TINTON FALLS ‑ The birthday cards have been showing up for weeks. Then, on Friday, the borough employees threw a party for their mayor, Vito Perillo, who was born in 1924 when a gallon of gas cost 11 cents.
That’s correct. Perillo will turn 100 years old this Sunday, Sept. 22. And he can still devour a piece of birthday cake, drink a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and run a town. He credits his longevity to years of playing golf and perhaps a glass of wine daily.
He is part of the “Greatest Generation” that fought in World War II, and since 2019 he is believed to be the nation’s oldest mayor. The distinction was formerly held by Booneville, Kentucky’s, former mayor Charles Long, who passed away that year at the age of 99. After Long’s death, the distinction has fallen to Perillo…