HOLMDEL — The former Kenilworth schools superintendent has admitted to defecating under the bleachers near a high school track because of a medical condition.

Thomas Tramaglini, 42, was arrested on May 1 and charged with lewdness, littering and defecating in public after a Holmdel High School employee investigated a report of human feces being found on or near the track on a daily basis. Police said their investigation using surveillance video identified Tramaglini as the person responsible for the incidents. Tramaglini lives in a condo in nearby Matawan.

Tramaglini's attorney Matthew Adams told New Jersey 101.5 his client did not plead guilty to a "serial offense" but to an "emergency situation."

"There was never any evidence that he defecated on an actual running track and contrary to the misstatements contained in police reports, he wasn't even at the track by virtue of some of the information on his Garmin PS watch on certain days that the police alleged him to have been there," he said.

After he was charged, Tramaglini took a leave of absence and eventually reached an agreement to step down as superintendent in Kenilworth.

Tramaglini was paid nearly $110,000 to quit his job.

In Holmdel Municipal Court on Wednesday, he said he suffered from a medical condition called runner's diarrhea and entered a guilty plea to defecating in public. He will pay $500 in fines and $33 in court costs.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the condition is common in long-distance runners and results in frequent, loose bowel movements during or immediately after a run. It's cause is not clear but could results from the moving of organs during a run.

Adams said he will continue with a lawsuit against Holmdel police for their release of a mugshot of Tramaglini following his arrest on two municipal summonses but before receiving an additional criminal offense in the mail.

"At the time that photograph was taken the Holmdel police department didn't have the lawful right to arrest and photograph him. There was no probable cause for a criminal offense," he said.

Adams said that the release of the photo has resulted in death threats against him and his children and ridicule when he goes food shopping.

"Their erroneous reporting has contributed to his life being turned upside down. He's literally gone to hell and back," Adams said.

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