Dr. Isaac Young was facing three counts of tampering with witnesses and one count of official misconduct.
SALEM -- The former director of the Salem Housing Authority has had charges connected to allegations that he used agency employees to work on his own properties on agency time dropped, authorities say.
Misconduct and tampering with witnesses charges have been dropped against Dr. Isaac Young. (File Photo) A trial for Dr. Isaac Young was already under way when a plea deal was reached with the Salem County Prosecutor's Office. Young was facing three counts of tampering with witnesses and one count of official misconduct.
In exchange, Young pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of harassment, according to Salem County First Assistant Prosecutor William Brennan.
The charges dated back to 2012.
A jury had been selected and opening arguments had been heard last month when the plea deal was reached, according to Brennan.
Brennan said "proof issues" became a problem.
"The fact that so much time had transpired makes a case that much more difficult to prove," Salem County Prosecutor John T. Lenahan said.
The charges stem back to when Young was executive director of the Salem Housing Authority which operates two low-income apartment complexes and a senior citizen high-rise in Salem City.
Authorities had alleged that Young used housing authority maintenance workers to perform work at properties he owned in Salem while on authority time.
This was the second trial on those charges.
There had been numerous delays getting the case to court and the first trial on the charges ended in a mistrial in April 2015.
Young's attorney Louis M. Barbone, in written statement, said the dropping of the four counts against Young was the state "confirming for the first time that Dr. Young committed no crimes or misconduct."
In a separate, earlier trial Young was found guilty in September 2014 of releasing a confidential New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services document in 2012.
The document came from a file at the Salem Police Department and was mailed out to residents in Salem City in what authorities said was an attempt to derail the campaign of a mayoral candidate.
In that case, Young was also found guilty of hindering his own apprehension and false swearing.
According to a statement from Barbone, Young is appealing that case where he was sentenced to three years' probation in that case.
Barbone said the legal issues have left Young "near bankruptcy."
Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow South Jersey Times on Twitter @TheSJTimes. Find NJ.com on Facebook.