By Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger

NEWARK ? In the latest turmoil to hit the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners, the agency?s chief financial officer resigned today and five other employees ? including the wife and brother of a former commissioner ? were fired, officials said.

At the same time, the State Police were called in to take over security at the agency?s facility in Newark. The move came after the discovery of a small hole drilled into the office of the executive director, allowing anyone to eavesdrop from a storeroom below, officials said.

The resignation and terminations followed the arrests Tuesday of three top-level executives charged by the Attorney General?s Office with official misconduct in connection with improvements and repair work allegedly done at their homes by Passaic Valley employees who were supposed to be on the job.

"These actions are necessary to restore public trust and accountability to the agency," said Wayne Forrest, the executive director of the agency, who took charge last July.

Passaic Valley, which treats the sewage of more than 1.3 million people in Essex, Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties, has been all but torn apart in recent weeks after a series of stories in The Star-Ledger documenting the hiring of wives, brothers, in-laws and children; special-interest contracts; and the hiring of politically connected officials at six-figure salaries.

Forrest late today said he had accepted the resignation of Kenneth Pengitore, who quit his $163,869-a-year job without explanation.
Pengitore ? a Passaic County Republican and former college football star who played in the World Football League ? had been the mayor of Haledon and a PVSC commissioner himself when he was tapped by his fellow board members to become CFO. While still a commissioner, Pengitore secured jobs for his son, daughter and daughter-in-law, all of whom remain on the PVSC payroll.

Officials said those terminated today included the wife and brother of former Hudson County commissioner Carl Czaplicki ? who was forced to quit last week after Gov. Chris Christie demanded the resignations of six of seven PVSC board members after the disclosures in The Star-Ledger.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011 ... saic_valley_sewerage.html

Poor Carl. The family income took another big hit.

Four members of Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners to resign

By Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger

Under pressure from the governor, four of seven members of the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners today said they would resign from the embattled agency.

Two others have until today to either quit or face removal proceedings, after Gov. Chris Christie ? citing a litany of abuses at the authority ? demanded they leave.

Charging that the commissioners repeatedly engaged in "unethical hiring practices, secured unwarranted perks and blatantly ignored conflicts of interest," the governor acted Tuesday to immediately suspend all six without pay. He signed an executive order vesting all necessary authority to run the PVSC in its executive director, former Somerset County prosecutor Wayne Forrest.

PVSC chairman Anthony J. Luna of Lodi has already submitted a letter of resignation, said Ralph Lamparello, a board attorney. Carl S. Czaplicki Jr. of Jersey City, the vice chairman, indicated that he would be submitting his resignation, and a spokesman for the governor said it was received tonight.

One less job for Carl !

Gov. Christie moves to fire all but one member of Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission

By Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger

TRENTON ? Gov. Chris Christie, angered over a litany of abuses under the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners, abruptly moved to fire all but one of them today.

Just a week after demanding an explanation for their using the agency as a ?piggy bank? for friends and family, the governor took steps to terminate the appointments of six of the seven commissioners.

?The members of the PVSC Board of Commissioners have had more than enough time to begin reforming the commission, but have chosen instead to perpetuate a pattern of abuse,? said Christie. ?They have repeatedly engaged in unethical hiring practices, secured unwarranted perks and blatantly ignored conflicts of interest. Using the PVSC as a personal spoils system will no longer be tolerated and this reckless disregard for ethical behavior will come to an end.?

The governor?s action came in the form of letters to the commissioners notifying them that he will immediately commence removal proceedings for cause. In addition, the governor also took the steps necessary to suspend the six commissioners without pay pending the resolution of the removal proceedings.

At the same time, he signed an executive order vesting all necessary authority to run the PVSC in its executive director Wayne Forrest.

If any refuse to resign, they can request a formal hearing. It would be held on Monday in Trenton.

Under fire, most of the commissioners had responded to the governor?s demands to provide by today a full accounting of their hirings and personnel moves. At least one, however, ignored the governor. That commissioner, William F. Flynn of Wayne, had instead sent a letter calling for an apology from Christie for the tone of his letter.

The commissioners being dismissed include its chairman, Anthony J. Luna, who also serves as the municipal manager of Lodi; the PVSC vice chairman, Carl S. Czaplicki Jr., the director of the Jersey City Department of Housing, Economic Development & Commerce; Flynn, a retired Paterson firefighter; Frank J. Calandriello, the mayor of Garfield; Angelina M. Paserchia, a former mayor of Belleville; and Thomas J. Powell, a Harrison redevelopment commissioner.


Bye Bye Czaplicki !!!

The City announced on Friday that all City employees (except Police and Fire) would be required to take 12 furlough days (without pay) between September, 2010 and June, 2011.

One question; why aren't Police and Fire personnel being asked to sacrifice as well ? Newark is furloughing their policemen and firemen.

Ex-Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano III is expected to plead guilty in massive N.J. corruption bust

By Joe Ryan/The Star-Ledger
April 19, 2010, 9:45PM

HOBOKEN -- Peter J. Cammarano III, the former mayor of Hoboken who spent just three weeks in office before being caught in last year?s sweeping FBI sting, is scheduled to plead guilty Tuesday before a federal judge in Newark, according to two people briefed on the planned proceeding.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010 ... oken_mayor_peter_cam.html

Christie: High police salaries 'can't be sacrosanct' in budget-cutting process

Friday, March 19, 2010
Last updated: Friday March 19, 2010, 6:41 PM

BY JOHN REITMEYER
State House Bureau

Governor Christie said Friday that towns could reduce the high police salaries that help make property taxes so expensive in New Jersey by using the spending cap he proposed with the new state budget this week.

Police officers and their salaries "can't be sacrosanct in this process," Christie said while discussing the budget with The Record's editorial board.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/03091 ... dget-cutting_process.html

Christie: High police salaries 'can't be sacrosanct' in budget-cutting process

Friday, March 19, 2010
Last updated: Friday March 19, 2010, 6:41 PM

BY JOHN REITMEYER
State House Bureau

Governor Christie said Friday that towns could reduce the high police salaries that help make property taxes so expensive in New Jersey by using the spending cap he proposed with the new state budget this week.

Police officers and their salaries "can't be sacrosanct in this process," Christie said while discussing the budget with The Record's editorial board.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/03091 ... dget-cutting_process.html

GUILTY !!! The verdict just came in.

A former Chief of the Fire Dept. just left and received a payout for unused sick and vacation of over $300,000 !!!

No wonder this City is broke !!!

SMITH INDICTED

By Matt Friedman | February 9th, 2010 - 5:07pm

A federal grand jury indicted former Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith (D-Jersey City) on five counts of extortion, accepting corrupt payments and money laundering for allegedly taking $15,000 in bribes from an FBI informant, the U.S. Attorney?s Office announced today.

The indictment alleges that Smith, then a candidate for Jersey City mayor, took a $5,000 bribe from informant Solomon Dwek through Edward Cheatam, another corruption case defendant, in exchange for help with purported real estate developments and converted it into contributions to his campaign account.

Smith allegedly made calls on behalf of Dwek and told him that he could "get the ball rolling" with the Department of Environmental Protection on environmental issues at a purported Garfield Avenue development site in Jersey City.

At a July meeting, which took place two months after Smith placed third in the mayoral election, Dwek told Smith he was ?generous.?

?[a]ccording to your standards you?re generous,? the indictment quotes Smith as answering him.

After the meeting, the indictment says that Dwek gave Smith another $10,000 to help his development projects during his waning days as an assemblyman.

?Harvey, I don?t want you to call me a cheap skunk anymore,? Dwek told Smith.

Smith remained in the assembly until January, though he was stripped of pay, benefits and his committee assignments and did not show up to any sessions after his arrest. He is a former Jersey City council president and acting mayor.

http://www.politickernj.com/matt-friedman/36725/smith-indicted

Buck Swindler has no qualifications for this job. Founding Golden Door and whining for vouchers qualifies him ? Give me a break.

All Christie wants to do is stick it to the teachers union, a right wingnut whipping boy.

Mike Manzo pleads guilty.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... s_guilty_in.html#comments

Leona Beldini pleads not guilty. They are gonna throw the book at her.

By Amy Sara Clark/The Jersey Journal
September 29, 2009, 6:40PM

Jersey City is introducing mandatory furloughs after a voluntary furlough program introduced over the summer flopped.

The furloughs will apply to department directors, but not to elected officials, although Mayor Jerramiah Healy will take a voluntary pay cut, spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said.

All non-uniformed workers will work 12 fewer days between Dec. 24 and June 30 and receive a 9.2 percent pay cut for that period, city Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly confirmed today.

The days will be chosen by the city, not by the individual employees, as mandated by the state in the case of mandatory furloughs, O'Reilly said.

He added that the city will try to be as accommodating as possible by picking days right before holidays, such as Christmas Eve, or Mondays and Fridays so employees will have long weekends.

The decision to mandate furloughs came after just 51 employees signed up for voluntary furloughs. Those approximate 220 days -- or 4.3 days per person -- saved the city between $40,000 and $50,000 O'Reilly said.

"I was hoping it would be a lot better but apparently we didn't get the response we wanted," he said.

The city has a budget gap of more than $40 million due to rising pension and healthcare costs as well as several one-shot revenues in last year's budget -- such as $15 million from the court settlement with Honeywell, $15.8 million in pension deferrals and $9.8 million from other land sales.

O'Reilly said the furloughs will save the city a little over $2 million.


Layoffs, he said, are still on the table.

The city would try to eliminate seasonal and provisional employees first, and would try to protect the positions of officers that raise revenues, such as health and building inspectors, O'Reilly said.

Quote:

Not to mention that the City continues to employ Bobby Jackson's son Martin in a no show job and tolerates Kabili (the car thief) Tayari as Deputy Mayor.

It's safe to say that Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy has not hadgood luck with his deputy mayors -- at least if criminal charges are any measure.
Three of the mayor's four picks have been arrested.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... arrest_rate_should_j.html

$104K for Kabili Tayari ?! WTF ?!

The man is a do nothing weasel.

Vega might relinquish council presidency

By Matt Friedman, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter

Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega, who was arrested last month for allegedly taking $30,000 in bribes from a federal informant, will be in charge of the next council meeting -- if he remains council president.

Mayor Jerramiah Healy has put pressure on Vega to resign from his top post, though nobody expects him to quit his at-large seat altogether.

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill acknowledged that Healy has met with Vega several times since his arrest, but did not disclose details about their conversations.

?The nature of it is on how to move the city forward governmentally. And that?s really the extent of what we?ll be commenting on,? she said.

The council intended to temporarily remove Vega from the top post by designating Councilman Peter Brennan president pro-tem ? a position that the council had already intended to create but took on new urgency once Vega was arrested. Most council members and government officials were under the impression that Brennan would fill in for Vega while he dealt with his defense.

But in a in a memo to council members, Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis wrote that Vega will maintain control of council meetings as long as he attends them, and that he can not simply delegate the responsibility to Brennan.

The council president makes a slightly higher salary than the rest of the council and temporarily takes over the mayor?s duties in the event of a resignation or death.

Neither Vega nor Brennan, who is recovering from prostate cancer-related surgery, attended this month?s council meeting, over which Councilman Bill Gaughan presided. Both plan to attend the next one on September 9. Multiple City Hall sources say that Vega is considering stepping down as council president on or before then.

Councilman Steve Fulop, who requested the opinion that resulted in the Matsikoudis memo, is the only council member who has called on Vega to resign his seat ? not just his position as president.

?If you are definitive that you did nothing wrong and you don?t want to resign, then why resign from one position and not the other,? he said. ?Maybe Mariano now thinks he did a little something wrong so he will resign a little bit.?

A call to Vega?s cell phone was not returned.

Quote:

Then leave.

Yvonne, you are a Manzo lackey. You have no credibility.

Our Court is a den of iniquity !

REPENT !!!

Quote:

I'll drink to that !

I would run but the Pope won't allow it.

My prayers have been answered.

Lou Manzo has tried to sell himself as a man of the people and an advocate for good government. The truth is : he is the same as every other Jersey City politician. He will make any deal with any faction, good or bad, in order to gain power.

At the end of the day he has been a failure as a legislator and a politician. He needs to go away.

I would be very happy to offer her free spiritual counseling.

Hubba hubba !

I hope Willie retires soon. She is an embarassment.