Jersey City mayor changes story behind naked porch photo, adds 'filthy' twist

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy is shown in this 2011 file photo. (AP)

Nine years ago, the now-mayor of New Jersey's second-largest city was photographed naked on his front porch, right before an election. Pressed to explain, Jerramiah Healy chalked up the incident to a bad night of drinking.

Now, the Jersey City mayor -- who won that 2004 race despite the naked photo flap -- appears to be changing his story as he runs for re-election.

Healy gave a fresh, and notably more bizarre, account in an interview with the Star-Ledger in which he claimed he had actually been drawn outside that night by a group of noisy Hispanic girls -- who proceeded to rip off the towel he was wearing and do "filthy" things.

The modified version has opened Healy, who's been endorsed by President Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, up to a new round of criticism from his political rivals in advance of the election.

Healy, though, gave his account in crisp detail during his interview with the Star-Ledger.

According to the article, Healy said he was woken up that night by women banging trash cans outside. He wrapped himself in a towel and went outside, to find "three Hispanic girls, young kids."

"So I go out on the porch and they pulled the towel off me," he said. "Now I start laughing, and then they started doing other stuff. I said, 'I'm old enough to be your grandfather.'"

Healy said "it was filthy" and he "chased them away." When he sat down, Healy says he was photographed by a political enemy.

That's not exactly the account Healy gave in 2004. A New York Times article on the incident said he claimed he'd had six to eight beers that night and wasn't quite sure how he got on the porch. "I wish I recall how I got back out there," he said at the time. "But I don't."

The Jersey Journal reported that a spokeswoman originally said he was responding to a commotion -- but no mention of Hispanic women doing "stuff."

Representatives for Healy have not returned from FoxNews.com's requests for comment.

His rival in next week's election, Councilman Steven Fulop, reportedly blasted the new account as "another embarrassment" from Healy.

Healy's had his share of public controversies. After he was elected mayor, he got into a highly publicized scuffle in 2006 with police officers outside a Bradley Beach bar owned by his sister. He was arrested and later fined for the incident.

Healy, in his campaign, has touted his crackdown on crime in Jersey City, as well as his pro-gun control stances. Healy is a founding member of Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns group. A spokesman for Healy told The Jersey Journal that events from 2004 "aren't what matters" to Healy or the voters.