He is still on the City Council, but just not President, right?

"Wonder if Mariano is rolling over on the big fish?"

No, unfortunately for him, he doesn't have any intel on the "big fish", as far as I know. The US Attorney is probably reexamining their case in light of the Beldini verdict.

"is Vega collecting a paycheck in the midst of all this?"

Yes, though not for his County job because he was fired from that. He is still collecting his Council salary.

is Vega collecting a paycheck in the midst of all this?

Very odd. The judge set a date last month for Vega's trial to begin next week and now the prosecution says the case is nowhere near ready to go. Wonder if Mariano is rolling over on the big fish?

Mariano Vega corruption trial won't get under way until fall at earliest
By Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal
February 16, 2010, 9:30PM

Jersey City Councilman Mariano Vega won't be tried on federal corruption charges until the fall at the earliest, officials said today.

When Vega -- among the dozens arrested in a massive political corruption and money laundering sting in July -- appeared in court last month and pleaded not guilty, U.S. District Judge Jose Linares set a Feb. 24 date. But the U.S. Attorney's Office said today that a date for his trial hasn't been set.

U.S. Attorney spokesman J. Gregory Reinert said he didn't know why a February date was given, but said the case is a ways off.

Vega is accused of accepting $30,000 in exchange for helping a government informant, who was posing as a developer, secure approvals for proposed condominiums on Garfield Avenue in Jersey City. Vega stepped down as city council president after he was charged, but refused to resign from his council seat.

Former Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt who is charged with accepting $10,000 in bribes from the federal informant, is the next to go on trial. That case will be heard in Trenton, beginning May 3.

Anyone listen to David Cruz's interview with the Mayor? It was posted on JC Independent yesterday but it's gone now. It's on David's site though.

Good interview - interestingly, the Mayor says that we should expect resolution of the Vega situation "within the next ten days." That can't be good for Mariano - up until very recently, it didn't seem as though the mayor or his allies thought there was a Vega "situation."

"I'm looking forward to my day in court" Vega said.

So am I, Mr. Vega, so am I.

Meanwhile every vote he makes, like approving the buying of a building with a three year old appraisal, is tainted. One can't help but wonder if envelopes were passed.

The disgraced Vega was just mentioned on MPR. Lied to feds, took bribes and it's all on tape yet he Vega says, he is not guilty. WTF?

Healy puts out statements like that to placate the angry citizens fed up with corruption. There is absolutely nothing behind it. Those two are joined at the hip, it's absolutely in healy's best interest to keep Vega happy with him.

It's no different than Obama's phony criticisms of "fat cat bankers". Nothing behind it...

Quote: this coming from healy, seems to be a very strong statement of against vega ....

Jersey City Councilman Mariano Vega indicted in massive corruption probe
By Joe Ryan/The Star-Ledger
December 17, 2009, 8:16PM

On the day before Jersey City Councilman Mariano Vega was arrested along with scores of other officials last summer, he told FBI agents he had never met the government informant at the center of the sting. When shown a picture, Vega claimed he did not even recognize the man, authorities said.

But prosecutors contend Vega did know the man, saying the two met six times for meals between March and July. And the informant, prosecutors say, was secretly recording every minute.

In an indictment handed up today, Vega is charged with lying to the FBI about not knowing the informant, a failed Monmouth County real estate developer named Solomon Dwek.

The 60-year-old Democrat also is accused of accepting $30,000 from Dwek in exchange for promising to help him secure development approvals.

Vega today told The Jersey Journal that he intends to clear his name.

"I?m looking forward to my day in court to put out my facts and let me clear my name," he said.

Asked if he will now resign, he said: "I intend to plead not guilty."

The eight-count indictment comes five months after Vega and 43 others were first charged in the massive money-laundering and corruption sting. The charges, which prompted Vega to resign his position as city council president, continue to rattle the political landscape in Hudson County and beyond.

The sting revolved almost entirely around Dwek, a fast-talking one-time rabbinical student who began wearing a wire for federal investigators after being charged in 2006 with bank fraud.

He spent more than two years secretly working for federal prosecutors, targeting rabbis who supposedly laundered money and public officials who allegedly took bribes.

Authorities accuse Vega of conspiring with Maher Khalil, a former Jersey City health official, to accept three $10,000 payments from Dwek.

Khalil, who pleaded guilty in September, recruited straw donors to convert the cash into checks made out to Vega?s campaign fund, authorities said.

Vega?s lawyer, Peter R. Willis, said the issue of whether the councilman knows Dwek would be resolved at trial along with the other charges. "Mariano has no intention of pleading guilty," Willis said.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Indicted Jersey City Councilman Mariano Vega: I will clear my name
By The Jersey Journal
December 17, 2009, 7:08PM

Jersey City Councilman Mariano Vega, indicted today on charges related to the massive New Jersey corruption scandal, told The Jersey Journal just now that he intends to clear his name.

"I'm looking forward to my day in court to put out my facts and let me clear my name,'' he said.

Asked if he will now resign, he said:

"I intend to plead not guilty."

Today's eight-count indictment charges Vega with accepting $30,000 from government informant Solomon Dwek in exchange for promising to help him secure development approvals, charges included in the original criminal complaint against him from July.

Something new in the indictment is a charge of lying to the FBI.

Prosecutors say the day before the July 23 sweep, FBI agents questioned Vega and asked if he knew Dwek.

Vega said he never met Dwek and said he didn't recognize a photo of him, the indictment alleges. The FBI, however, says Dwek secretly recorded six lunch meetings with the then president of the Jersey City City Council.

After his arrest, Vega reluctantly agreed to give up his presidency, saying it is a temporary move until he is exonerated.

During the summer, several rallies were held outside City Hall demanding his resignation.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy -- who also met with Dwek twice, but has not been charged with any crimes -- said Vega's resignation from the council at this point is something to be considered.

"Under our legal system, anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent and that presumption also applies to Mariano," Healy said in an emailed statement. "Whether Mariano steps down from the City Council is a matter to be considered over the next few days by Mariano, his family, his lawyer, myself and his colleagues on the Council."

Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop, who was the lone council member to call on Vega to resign after Vega was arrested on July 23, said tonight he plans to renew his call for Vega to step down.

"I'm hoping this time my colleagues stand by me and agree that it's time to move on for the sake and welfare of the city," Fulop said.

I may be mistaken but wasn't the money used to bribe these weak and corrupt individuals the government's? If that is indeed the case, how can these ill-gotten "campaign donations be given to charity?

Quote: yes ... these guys are playing from a position of inherited power ... they can wait and wait and wait. certainly, vega's choice to report the ill-gotten booty as clean and legal campaign contribution shows that (a) he does not -- have to -- care, (b) has pretty bad advisors or does not listen to anybody smart, (c) pretty full of himself, and (d) does not --want to -- understand what he has gotten himself into.

actually, when i read the news yesterday, i almost thought that this is an april's fools joke ... alas, it is november.

he has not even plead guilty ... yet ... perhaps, he knows more than we do?

Quote:

Sounds nice, but hasn't happened. At least not as of Healy's last filing in mid-October. Healy hasn't made the contribution. The coroner's report on Shaw hasn't been released. The Lopez decision hasn't happened. Vega will stonewall on this. These people have always been able to rely on being able to say and do whatever they please knowing that they can wait out any opposition. Case in point - just two months after the arrests this summer, people were no longer showing up at city council to speak out against Vega.

The one bright spot to Christie's election: He will bring the hammer down on all of this.

Quote:

At least Healy gave the questionable money to a charity. This guy is so smug it's really starting to annoy me.

Jersey City councilman's campaign reports include FBI money

By Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal
November 11, 2009, 2:39PM

Jersey City Councilman Mariano Vega recently updated his campaign finance reports to include $10,000 funnelled through an FBI cooperating witness. Vega is facing federal charges that he accepted $30,000 in bribes. Jersey City Councilman Mariano Vega Jr. has updated his campaign finance reports to include $10,000 he received from FBI informants.

?There were some things that needed to be corrected,? Vega said after Tuesday?s council meeting.

Vega was one of 44 people the FBI charged as part of a massive corruption sting in July. While he resigned as council president, he maintained his at-large council seat, contending he is innocent.

The criminal complaint from the U.S. Attorney accuses Vega of meeting with the FBI?s cooperating witness several times and ultimately accepting three $10,000 payments, two of which were broken down by an intermediary and converted into campaign contributions and a third which was given after Vega?s May election victory.

An amended campaign finance report submitted to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission Oct. 28 reflects one of those $10,000 payments and lists the occupation of one of the contributors at ?FBI operative.?

When shown a copy of the contributions Tuesday, Vega said they appeared to be payments tied to the FBI operation.

He said he wasn?t planning to anything with the funds, just correcting mistakes on a previous campaign finance report to balance the account.

According to the criminal complaint, on or about May 26, the intermediary told the cooperating witness that he had converted $10,000 into four $2,500 checks, payable to ?Friends of Mariano Vega.?

The campaign submitted an amended June 2009 post-election filling last month, with the change being four $2,500 checks deposited on June 4. The first is from a Denis Janlow of North Bergen.

While there is no Denis Janlow named in the federal complaint, former Hudson County Board of Elections investigator Denis Jaslow, of Wall, was named and pleaded guilty in September to accepting $15,000 in bribes.

The second is from Vinnie Tabbachino, a former Guttenberg councilman and owner of a tax preparation business. His occupation is listed as FBI operative.

Tabbachino was charged with serving as a middleman for Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez, who allegedly took $10,000 in bribes. In addition he is accused of laundering $100,000 in cash from what Tabbachino believed was a counterfeit handbag business.

The other two checks are attributed to George Awad Ibrahim of Astoria, New York and Samia Ghattas of Hackensack. Those individuals were not named in the federal complaint.

Another accurate quote by Fulop in regards to the clearly deranged and defiant Vega's recent letter of resignation.

"Vega's letter is ridiculous,'' he told The Jersey Journal. "At least Kenny took responsibility. I never heard of a temporary resignation. It's like saying you're a little pregnant."

from: Comments

Author:Anonymous
Wow...beautiful house, I didn't think it was this magnificent. I am forwarding to friends and family members to schedule a get together and rent it for a week. It should be an awesome experience and a great retreat.
--Sonia Araujo - saraujo@jclibrary.org
2007-05-21 17:05:06 GMT

------------------------------------------------------

hmmm.... The only directions provided to this place originates from JC:

Directions

264 Wagner Ave Fleischmanns, NY 12430

From Jersey City, NJ:
Take Rt. 1-9 North to Rt. 3 West to GSP North to I-87 North to Exit 19 (Kingston Exit), take Rt. 28 west for 35 miles (landmarks ? past West Hurley, Shokan, Boiceville, Mount Tremper, Phoenicia, Catskill Mnt Railroan Musium, Allaban, Shandakem. Big Indian, Pine Hill, Belleayre Mtn. Highmount, and Fleischmanns). Take the first Fleischmanns exit on the right to Main St. After the Gas Station, make the first left to 264 Wagner Ave. (left at landmark VW auto parts place). Follow up and down the hill to 264 Wagner Ave. across from the middle of the public park. The house in painted a mustard yellow, detailed yellow trim, brick red windows, with a dark green trim, and the house is call Weeping Willow. The local phone number is 845-254-4022. (cell phones do now work inside the house go outside to the park and they work well.

------------------------------------------------------

Seems pretty pricey, too

Package-------------------# of Days---Cost
Summer Memorial-Labor--99---------20,000.00
Fall- Sept- Nov 18-----------64---------9,500.00
Oct. Indian Summer-------4------------2,000.00
Thanksgiving Weekend---4------------2,500.00
Winter Dec 1-April 15------136--------25,000.00
Spring April 15- May 28---42-----------5,000.00
Monthly-----------------------30----------9,000.00
2 weeks----------------------14----------4,200.00
Weekly-----------------------7------------2,500.00
Holiday 7 day week--------7-----------3,150.00
Holiday 5 days--------------5-----------2,250.00
Mid-Week 5 days-----------5-----------1,500.00
Weekend---------------------2-----------1,200.00
Holiday 3 day Weekend---3-----------1,925.00
3 day non-holiday wkend-3-----------1,450.00
Daily Cost--------------------1------------500.00

And from the Weeping Willow website, here's Mr. Vega's home address:


Contact Us/Make Reservation

We will be happy to answer any questions:

Email Us information@weepingwillowgetway.com

Call Us 201-332-4123 or 201 232-0492

Write to us 156 Mercer St, Jersey City, NJ 07302

_________________________________________

Tick-tock, tick-tock...

envelope forwarding address:


Weeping Willow
Mariano Vega
Owner
264 Wagner Ave
PO Box 874
Fleischmanns, NY 12430-
201-232-0492
201-332-4123
marianovegajr@gmail.com
http://weepingwillowgetaway.com
Listed in: Accommodations, Retreat Centers, Ski, Hike, Bike, Fish, Wedding and Event Services

I hope the judicial system wipes that smug grin from his face permanently.

In light of what has been made public so far, these guys have balls of steel as big as a city block to be so publicly defiant. They basically continue to give us the middle finger.

We all get what we have coming, no more, no less. I wait and hope the feds do their job.

Well back in July the city council voted for a no confidence resolution against Council President Mariano Vega. Mariano did not abstain and voted "no". That's an ethics violation, for sure. He also missed the subsequent Council meeting because he decided it was more important to meet with his attorney that he hired. Below is a picture of the two.

It's par for the course that he will vote on Kenny's replacement.



http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009 ... y_council_defeats_no.html

KENNY QUITS COUNCIL
Thursday, October 08, 2009
By JOURNAL STAFF

In a terse one-sentence statement faxed to the Jersey City City Clerk's Office yesterday morning, Philip J. Kenny, who on Tuesday pleaded guilty to accepting $5,000 in bribes, resigned from his Ward B council seat.

"As of this day, I resign my position as councilman for Ward B," Kenny stated in the typed letter on City of Jersey City stationery to City Clerk Robert Byrne.

Kenny pleaded guilty in federal court in Newark Tuesday to accepting $5,000 in bribes as part of the massive New Jersey corruption case that broke over the summer.

Kenny, who represents the city's West Side, hadn't been charged in the original roundup of suspects.

In pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right, Kenny admitted that in March he twice met with a government informant posing as a developer wanting to grease the wheels for a fictitious development project on Garfield Avenue.

At the first meeting, Kenny agreed to accept $5,000 broken down into two $2,500 contributions from "straw donors" for his Friends of Phil Kenny war chest in exchange for future official favors in getting zoning and other approvals.

At the second meeting, he accepted the money, knowing it was illegal to do so.

Kenny is free on $55,000 bail until his Jan. 12 sentencing, when he faces 12 to 24 months in prison.

The eight remaining members on the City Council have 30 days to select a replacement for Kenny, but they can leave the seat empty, Byrne said. A special election will be held in November 2010 to elect someone to serve out the remainder of Kenny's term, which ends June 30, 2013.

***********************************************

Kenny's bribes given to charity: Fricchione
Thursday, October 08, 2009
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The $5,000 in bribes former Jersey City councilman Philip J. Kenny said he accepted from a government informant for his campaign has been donated to charity, "Friends of Phil Kenny" treasurer Thomas Fricchione said yesterday.

Fricchione, assistant director of the county's Corrections Department, said the money was red-flagged shortly after the corruption sweep in July in which 44 people were arrested. It was given away "a while ago," well before Kenny entered his guilty plea Tuesday, Fricchione said.

Fricchione declined to say which charities received the money and said he couldn't remember the signatories on the illicit checks. In court, Kenny said the government informant used "straw donors" to give him two $2,500 checks on March 30.

Kenny's campaign filings with the state list only two $2,500 contributions since March 30: Mervat Nagib, owner of St. George Travel and Tours on Maiden Lane in Lower Manhattan, and Jack Cohen, an employee with Blanbium Equity on Wall Street.

No listing was found for "Jack Cohen" at 44 Wall St., the address listed for "Blanbium Equity," and no listing could be found anywhere for "Blanbium Equity."

Reached Tuesday, Najib said she never met Kenny and mailed his campaign a $2,500 contribution in response to a fundraising letter.

"When I contribute, I believe maybe the city put me on the list to use my business," she said.

Asked if her travel agency received any business from the city, she replied: "I'm stupid. I don't get nothing" - an assertion that could not be verified yesterday.

I am not sure whether I should laugh or cry when I read Vega's response. He won't dignify a response? Seems to me that dignity has been summarily stripped away by this scandal and the sleazy culture that Team Healy nurtured over the past several years.

Shelley Skinner

"Vega this afternoon said he would not "dignify" Fulop's statements with a response. "I was elected by the people and will continue to serve the people," he said"........and try to make as much money off thier backs as I can.....

It's sad that Mr. Vega lacks the self-awareness (desire?) to understand what the decent thing to do is. While he may bridle at Fulop's suggestion, the truth is that Mr. Vega has demonstrated throughout the period since his arrest that he is incapable of recognizing the proper course of action. It is clear that someone needs to be telling him what he should do - why not Fulop? No one else seems either willing or able to.

From the Hudson Reporter:

Fulop says Vega and Lopez should not vote on Kenny's replacement

Jersey City Counclman Steven Fulop said on Wednesday that his City Council colleagues Mariano Vega and Nidia Lopez should not vote for a replacement for former Ward B Councilman Phil Kenny, who resigned from his seat on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to accepting $5,000 in bribes from the federal government's cooperating witness, Solomon Dwek.

?While I recognize that the remaining council will be responsible for filling the vacant seat with a temporary representative for the citizens in Ward B, I think that both Councilman Vega and Councilwoman Lopez should refrain from voting for the replacement until their individual legal situations are resolved. To think that temporary council people will select a temporary representative, who will vote on important decisions, for the citizens of Ward B is not fair to the residents of the city. I would hope they both take the proper and fair steps in this matter and abstain from voting.?

The "legal situations" that Fulop refers to are Vega's arrest on July 23 as one of the 44 implicated in the public corruption/money laundering scandal, and Lopez's legal issues with her residency in New Jersey and Florida, which affects her status as a council member.

Vega, when reached for comment, said it was "absurd" for Fulop to ask for him to abstain.

"It is the people who elected me to serve on the council, not Fulop the emperor," Vega said. -- RK

on the other hand, if the incumbent political organization is well-funded and otherwise politically strong, they would welcome a quick election, whereas righteous citizens who might not have a strong political organization would probably welcome a year to get organized. it does seem outrageous though that the seat(s) could go empty for a year. would that we could trust our elected officials to have the wisdom to appoint an apolitical caretaker until an election could be held...

Quote:

I hear what you're saying...but....

I think a law that says if an elected official resigns/is ousted because of criminal activity, a special election can be held within 3 months would be a good thing. For now or in the future. Regardless of political affiliations. Why should any section of the city not be represented because some jackass needed a new pair of shoes. What's right is right.