though he has stepped down, I don't believe he has stopped wielding influence."
Johnson, in an interview with Philadelphia Magazine, blamed Magazzu for arranging his arrest on charges of failure to pay child support.
The Journal said Magazzu's online partner was apparently already in touch with Johnson when she solicited the nude photos.
