Politics in shades of gray
The history of the dirty, the clean, and prospects for the future
By Mark J. Bonamo
Jersey City Reporter- 10/22/2006

Frank Hague
On the Hudson County waterfront, a man who doesn't want you to know his name sits in the back room of a bar. His glittering blue eyes dance as he tells stories about a lifetime of involvement in Hudson County politics. As the stories of various campaigns and convictions over the last 30 years roll off his silver tongue, the longtime county employee stops for a moment and laughs.

"Definitely nine out of 10 commandments were broken," he says with a crooked smile on his face. "What I can say is, I seen all types of illegal action committed, outside of murder. I saw the envelopes come in. They took the cash in and they shared it. Not that good, but they did. The people that the public suspects the least are usually the ones who do the most. It's just the nature of the beast."

He was, and is, corrupt. But he is a free man. And he is among friends.

According to the office of Christopher Christie, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, out of 97 New Jersey political corruption cases where the defendants have either pleaded guilty or have been convicted of politically related charges since 2002, 20 originated in Hudson County.

In the last five years, the following local politicians, from the petty to the powerful, are just a few of those who have been snagged:

- Anthony Russo, a former Hoboken mayor who admitted accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from an accounting firm run by his best friend, and went to jail in 2005. His son Michael, now a councilperson, got teary-eyed at a 2004 council meeting where he voted for campaign reform: "I have seen, firsthand, how this concept affects people."

- Robert Janiszewski, the Hudson County Executive from 1998 to 2001, now sits in a Kentucky federal prison for extortion and tax evasion.

- One day in 1996, Patrick Cecala, the then-secretary to Hoboken's Alcohol Beverage Control Board and former school board member who had no prior criminal record, asked a woman for a $1,000 bribe to smooth the process of getting a liquor license in Hudson County's most bar-packed town. He later explained, "One thousand dollars was just a round number. I just could have used $1,000 cash in my pocket."

- Peter Perez, a former North Bergen parks and recreation commissioner, pleaded guilty to accepting kickbacks from an air conditioning contractor who had town contacts. The contractor also did work on officials' private homes.

If political corruption makes New Jersey a national joke, then Hudson County is the punch line. For nearly a century, the 62 square miles hard by the west bank of the Hudson have been looked at as the spot where the cancer began eating the Garden State body politic alive.

What fuels the fire of Hudson County political corruption? Is there an ingrained culture here that knows no rival, and if so, can it change?

Whether it's only gossip among the state's newcomers or the sticking point in the current statewide U.S. Senate election, the answers are needed now more than ever.


Frank Hague's ghost
It's hard to talk about Hudson County corruption without mentioning the infamous man who ruled Jersey City for 30 years.

Frank "Boss" Hague was mayor of Jersey City from 1917 to 1947. Born in 1876 to Irish immigrant parents, he grew up tough in "the Horseshoe," a long-gone tenement neighborhood near what became the entrance to the Holland Tunnel.

Expelled from school as an incorrigible 13-year-old, Hague's natural political skills vaulted him through the ranks of the Hudson County Democratic Party.

He was elected Jersey City's public safety commissioner in 1916 as a reformer - and used his position as head of the police and fire departments to build the rock-solid base and patronage system that would consolidate his power.

While he cleaned up the police force and lowered the crime rate, he also recruited a group of plainclothes policemen from the Horseshoe to be "Zeppelins," a secret surveillance squad within the police force who had a fierce loyalty to him.

Riding a tide of simmering Catholic anger at the previous Protestant control of the city, plus the need for safer streets, Hague was unanimously elected mayor by the city commission government within a year.

Hague's machine employed the now-familiar political methods of canvassing, telephoning voters and transporting voters to the polls, establishing the famed Hudson County Democratic "get out the vote" apparatus that is still revered and feared in New Jersey politics.

Between 1916 and 1940, Democrats won six of nine gubernatorial elections, most due to huge Hudson County electoral landslides.

Federal funds from allies such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt flowed into Jersey City. Through his ward leaders, Hague created a unique form of municipal socialism that provided needed services for his constituents at the height of the Depression.

When Hague said "I am the law" in Jersey City, he meant it.

Corruption continues

But after World War II, returning veterans increasingly felt locked out by Hague's machine. And ethnic groups outside Hague's Irish power base felt neglected. Hague's strong-arm tactics and long vacations in Florida and Paris alienated working-class residents.

As a result, Hague's appointed successor, his nephew, lost to a reform slate led by John V. Kenny in 1949. (Ironically, Kenny, who also billed himself as a reformer, was himself later indicted for conspiracy and extortion.)

Hague died a millionaire in a Manhattan apartment in 1956, unable to return to his former seat of power, out of fear of being subpoenaed over the kickback schemes that made him rich. In fact, before his death, he was served with a subpoena in a $3 million kickback suit brought by city employees in an attempt to recover funds. Hague never paid back a dime.

Historian Thomas Fleming called Hague's mayoralty a "blend of violence and benevolence" where order was maintained by "justice at the end of a nightstick," a slogan Hague liked to use himself.

Despite his rough reputation and use of voter fraud involving a misused state voter registration law, Hague was never indicted and never spent a day in jail.

Although his Jersey City mayoral salary never exceeded $8,000 a year and he had no other source of legitimate income, at the time of his death, his wealth was estimated at more than $10 million.

Next 'reformer' took $3.5M

Hague was dead, but the boilerplate he set up for Hudson County politicians was alive and well. Kenny set up his own satrapy in Hudson County. Mayor of Jersey City until 1953, Kenny remained the power behind the country throne until 1971, when he and Mayor Thomas Whelan were indicted and convicted as members of the "Hudson County Eight" for conspiracy and extortion for taking $3.5 million in kickbacks in exchange for county construction contracts.

When Robert Janiszewski became Hudson County Executive in 1988, it was hoped that he was the true reformer Hudson County had been waiting for.

But "Bobby J" was destined to disappoint.

Janiszewski abruptly resigned from office in 2001, and it was subsequently revealed that he had secretly worked as an informer for the federal government since late 2000. They had quietly arrested him in Atlantic City regarding extortion and asked him to wear a wire to catch other politicians and contractors.

His testimony brought down officials including Nidia Davila-Colon, a five-term Hudson County freeholder, who received a 2.5-year jail term for passing more than $10,000 in bribes to Janiszewski to ensure that her then-boyfriend, psychiatrist Dr. Oscar Sandoval, would receive lucrative county contracts. Sandoval became an FBI informant and was never charged.

Janiszewski ultimately paid a price himself. He pleaded guilty in 2002 to extortion and tax evasion, admitting he had accepted over $100,000 in bribes. He was sentenced in 2005 to 41 months in federal prison, and is currently serving time in Kentucky.

Proven guilty? Says who?

While many convicted Hudson County officials remain mum, former Jersey City Mayor Gerald McCann, better known as Gerry, is more than willing to talk.

A decade before Janiszewski experienced his legal woes, McCann, the mayor of Jersey City from 1981 to 1985 and again from 1989 to 1992, faced his own day in court for criminal fraud and tax evasion that took place in his private business dealings while he was not in office.

After his fall, Janiszewski expressed remorse for his actions, but McCann is cynical.

"Do you really think people go into public service to serve the public?" he said. "There are hundreds of other ways to do it. Why do people like Jon Corzine want to become governor and Tom Kean Jr. want to become U.S. senator? It's the power."

He added, "It's the only thing that they didn't have. They had money, but they didn't have power. Sometimes when power becomes almost absolute, then the potential for corruption occurs."

But besides the major players like Hague who were looking to feather their nests, what about politicians who get involved in small-time government? What makes them cross the line?

"A councilman in a small town is not necessarily looking for power," McCann conceded. "But there are people who believe that the problems that occur in a small town can be resolved if they themselves get elected. Once these people become decision makers, the people who want to become the beneficiaries of their new power start to get them to cross over, whether it's paying bribes or getting kickbacks."

He added, "Campaign contributions are part of the same thing. No one can get anybody to volunteer anymore because they think everybody is corrupt. It becomes self-perpetuating. In order to move up the chain in politics, you have to live in the gray. There are a lot of people more than willing to live in the gray. Gray is very close to black."

Besides the major arrests in Hudson County politics over the last few years, like Janiszewski and Russo, there have been smaller busts, like politicians who used campaign funds for jobs for relatives, or accepted a jet ski from a contractor.

Mayor: 'Temptations are astronomical'

For instance, Peter LaVilla served as the mayor of Guttenberg, a tiny four-by-12-block waterfront enclave bordered by North Bergen and West New York, from 1996 to 2000. He pleaded guilty in 2003 to misappropriation of campaign funds.

What happened, LaVilla said in a recent interview, was that during a 1999 campaign against Robert Janiszewski for county executive, he took out $63,000 worth of advertising in the now-defunct senior citizen newspaper that he owned. He didn't report those funds as income, and the IRS came after him. He said he no longer had the paperwork to prove his innocence, so he pleaded guilty.

LaVilla did six months of probation, paid a large fine, and has gone back to working as a screenwriter and a documentary filmmaker.

"The temptations are astronomical," he said, remembering his time in office. "There's always a fine line between what is legitimate and what is not legitimate. As mayor, I made four grand a year. I couldn't live on that. I had to have other income. If you have a contractor and he wants to get some business from the town, and he says things like 'Hey, can I take you to lunch?' that's where the fine line comes in. Do you pick up the tab?"

When asked about the politicians he served alongside in the 1990s, LaVilla declined to mention names, but said, "You're having a fundraiser, you send the ABC company two tickets, and they buy them, is that a violation? Because the temptations are so great, it's up to the individual who is in office to take care of due diligence and be above board."

Really low salaries

The great disparity in mayoral incomes in Hudson County seems to be one of the problems. (See sidebar.) Guttenberg's current mayor earns $7,640 a year, but the town budget is approximately $12.8 million. That means that a $7,000-a-year mayor is giving out millions of dollars in contracts.

The CEO of a $12.8 million company certainly would earn more than $7,640.

What's worse, the mayors in North Bergen, West New York and Union City draw incredibly low mayoral salaries to deal with high budgets. Union City Mayor Brian Stack gets $16,000 for a town with an $80.2 million budget. North Bergen's Nicholas Sacco gets only $15,000 for $71.2 million. According to Jersey City City Clerk Robert Byrne, some of the towns, like Union City and West New York, technically consider the mayoralty a part-time job.

Stack, Sacco, and West New York Mayor Albio Sires have state legislative jobs as well, making one wonder if they have time to do both jobs to the best of their abilities.

After a while, low-paid politicians tend to do one of two things: Seek another job at the same time - like assemblyman or county executive - or give contracts to friends and start asking for cash back over dinner.

'I didn't do anything corrupt'

As for McCann, he drew a fine line between black and white until he finally left a distinct gray smudge. He was convicted in December of 1991 of defrauding a South Florida bank. He was charged with having diverted for personal gain at least $267,000 of a $300,000 investment the bank entrusted to him in 1986 and 1987 to develop a marina at Liberty State Park in Jersey City.

He was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and ultimately served 24 months.

When asked if he felt he did anything wrong, his answer was Jersey City blunt.

"I absolutely do not believe anything that I did was illegal," he said. "The power of the prosecutor's office got me. I didn't do anything corrupt. Corruption is when you are in a public position, and you do something to violate that trust. I was convicted for things that occurred when I wasn't the mayor. I'm very proud of what I achieved as mayor. I can show you the development at Newport, Harsimus Cove, Exchange Place, Grove Street, the light rail, and the new homes where Roosevelt Stadium was. If you have a legacy, it's what you've achieved in your own life. You can't point to one person, including Frank Hague, who did more."

It fell off back of a truck

Not everyone agrees with McCann's assessment.

"Dream on, Gerry," said Jersey City native and published author Helene Stapinski. "Those buildings on the waterfront would have been built sooner and better, without him."

Stapinski's critically acclaimed memoir Five-Finger Discount chronicled her coming of age in a Jersey City where personal and political corruption were often intertwined, including among some of her relatives.

Stapinski's frustration with McCann and the rest of Hudson County's ruling political class comes from both early observation and subtle cooperation. Stapinski describes growing up with the concept of "SWAG" - which stood for Stolen Without A Gun.

"Swag was a socially acceptable way of taking what wasn't yours, mostly stuff to live on," she said. "Your socks and underwear just fell off the back of a truck."

Stapinski detailed, in her book, how her father brought home frozen seafood not normally seen in working-class Jersey City homes from his job at Union Terminal Cold Storage.

"There were a lot of lobster tails on my table growing up," she said. "The thievery among the common folk happened because it trickled down from above. When you were bringing Ivory Soap home from the job, that's peanuts compared to what Hague was doing."

What might start with ripping off one's boss ballooned into bigger misdeeds.

"I used to think that [politics] were unimportant and that I didn't have to vote," the current Brooklyn resident said recently. "But the older you get, the more you see. Politicians are making the laws, and they are breaking the laws. They are defining what happens on a large scale and for the long-term future. If the schools are poorly run because of corrupt politics, the Yuppies will leave. This makes me really want to vote three times, which you can do in Hudson County sometimes."

Stapinski wondered aloud if New Jersey voters will actually pull the lever for any Hudson County politician running for statewide office.

"Hudson County was such a power magnet in statewide politics, but that time is all gone," she said. "It's more of an albatross now. Even the whiff of Hudson County makes people itchy."

In the shadows

The man in the back room of the bar on the waterfront is just the type of Hudson County resident who makes people reach for calamine lotion.

His desire for anonymity is based on a certain practicality. "I would not like to expose my family to this," said Mr. C (not his real initial). "You never get complimented on something like this. There is always something that backfires. I'm almost done, and will leave this life with my pension."

The man's description of the life he lived and witnessed is murky at best.

"You could say I was more involved in south Hudson, but helped others in north Hudson," he says. "I was mainly a county person, so Bobby Janiszewski was whom I supported the most. Basically, we all get recycled."

Around Bobby J, the man saw the same cycle over and over, deals made in various shades of green.

"Corruption might be dressed differently, but it is mainly the same," Mr. C said. "Kickbacks are always in cash, unless the other people are dumb and make some kind of gift that is tangible. Major law firms always get the big contracts. Unnecessary jobs go to workers who support the campaigns. If you were to actually hold interviews for some major jobs, three-fourths of the individuals would never get the job."

In the last few years, statewide "pay to play" laws have cut the ability for contractors to donate to municipal and county governments. Recently, reformers have tried to adapt those laws to local school boards as well.

Mr. C believes that people are fooling themselves if they think legislative measures to stem corruption are anything more than a futile finger in a dike.

"If a law is made, it is made mostly by lawyers," Mr. C said. "They are the same people who find ways around the law. Pay-to-play laws appease the public, but that will never change who gets contracts and whose friend gets a job."

Christie's anti-corruption campaign

Christopher Christie was appointed U.S. Attorney for New Jersey by President George W. Bush in December 2001. His stance against corruption has resulted in 97 successful prosecutions of both elected officials and other participants in illegal activities, including contractors, who are part of the circle of corruption.

Christie has received bipartisan accolades for his work, in part because officials of both the red and blue persuasion have been subject to his purple bruises.

Former Republican Essex County Executive James Treffinger, for instance, was brought up on corruption charges in 2002 when Treffinger was a leading G.O.P. contender for the U.S. Senate.

Recently, Christie was the driving force behind the legal effort that led former Democratic State Senate President John Lynch to plead guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion. At a Sept. 15 press conference following Lynch's plea, Christie spoke about the struggle against corruption in New Jersey.

"At this point, this is an old story," he said. "This office will continue to be vigilant about going after anyone who violates the law and betrays the public trust. Absolutely no one in New Jersey is above the law."

The advocate

Donald Scarinci knows the law. In the early 1970s, the politically connected attorney was editor of the school newspaper at Union Hill High School around the time U.S. Senator and current senatorial candidate Robert Menendez was student body president.

The two men formed a friendship that lasted while both served as aides to Union City Mayor and State Sen. William Musto. Musto's political career would come to a close in 1982 after his federal conviction on racketeering charges. Menendez was among those who testified against him.

Menendez went on to build a political career that took him to Musto's mayoral chair, the state assembly, the state senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and finally, after his appointment in January by Governor Jon Corzine, to the U.S. Senate. At the same time, Scarinci's law practice also grew, becoming one of the most influential in the state.

In the current U.S. Senate election, Scarinci very recently had to sever ties with Menendez's campaign after a 1999 telephone conversation was released in which Scarinci was recorded using Menendez's name to gain political leverage.

Scarinci said recently that he believes Hudson County simply gets an unfair rap.

"I've been involved in Hudson County politics and government since 1972," Scarinci said. "It is mythology that Hudson County is more corrupt than anywhere else. It has nothing to do with anything that has happened since the days of Frank Hague. The reality is that there are fewer instances of public corruption in Hudson County than in 50 percent of the other counties in the state of New Jersey. Bad people will do bad things."

He added, "Just because there are a few bad people like Gerry McCann and Bob Janiszewski doesn't mean all public officials are bad. You haven't had people stealing public money in Hudson County since the Musto trial in 1982. Wall Street would not be developing the waterfront if they had the concept that Hudson County was a corrupt place. I think the perception is based on folklore."

He said the perception is also based in something even darker than local legend.

"The idea has its foundation more in racism and prejudice than in any reality," he said. " 'Hudson County' to some people becomes a euphemism for Latinos, in the same way that 'Essex County' becomes a euphemism for African-Americans. When people want to suggest that the people from Hudson County are above-average corrupt, I think that there is a very large element of bigotry and racism in that kind of remark."

Scarinci defended his friend Menendez as a true reformer.

"He demonstrated by his actions that he is a reformer," he said. "He testified against his mentor Musto, who was a personal and a political disappointment to him. Several people who were indicted with Musto were members of organized crime. Bob Menendez testified against them. That took courage. I saw him wear the bullet-proof vest [during the trial]."

Corruption issue affects Senate race

The question of ethics has recently become a major campaign issue for the Nov. 7 midterm elections. While Menendez's side has tried to portray him as someone who would stand up to President Bush, Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr. has depicted him in ads as just another corrupt Hudson County politician.

Menendez has had to fend off several corruption allegations in recent weeks. These criticisms have included that while in the House of Representatives, Menendez leased a building he owned to a Union City nonprofit agency for which he helped win federal funds.

But Tom Kean Jr.'s campaign had to deal with an ethics accusation after Menendez's campaign discovered that a researcher working for Kean's chief campaign consultant was digging for dirt on Menendez through an exchange of letters with the infamous Bobby Janiszewski. Janiszewski apparently wrote the letters from the confines of a federal prison cell in Kentucky.

See next week's paper for more on the campaign.

A policy perspective

Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers and a longtime observer of New Jersey politics, said there are cultural and structural reasons for the county's corruption.

"Hudson County deserves every bit of its reputation," he said. "One of the things about Menendez, particularly after he turned state's evidence against Billy Musto, was that he stood out as the glowing exception, proof that a reformer could come out of Hudson County. But then again, Frank Hague and Bobby Janiszewski originally were reformers too."

He noted, "The low state of public rectitude in Hudson County tends to rub off on people who try to escape its clutches."

Baker said the problem starts with having too many politicians. He cites county executives, positions that not all states have.

"The center [of power] is never as powerful as the collective might of the 21 county chairs," he said. "Office double dipping has to be abolished. It tends to monopolize elective offices. It's a dangerous concentration of power. Pay-to-play legislation also has to be passed."

But Baker worried that some of it is ingrained.

"There are also cultural factors that will only change over the long run," he said. "A lot of the politics of Hudson County is tribal in that political ties are intermingled with ethnic ties. The more Hudson County becomes a desirable place for upper-middle-class people to live, the more that leads to the demographic transformation of Hudson County. The waterfront communities offer probably the best hope for reform."

What can be done?

It appears, from observers' comments and even politicians' own suggestions, that some waves of change are coming, but more has to be done. Suggestions include:

- Consider banning dual office holding. This move would provide more assurance that elected officials are not prey to conflicts of interest, and that running for office is seen as a path to public service, not personal enrichment. It also means separate officials will have more time to do the job better. However, not everyone agrees that dual office-holding is always bad. Scarinci says: "I think a legislator who is also a mayor, or a freeholder or a county executive, brings something to the table at the state legislature. In Trenton, they truly know what state laws mean at the local level. There's no evil in a $12,000-a-year mayor being a state senator."

- Increase mayoral salaries for towns with large budgets. If mayors are ultimately controlling large sums of money without commensurate compensation, this becomes an inducement to steal. For instance, in 2003, former Hoboken Mayor Anthony Russo was indicted for having given kickbacks to an accounting firm run by his best friend, the late Joseph Lisa. Lisa's firm had earned more than $5 million in contracts from Hoboken in just a few years.

- Consolidate towns and town services. New Jersey currently has 566 separate municipalities. Through carefully considered regionalization, the number of towns and municipal positions would decrease, and with it opportunities for influence-peddling and fiscal temptation.

- Ban "pay-to-play" at every level of New Jersey government, including redevelopment agencies. "Pay-to-play" is the practice of giving professional service contracts to campaign contributors. Such practices can result in politicians approving overly expensive or unnecessary projects in exchange for campaign support. Giving someone a government contract in exchange for a political donation is illegal, but often it is difficult to prove. "Pay to play" laws cut out the possibility of that happening by saying that a business contributing a certain amount cannot get a contract. The state legislature should close loopholes in the laws.

- Institute a zero-tolerance policy on the acceptance of gifts. Current ethics laws forbid legislators from accepting gifts worth more than $250 in total value from any single source for anything related to their official jobs. Instead, legislators should be banned from receiving any gift of any value whatsoever from lobbyists, government affairs agents, or anyone else.

- Combine the Joint Legislative Commission on Ethical Standards into the new state Ethics Commission. Merging these two commissions would centralize and provide a vehicle for consistent and rigorous enforcement of the state's ethics laws.

- Make the new Uniform Ethics Code compulsory for the legislature and local governments. While more and more municipalities have taken up the cause of ethics reform, a clear, consistent approach must be taken regarding the application, control, supervision and enforcement of stronger ethics standards.

- End pension-padding. This practice allows for the promotion of state officials immediately before retirement, allowing them to receive a public pension based on the higher salary of a position that they never held. Convicted corruption offenders can sometimes still get their pensions.

- More aggressive investigations. Newly confirmed New Jersey Attorney General Stuart Rabner, who helped prosecute Janiszewski as an assistant U.S. attorney under Christie's leadership, can continue to work with Christie in this vein.

- Don't state corruption rumors as facts. As Hoboken Councilman Michael Cricco said at a 2004 council meeting, "This is Hudson County. It seems like we're already guilty before we even do anything." The unfair stereotype of every politician being corrupt is often spread by cynical new residents, or by campaign hopefuls hoping to gain office by slandering the other side. It paints hundreds of local public servants, unpaid board members and volunteers with the same brush, sometimes solely because they grew up here. The stereotype becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because only career politicians will be willing to undertake the name-calling that comes with holding these positions.

- Voters should reward and punish at the ballot box. On the grass-roots level and on Election Day, voters should remember who has been doing the right thing, and who hasn't.



Young councilman reflects on potential change



Will reforms like the above work?

Jersey City Councilman Steven Fulop, 29, was raised in Edison. He moved to the Jersey City waterfront for the same reason many other new Hudson County residents did.

"I was working at Goldman Sachs," he said. "Goldman was moving their building to Jersey City. You get a lot of the benefits of being close to Manhattan, but at the same time all the benefits of being in Jersey. It just kind of made sense."

What Fulop did after he made the move to Jersey City was more unusual. He enlisted in the Marines after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and temporarily left Wall Street in 2003 to serve a tour with Marines in Iraq.

Shortly after his return, he entered politics. Fulop stunned many local political observers by winning the downtown Jersey City council seat in 2005 over the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO)-backed incumbent Junior Maldonado.

When looking at the question of campaign contribution reform, Fulop offered some cautionary comments.

"If the reforms are not done in a way that would affect the county organizations as well, you will inadvertently adversely affect the reform candidates, because you won't give them the same access to funds the other side is going to have times 10," he said. "Jersey City adopted the state's pay-to-play reform package. Now some groups have come forward and said that they want a kind of pay-to-play law that would restrict developers from giving money to any Jersey City candidates. The premise is good, but if you do that, you restrict the money that somebody can get independently, but you can't restrict a developer from giving the money to the HCDO, which will ultimately give to the candidates that they choose."

Fulop continued, "Reform should go further to include not only banning dual public-office holding, but also holding two jobs that are paid for by taxpayer dollars in any capacity. Here in Hudson County, we are one of the biggest violators of this. Taxpayers paying one salary should be enough."



One more idea:

But why is it that even politicians who originally run for office as "reformers" wind up covered in sludge?

Fulop thinks self-imposed term limits might avoid this fate.

"What I'd like to do is have an impact in the near term, and then I think that I'm done," he said. "You go back to the private sector, say that you served the public, and that's it. When you stay in office for too long, that's when things start to go awry."

And sadly, he agrees that some people duck local politics because of the reputation for corruption, causing a vicious cycle.

"You can't say everybody is corrupt and evil here," he said, "because that's surely not the case. We're headed in the right direction. In Hoboken, we have some young council people with fresh ideas coming from the private sector. In Jersey City, we're moving that way. You need the residents to put the right people in elected office, and then you need those elected officials to do the responsible thing. Part of the problem is that we still have the mentality that if you're good at hanging campaign signs, then you might qualify for some senior-level position, which is ridiculous. We're long past that mentality. So you either recognize that and get involved with change and progress, or you're going to have to get out of the way."

He added, "Change can be forced, or change can be embraced. Either way, we'll take it."

To comment on this story, e-mail Mark J. Bonamo at mbonamo@hudsonreporter.com.

The "nobodies" are still being bullied by the "somebodies". Usually, during a snow storm, for the safety of all city employees they wouldn't be allowed to work. Yesterday, as well as today the roads are very slippery. I saw cars slipping and slidding all over the place, I almost had an accident in my own car it wouldn't stop when I would put the brakes. And yet the city agencies didn't close, like the library... Mr. Grego hasn't even started working in the library yet or has he?

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Bingo!

This is how they operate and more so.

When citizens request services from elected officials for the first three yrs after an election, they might as well not even bother.

It only gets the attention 6 months to a yr. before the next election.

It happened in my ward.

WARD A

Quote: Right! PEOPLE need to come out and vote when the time comes. Don't let others take away your rights and your voice! If not, we'll all end up boiling our water like these people! FFFRRRRRREEEEDDDDOOOOMMM!!!!!!

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There once was a time in the past when the "Directors" of the library (back in the day) wouldn't have allowed anyone from City Hall to step one foot in the Jersey City library System.

Grim and Livermore must be turning over in their graves right now...just saying...

Yes...now I recall...remember the person I wrote about who got fired for accidentally spending a $1.00 on ice, because he sympathized with union workers and citizens who were against privatizing the library?

Well, after that person got fired, he went to Degise for help in trying to get his job back. Degise told him he couldn't help him. But yet the library/city made a million Dollar contract that tax payers ended up paying for even after the citizens won the fight against it. Millions...

I don't trust this guy.

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I believe in recycling however, I'm looking forward to the day that a community stops trying to recycle crooked politicians with a past.

McCon is like a piece of chewed up gum stuck on Jersey City, that it just can't seen to pull off.

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Still scratching my head...just saying...Did somebody, somewhere think that this was to go unoticed?

Of course if they are in charge of the store, no one is watching, so it could be possible to manipulate the system.

This is truly scary, think of the things they have possibly have gotten away with that we DON'T know about.

This can only create mistrust in some of our elected officials and those "in charge"

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There has to be some good apples on the tree...just saying...

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I'm still scratching my head here...the library can't afford Mr. Greco, what particular services will he perform? Shouldn't this job go to someone who needs it and is qualified? Who wants him in the library? I mean, he DID retire right? I'm sure his poop is the same shape color and smell as anyone elses.

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Uh oh, Lucyyyyyyyyy you gotta lot a splainin to dooooo...
Don't blame her, she's only doing the bidding of those most likely barking orders from their computers...The question here is, WHO in the library, made the decision to hire Mr. Greco as a consultant, when the library obviously can't afford his services? Or maybe, the decision was not decided IN the library but somewhere else...They just laid off all part-timers, critical in the daily operation of the library, and more layoffs are possibly looming...just saying...

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Seriously, you can't make this stuff up! This is like watching the Sopranos but the only difference is it's Jersey City politicos. And yet they continue to get away with it!

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BINGO! The only way to stop the corruption is to get these freak'n people OUT! They make the rules as they go along. There is no accountability. Also do not be surprised if some are being bullied by their superiors, because at some point or another they refused to "go along" They are in fear of losing their jobs. There is one guy that got fired for spending 1.00 on ice on a city card, only because he sympathyzed with some union workers who were fighting privitazation several yrs. ago.
But yet, the council approves legal theft of the tax payers through approved voted ordinances. There are city workers who really care about, live and work for Jersey City.

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BINGO! Focus on the better fish to fry instead of a crossing guard making 31 thousand, at least the crossing guard is saving children's lives from some of the lunatic drivers running amok in this city.
Mr. Corrado owed back rent from his failed moochie bar, how convenient, was it that the library got a leased space 11 yrs. ago from the same owner of the dwelling he owed back rent to. The lease for this property has skyrocketed to 200,000 + a yr.... One of the many hidden places for your precious tax dollars. Mr. Corrado was hired by Bret Schundler, remember? Making a pretty good salary back in the day...just saying...

BINGO!

Follow the money trail...

Hey Johnny,

Another suggestion to accompany the envelope, offer to hire the sister, granny, & throw in that you'll even hire their dog too, you'll have your business up and running in no time.

LOL... like someone said on another post, your right, you can't make this stuff up. Healy is doing a what? Welcome to the country of Jersey City!
Who's On First? - Click here for the funniest movie of the week

A good back up plan:

IF you do it verbally, you should inform your landlord as well via certified mail return receipt and regular mail with the cetification # on the letter typed not written.

Loved it.
IMO, You and Mia Scanga do a hell of a good job of informing the residents of Jersey City, and NJ.
Thank you.

I don't know but these people in the pics. look soooo familiar to me, are you sure they didn't help the Healy team before the election?

And that Percival guy, he sure ain't the one from Little House on the Prarie either!

Rumor has it that Healy has already had a meeting with city dept. heads to inform city workers NOT TO TALK TO the press about the Fed. sweep mess and to refer reporters to City Hall.

I'll call this...Jersey City Gate.

Look into the money trail...

There could be other ways to launder money.

The double dipping, maybe someones getting a kickback from that?
The VERY high rents being paid in several city depts. (Kickback?)
Abatements. (kickback)
Capitol improvements (kickbacks?)

If you think about it there are inumeral ways to possibly milk the cow (Jersey City).

Yes, and the thing is that if he did THIS what other things has he done?

Rumor has it that he was putting people on the city payroll in depts of the city and that the head of those depts had no other choice but to take them. And bypassing comencement salaries, where you had other people working 20/30 yrs. making the same salary.

This is outragous!

The double dipping continues...there are people in this City whom are unemployed. Stop the double and triple dipping, and give these jobs to the citizens, not their friends or their families, but people who really need these jobs!

What else?

A good idea should be to rally the homes of these crooks!

I voted for Healy, but boy am I upset!

Seeing and reading some of the posts on what happened in City Hall with the Healy team, (Brennen)...

I'm very dissapointed. They are supposed to represent me! Yes, I'll admit given that they need to have their day in court and Healy was not part of the sweep.

Hoping the Feds look into alot of other things as well.
The only people I see that have any promise to represent me is Fulop, Sean Connors, Yvonne, Dan, whom I honestly feel would stay CLEAN!.

I recognized the picture of this woman. I'm trying to find out if in fact this is the woman I once had a very interesting conversation with about a year ago.

The woman I spoke to was a very pleasant person to speak to. The person I spoke to, at the time, was having a very difficult time with a son, who had trouble with the authorities.

I told her that family counseling was the best way to deal with this type of situation and she had told me that she was getting the help she needed.

She didn't seem to have any medical problem and she never mentioned it to me as we opened up about alot of personal things.

I felt sympathetic towards her and the problem she was having with her son.

Could it be that she just couldn't handle the pressure anymore and stopped taking her medication? Or could it have been that the medication she was taking was affecting her being that she had recently had a hip surgery?

Maybe the mixture of the medications had affected her so she decided to stop all medications altogether? until she recoved fully from her surgery?

But like some said on another post they could have called in people who would have known how to handle a woman with a mental condition locked into her apartment, by other means.

I do feel that the husband should have contacted medical professionals alot sooner. This incident is very unfortunate on all sides.

Maybe the police could have had shields to protect themselves, fortunately they didn't get seriouly hurt.

REALLY wish I could be there.

Yvonne, I like the bullhorn idea.

How about whistles? Do you think they might be too noisy?

Ideas for posters:

1)Healy, you helped to STRIP Jersey City of it's dignity resign now! (Put a picture of Beldini in a bikini with one of her legs on a picture of City Hall, and one hand holding cash covering her boobs) You could also put a head of Healy & Vega looking out the windows of City Hall.

2)Vega,
Spare your dignity and Jersey City!
Resign now!

3)HEALY & VEGA, No TRUST Resign you MUST!


On another note I really find this video amusing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6ieV0bYZsM

Look who's in the background, wasn't that guy, whats his name... I forgot, the cop that was suspended because he failed a drug test? Oh yeah, Mark Medal? Whatever happened with that?

I really hope alot of the Greenville residents go, they should be mad too. The drug dealers are still dealing drugs to their kids.

Yvonne Balcer was right long ago (The Schundler days) as I recall reading an article in the JJ she knew something was amiss with all these developers gaining access to the waterfront, (opposing the abatments) so easily and requested the feds to investigate but as I recall they had no comment at the time, and as nothing transpired up until now...

Manzo was very tight with McAnn, I had asked him a question one year when he was running for mayor on what position McAnn would have in his administration should he win?

Manzo turned BEET RED!

Yvonne, recently in my book, along with the officer that has sadly passed trying to protect this city and the many honest ones that continue to do so, you are one of my heroes.

I think you should run for something in this city, along with Shawn Connors & Fulop. Im sure there are more honest ones that would do a wonderful job for this great city.

IMO alot of things need to be done/more changes.

Hell, on my block if you ask a 9 year old, they'll point out a narco car in a second. They all look the same and are sooo obvious clean cut with baseball caps driving the same cars.

If you only have 100 officers at any given time due to vacations etc. does that mean there are less narco's?

Are there any statistics on ALL (city wide) current youth services out there? As a JERSEY CITY TAX PAYER I would like to know the amount of money being spent and the effectiveness of such.

With a growing population yes, the city will need MORE services they need to hire MORE people instead of implementing a hiring freeze. Take the different dept. heads who are making the BIG BUCKS and offer them a BUYOUT or to retire, hire NEW people, or put in place/promote NEW people with less money.

Is there a list of ALL city workers and the salaries? This should be public information on the city web site along with the yrs. of service.

Is there a list of public employees and the family members who also have city jobs? Which IMO is a conflict of interest.

Also, like Hoboken and NY, only Jersey City residents should have Jersey City jobs.

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Yes, and so while (Mariano, and #4 and others in JC) were stuffing their pockets, they neglected the citizens of JC, thus only when the outcry for more police and other city services by the tax payers, would they move their asses by then it was kinda too late, then claiming that crime was down.

But lets remember the people who died in this city due to lack of police, the gangs were running amok selling their drugs and they still are on the street corners(white-t- shirts), the kids that became part of those gangs when something could have been done sooner. There wouldn't have been members of those dying or innocents dying or people getting seriously hurt.

I still see prostitutes on Ocean Avenue, Sam Jefferson's ex brother in law is a regular out at night at 3:00 am in a Greenville neighborhood were the drug dealers hang out as well. Why is he there what is he looking for? He's been doing this for years.

Mariano is very tight with some people who are heads of some city depts. in JC

Wow!
You know what?

I never liked that guy (Mariano) he bumped into someone I know at the Loews here in Jersey City and was showing off pictures of his mansion in upstate NY.

Then I thought mansion? How does he afford a mansion?

A$$hole! Hope you go doooooowwwwwwnn wwaayyyyyy dooooowwwwnnn...and your little cronie friends too!!!

They're not worth the ball of spit I would love to throw at the foot of their feet