TEANECK, NJ – A decade-old New York Post article detailing the criminal history of Township Council candidate George Fernandez Jr. has ignited a bitter election controversy, with allegations that political operatives tried to push the story through rival campaigns before it spread through community chats and Facebook groups.

Now, One Team One Teaneck is denying any involvement in coordinating the article's circulation, even as its campaign manager publicly distances the slate from several longtime political allies linked to its distribution.

The controversy began October 15, when a 2016 New York Post article about Fernandez's previous prison sentences resurfaced in Teaneck political circles, less than three weeks before the November 3 election.

According to information obtained by BC News Now, Eric Orgen, husband of Councilwoman Karen Orgen, who has actively campaigned for One Team One Teaneck, shared the article in the Teaneck Republican Committee chat.

The article subsequently circulated through Jewish community chats and appeared on Facebook, where former Mayor Jim Dunleavy posted it in both Teaneck Today and Teaneck United.

But allegations that the article's distribution was part of a coordinated political effort extend beyond those posts.

Deborah Hartman Blaiberg, a political ally of independent council candidate Hillary Goldberg, publicly claimed that unidentified individuals approached her three times seeking to have her circulate the article.

"Aah so they couldnt find anyone else to put it out because "they" tried 3x to get me to post about this. I CHOSE NOT TOO. Why because its all part of a very very nasty campaign that goes far deeper than smearing George. Plus I considered the source and told them to do their own dirty work!" Blaiberg wrote.

She did not publicly identify who approached her or establish that the requests originated with One Team One Teaneck. Her allegations nevertheless raise questions about whether someone attempted to enlist an ally of Goldberg, who is competing against both Fernandez and One Team One Teaneck, in distributing the article.

Dunleavy, a former mayor and political ally of Mayor Mark Schwartz and Councilwoman Orgen who both have endorsed and campaigned aggressively for One Team One Teaneck, posted the article in both the "Teaneck Today" and "Teaneck United" Facebook groups on October 16, questioning Fernandez's honesty.

"Lack of sharing this information speaks to transparency and the honesty of both the candidate and those around him," Dunleavy wrote.

But the allegation that Fernandez concealed his criminal history drew immediate pushback from residents who said he had already disclosed it on his campaign website.

"Jim Dunleavy he shared this on his Council website. It wasn’t hidden," wrote Quron Gee, administrator of the Teaneck United Facebook group, linking to Fernandez's campaign website.

"He did share it from the getgo on his FB campaign website," wrote Barbara Ley Toffler.

Judi Samuels Ramos questioned why the article was being presented as a revelation.

"He had personally disclosed his past on his website when he first decided to run for office, so why is it being brought to the forefront now under the pretext of new information?" she wrote.

The comments directly challenge Dunleavy's suggestion that Fernandez withheld the information and Klein's criticism of the campaign's transparency. BC News Now has not independently established when the disclosure first appeared on Fernandez's website.

The original 2016 article detailed Fernandez's prison sentences stemming from robberies committed decades earlier. Fernandez has acknowledged his criminal past and pointed to his subsequent career in social work, labor advocacy and community service.

"I do not run from my past, and I take responsibility for it," Fernandez said in a statement circulated by Gee.

"My past is part of my story, but it does not define the person I am today."

The controversy has also placed a spotlight on the Bergen County Jewish Action Committee's Clean Campaign Pledge, signed by One Team One Teaneck candidates Avi Berliner, Sharon Kolb and Amrit Ramjattan.

The pledge prohibits personal attacks and requires candidates to hold campaign managers, volunteers and other affiliates to the same standard. It also calls on candidates to denounce prohibited conduct carried out on their behalf and request removal of offending communications.

Whether the article's circulation violated that pledge, or whether the individuals involved were acting on behalf of the candidates, remains disputed.

Emma Horowitz of BCJAC declined to comment when asked about potential violations and whether the organization would consider withdrawing endorsements.

One Team One Teaneck, meanwhile, issued a formal denial:

"Our campaign has not authorized, directed, or coordinated the circulation of the article referenced in your correspondence," the slate said in a statement sent from its official campaign email address.

"We cannot speak on behalf of individuals acting independently or attribute their personal communications to our campaign."

The statement reaffirmed the campaign's commitment to respectful, issue-focused campaigning but did not directly address whether the slate considered the article's circulation a personal attack under BCJAC's pledge.

Campaign manager Manny Klein took a different approach, defending the relevance of Fernandez's criminal history while drawing a sharp distinction between his candidates and several political figures connected to the controversy.

"I thinks this article came as a surprise to many that a potential Teaneck Councilman was involved in armed robbery with a gun twice," Klein said, questioning how a campaign emphasizing transparency had allegedly failed to disclose the matter.

In a follow-up, Klein said, "I don't speak for anybody else, but you know it is being circulated and an armed robbery twice with a gun and serious jail time, is probably something voters would want to know about before deciding who should represent them and oversee our Police Department and our government."

But Klein's most pointed remarks were reserved for the political figures whose names have surfaced in the controversy.

"The Orgens, Keith Kaplan and Jim Dunleavy represent Teaneck’s past. Avi, Sharon and Amrit represent the town’s future. There is a reason Kaplan and Dunleavy are no longer considered elected officials, and Eric Orgen never was one."

The comments mark a public effort by the slate's campaign manager to distinguish his candidates from longtime political figures associated with their side of Teaneck politics. They do not establish whether those individuals acted independently of the campaign.

Eric Orgen, who was not initially contacted by BC News Now, approached the publication after saying he had heard it was seeking his comment. He declined to address the controversy before launching into a tirade against the news site and its editors.

Independent council candidate Crystal Pressley, another signatory of BCJAC's pledge, offered an emphatic refusal when asked for her position.

"I will absolutely not comment on this! There it is! That is the comment."

Other candidates contacted by BC News Now did not respond by publication time.

The dispute has divided residents over whether Fernandez's decades-old convictions are legitimate election issues or whether their renewed circulation amounts to a personal attack.

It has also left several questions unanswered: Who approached Blaiberg to distribute the article? Were the individuals spreading it acting independently or with campaign involvement? And what responsibility, if any, do candidates bear for the actions of their political supporters under BCJAC's pledge?

With four Township Council seats at stake November 3, those questions have become part of an increasingly contentious final stretch of the Teaneck election.