Not guilty, and not intimidated
Former sting defendant Lou Manzo warns the public about feds

June 10, 2012
by E. Assata Wright
Hudson Reporter staff writer

If Lou Manzo considers himself a ruined man, he sure doesn?t talk like it. The former insurance businessman, state assemblyman, perennial mayoral candidate, one-time defendant, and nemesis of the U.S. Attorney?s Office in Newark talks like a winning quarterback after a Super Bowl victory.

As one of 44 public officials and religious leaders arrested on July 23, 2009, in a massive federal sting operation known as Operation Bid Rig III, Manzo was immediately tagged as another corrupt Hudson County pol. In the weeks and months following the arrests, a public narrative of the sting began to unfold. Several high profile officials pleaded guilty ? after months of maintaining their innocence ? admitting that they did indeed meet with a federal cooperating witness and took cash in exchange for political favors.

But Manzo was different. From the outset he decided to fight the charges against him, a path few other Bid Rig defendants would take. And he took it a step further. Not only did he fight his case, but he was consistently vocal in his belief that the Bid Rig investigation was politically motivated and was specifically designed to clear a path to the governor?s mansion for Christopher Christie, who launched the sting before leaving his post as U.S. Attorney and was campaigning as the arrests took place.

The defense strategy worked. A federal judge ruled that since Manzo was not a public official at the time he allegedly met with the government informant, he had no political favors to sell and charges against him were dismissed.

Even though Manzo won, however, he lost a lot in the process. The victory came with serious personal, professional, and financial sacrifices. But the experience has turned him into something of a crusader for the U.S. Constitution and for the rights of people facing charges from what Manzo calls over zealous federal prosecutors. Because he believes a lazy media and apathetic public helped create the climate that allowed the Bid Rig investigation to ruin the lives of many people ? some of whom have been found not guilty ? he?s taking his anger directly to the community.

On Tuesday, June 19, Manzo will give a talk titled ?A Movement for Justice to Safeguard Civil Rights? at the Miller Branch Library at 489 Bergen Ave. The talk begins at 7 p.m.

A path not chosen

?This isn?t a path I chose. I feel like this is a path that was forced on me,? said Manzo. ?Never in my dreams did I think I would be going through something like this. But since this is where I am now, I?m going to call attention to what I think is wrong with our justice system.?

Since his arrest, Manzo said he has been unable to find work and has essentially gone into a kind of forced early retirement. Once the owner of an insurance business, he said it cost him $125,000 to defend himself against the charges.

?This made me open my eyes to the other people that simply pled guilty, not only in this instance, but in other instances, simply to avoid the consequences of a lengthy defense,? said Manzo, admitting that he was fortunate to have an attorney who believed in his case. But to pay for his defense and support himself financially after his arrest, Manzo said he was forced to sell his business and home and also borrowed what money he could.

?I?ll never recover from this financially. I don?t foresee being able to recover.?

In the weeks following the July 2009 arrests, Manzo tried unsuccessfully to convince other defendants to band together and fight the charges against them.

?The U.S. Attorney?s office says, ?Manzo makes these allegations, but look at all these people that pled guilty.? But what people don?t realize is the enormous pressure they bring down to bear on an individual,? said Manzo. ?There is no individual on the face of the planet that has the ability to withstand a prosecution from the federal government.?

A new direction

With his professional and political life over, Manzo is now turning his attention to educating the public about the alleged dangers of unchecked political power and its impact on the civil rights of ordinary people. Next Tuesday?s appearance at Miller Branch Library is part of his new path. He is also completing a book that he hopes to sell to a major publishing house soon.

In addition to being critical of federal prosecutors, Manzo is also critical of the media, which he maintains ignored many aspects of the Bid Rig III investigation, which, he said, only obscured important details from the public.

?The media not only missed an opportunity to investigate some of this, they missed an obligation,? he said. ?This was a complex sting. But when I started to put out the information that we had uncovered from our investigation, and from discovery information, it showed clear corruption in the U.S. Attorney?s office.

?The real eye opener was when I revealed that many of the attorneys who had been working and investigating the case made contributions to Christie?s campaign and they violated their obligations to recuse themselves from the case,? he said. ?We dug up a Christie speech in February 2009 where he?s basically saying that he was in constant contact with these same attorneys in the U.S. Attorney?s Office and promising that he would give them jobs in Trenton. These conflicts of interest are not allowed. I spoon fed this information to the media and they ignored this story. They missed the boat.?

http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/fu ... ndary_stories_left_column

Jersey City politician Louis Manzo's demand for legal fees reimbursement is rebuffed by federal judge

Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 3:00 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Louis Manzo, the former Jersey City assemblyman whose corruption case was twice thrown out by a federal judge, cannot force the U.S. Attorney's Office to reimburse him for legal fees because he did not prove the government's conduct was frivolous, that same judge ruled Friday.

Manzo has been battling the U.S. Attorney's Office since his 2009 arrest, when he was caught up with 45 others in the massive corruption and money-laundering probe that put a host of Hudson County politicos behind bars.

But Manzo, whose second indictment on those charges was thrown out by Judge Jose Linares on Feb. 17, has not proved that the government's prosecution of him was malicious or intended to harass, according to Linares' ruling, which was filed yesterday.

"While the government argued a novel theory under the Travel Act in attempting to apply it to conduct of an unelected candidate for public office, said theory was not groundless or without any legal merit," Linares writes in his 10-page ruling.

Manzo was originally charged with two counts of extortion under the Hobbs Act and two counts of violating the Travel Act, alleging he crossed state lines to commit a crime. He was accused of agreeing to accept bribes from federal informant Solomon Dwek during Manzo?s unsuccessful 2009 campaign for Jersey City mayor.

Linares in May 2010 threw out the Hobbs Act charges, saying Manzo couldn't be charged under that federal statute because it applies only to public officials, not candidates for public office.

The U.S. Attorney's Office soon amended the indictment, charging Manzo with the Travel Act violations and one other charge, but Linares in February threw out that indictment as well. Manzo then sued to have $150,000 in legal fees reimbursed, claiming the government's actions were "vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith."

"The court's opinion confirms that this office acted in good faith," U.S. Attorney spokeswoman Rebekah Carmichael said yesterday.

Manzo said yesterday he was withholding comment while he and his lawyer determine whether Linares erred by ruling too early. The government's motion arguing against reimbursing Manzo's legal fees was filed April 16, and Manzo said he believed he had more time to reply before Linares ruled.

"We didn't actually complete our argument," he said. "Some of the points in the government's brief were absolutely falsehoods, so we didn't get a chance to make the court aware of that."

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2012/04/post_133.html

With corruption charges tossed, Manzo wants feds to reimburse $150,000 in legal fees

Thursday, March 15, 2012, 6:20 AM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

Lou Manzo, the former assemblyman and mayoral candidate, has filed a motion seeking to be reimbursed $500,000 for legal fees stemming from his arrest on corruption charges and the eventual dismissal of all the charges.

Now that every charge filed against former state Assemblyman Louis Manzo by the U.S. Attorney's Office has been thrown out by a judge, Manzo has filed a motion seeking to have $150,000 in attorney fees reimbursed under the Hyde Amendment.

The Hyde Amendment, which was enacted in 1997, allows for court costs to be reimbursed to criminal defendants where the court finds the position of the United States was "vexatious, frivolous, or in bad faith."
"What we filed today shows without at doubt that federal prosecutors broke the law and my question is why are they immune and why isn't anyone prosecuting them," Manzo told The Jersey Journal.

?It is stunning that someone who was recorded agreeing to sell the office for which he was running ? conduct a federal judge described as reprehensible ? would attack prosecutors who were following that evidence where it led," U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Rebekah Carmichael said tonight about Manzo's motion.
Manzo said he has lost his house and business as a result of the failed prosecution.

Compensation awarded under the Gyde Amendment would come out of the budget of the specific federal agency involved, in this case the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Manzo, a Democrat, has claimed from the beginning that the sting dubbed Operation Bid Rig III -- in which 46 people were charged on corruption and money laundering counts in July 2009 -- was part of a conspiracy to get Gov. Chris Christie elected.

Manzo was not an elected official at the time he was charged, but was running for mayor of Jersey City. He was originally charged with two counts of extortion under the Hobbs Act and two counts of violating the Travel Act, alleging he crossed state lines to commit a crime.
In May 2010, US District Court Judge Jose Linares tossed the Hobbs Act charges, saying the Hobbs Act only applies to elected officials.

The U.S. Attorney's Office then obtained two superseding indictments leaving Manzo facing two counts of bribery under the Travel Act and one count of failing to report that others were taking bribes. Last month Linares tossed those charges, too.

Christie was U.S. Attorney for New Jersey when the probe was launched, but left that office before the arrests were made. A spokesman for Christie's office has called Manzo's allegations absurd.

In the filing, Manzo alleges assistant prosecutors working on Bid Rig III were promised jobs in state government by Christie while working on the probe and they responded with donations to his campaign and were negotiating for the jobs after he was elected and while still working on the case.

The filing also alleges the government's informant, Solomon Dwek, "implicated prominent Republicans but the government never targeted them and instead sent Dwek into the Democratic County of Hudson to target people who had never been implicated in any wrongdoing," Manzo said.

Manzo said the filing also alleges the government forged some court papers.

Wouldn't it be fun if Manzo ran for Mayor again.

Political Insider: Manzo says he would like to return to his hometown

March 03, 2012, 5:24 PM
By Agustin C. Torres - The Jersey Journal
PHOTO: Terence McDonald - The Jersey Journal

He sat in the corner booth of the VIP diner in Jersey City looking just a tad grayer than the rainy Thursday.

Former assemblyman and longtime city politico Louis Manzo was dressed in his seasonal attire -- a gray v-neck sweater over a baby blue button-down shirt and a red-pattern tie. Manzo seemed relaxed, and he should be, after a U.S. District Judge dismissed the indictment against him, last month. He had been one of 46 people arrested by the FBI on either corruption or money laundering charges in 2009.

On the way to the diner booth, he had been stopped by a waitress and several customers in the Journal Square diner who recognized him and shook his hand.

He drove up from the Jersey shore where he has been living with his mother during his legal ordeal. Running for mayor had cost him a personal fortune of more than $1 million. Right after the unsuccessful campaign for mayor came the arrest and indictment. It was followed by 2 1/2 years of legal defense, and despite a break in legal costs, it still led to the loss of his Brunswick Towers home and any employment opportunity -- even at a fast food joint.

It was the first time I had chance to meet him when it wasn't behind a federal court room railing.

His disposition was sunnier than the weather, but also nostalgic.

"I drove down by my old neighborhood," he said. "It looks the same." This was on West Side Avenue down by St. Al's, a nice area near the entrance to Lincoln Park.
"I'd like to come back to live here, once I can afford to move," said Manzo who finds the winters along the coast a bit boring and prefers the hustle and bustle of returning "bennies" in the summer.

"This is my hometown," he said. "The energy and people -- I love it here."

Manzo's mood is different from the days after his indictment. Listening to him on the telephone then was like being a volunteer on a suicide hotline, except I was the wrong guy to offer help.

"I wanted to end it all," Manzo said at the diner. "How could I face anyone after the federal government said attacked my integrity? I had no life left."

I felt bad when he talked that way down the shore -- "the indictment is the punishment," he says.

Once, he was on a cellphone walking on a boardwalk in Belmar when talk about the undiscovered country started. I suggested that if he felt that strong about it, then go ahead and do it with flair -- swim to France. It was dark humor.

"Don't think I wouldn't," he'd respond.

And yet, here he was at the VIP. I asked: Did anyone talk to him after the arrests?

He thought about this for a second. Manzo said that in the early days of his legal troubles, when he felt lowest, he credits his former chief of staff in the Legislature, Mark Albiez, with keeping him focused on dealing with his legal problems, while former colleagues and friends treated him as an outcast, as if he never existed. Albiez is now chief of staff for Union City Mayor and Sen. Brian Stack. Manzo and Stack were not the friendliest after his failed election campaign in 2009. The Union City mayor thought the Jersey City politician had a better shot at running for county executive and Manzo felt he didn't receive much, if any, support.

Since the end of his legal headache, Manzo has been in demand among other defense attorneys whose clients are still fighting their Operation Bid Rig III indictments. Manzo seems to have found some purpose by becoming an expert on this federal case, but he doesn't see a big future as some kind of paralegal.

"The only people left in this thing are two minority women -- (unsuccessful City Council candidates) Lori Serrano and LaVern Webb-Washington," he said. "I will do what I can to keep them out of jail."

Manzo said someone like Webb-Washington has no chance in the legal system. He said that while other people have private defense attorneys waiting for them in the courtroom, Webb-Washington waits at the defendant's table for her public defender to make an appearance -- she doesn't seem to be a priority.

Manzo is beating the "there is corruption in the U.S. Attorney's Office" drum and he doesn't intend to stop pounding it. There were hints, although he would not

confirm it, that there may be a lawsuit against the federal government to recover legal fees. I see a potential lawsuit as another opportunity for Manzo to get his charges against the feds into a public record.

He passionately expresses his sour feelings about prosecutors and the FBI, although he said the agents who came to arrest him were very kind and polite by not handcuffing him until they reached the federal vehicle that fateful July 23, 2009. His lament that day -- other than the arrest -- was that he was one of the last to arrive at the federal building in Newark and the bagels, juice and coffee spread for the defendants was gone.

During a long and convincing monologue at the diner on prosecutorial misconduct, I looked under the table. He asked what I was doing and I smiled and told him that I wanted to see if he really needed a soap box while seated.

So what will Manzo do now? "I'll probably do some writing," he said. A first draft of a book on the inside of the Operation Big Rig sting and his dealings with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI is nearly completed.

If he moves back to Jersey City, would he also return to local politics, run for office again?

"Who would want me after this?" he laughed.

INSIDER NOTES

-- In 2004, New Jersey was ranked 43rd in the nation as to female representation in the state legislatures, according to the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), which has tracked this sort of thing since 1975, according to Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics.

With the appointment of three women to fill vacant seats in the Assembly, the Garden State has risen to 10th, its first appearance in the top ten since CAWP, an Eagleton off-shoot, tracked national figures. Women hold 11 seats -- eight Democrats and three Republicans -- in the Senate and 24 seats -- 15 Democrats and nine Republicans -- in the Assembly.

"New Jersey's success demonstrates how women can build their numbers," says CAWP Director Debbie Walsh. " ... They're leveraging professional experience and community involvement to show they're winners. And they're learning how politics works at the local, county and state levels, getting to know the decision-makers and power brokers so they're well-positioned when a vacancy occurs."

Two of the three add-ons are Republicans who were appointed to fill vacancies caused by the deaths of Republican assemblymen. Betty Lou DeCroce replaces her late husband, Assemblyman Alex DeCroce, while Donna Simon fills the seat of Assemblyman Pete Biondi, who died after being re-elected. Both women will have to run in special elections in 2012 for the remainder of the terms, which end in January 2014.

Simon was a member of the Readington Township Committee, while DeCroce was a deputy commissioner of community affairs in Gov. Chris Christie's administration.

Gabriela Mosquera, a Democrat who won an Assembly race in the 2011 elections, was removed for not meeting the state's residency requirement. Suddenly she was the obvious candidate to fill the 4th District seat on an interim basis. She will have to run in a special election in November 2012 to keep her seat.

It sounds like Jersey politics as usual, male or female.

-- I see the administration of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy pulled out that old nugget mined by the late Mayor Glenn Cunningham. It was announced that there are plans for a "mini-city" to rise up along Route 440 on 100 acres of chromium-tainted land.

We must be within a year of the next municipal election -- May 2013, yup.

Do you remember just before the May 2009 election, when a tent went next to the vacant lot where the old Hotel on the Square stood. While it rained before mostly labor union members, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez stood under the tent and endorsed Healy for mayor and both of them talked about the skyscraper of steel and glass that would be constructed.

The lot is still empty -- like the promises.

Remember the "Vision for Journal Square" development public presentations. We were getting a Champs-Elysees face-lift. Chumps-this-way is more like it.

How's that Powerhouse Arts District going?

The reason you got this "mini-city" announcement is because we are about to get mesmerized by a lot of smoke and mirrors for months, right up to next May's race. Also, Healy and company did not like the criticism that all those wonderful things he mentioned in his State of the City speech only made the city's Downtown look good.

Look for many ribbon cuttings, pseudo feel-good press releases, and extra number of senior citizen picnics.

Healy already managed to postpone the reval until after the election for glaringly obvious reasons. Although, those Mercer Street folks who live near Snooki and JWoww may have benefitted by the reval, if it held on time.

I'm waiting for when it's announced that the mayor is close to coming up with cures for the top three diseases facing mankind. There's a lot of catching up to do after a decade of nada accomplished.

One tip: If you want something done for your neighborhood, now is the time to ask City Hall.

-- On March 12 Congressman Bill Pascrell, who will be battling U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman for the new 9th District that includes Secaucus and part of Kearny, is hosting a fund-raiser. It is Pascrell's annual St. Patrick's Celebration at The Brownstone in Paterson. There are three donation levels, $300, $500 and a $1,000 PAC sponsorship.

Hudson County should be well-represented. I expect, of course, Joe Waks, the Bayonne Municipal Service director and former Pascrell staff member, to show up, more than likely Freeholders Bill O'Dea and Jeff Dublin, North Bergen Mayor and Sen. Nick Sacco, and others. Anyone who says they ain't going, let me know.

Pascrell says a couple of guests from Pennsylvania will attend. They are Congressmen Robert Brady and Mike Doyle, both Democrats, of course.

-- Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith must be doing a rain dance and praying for heavy wet weather today. A judge has given the Bayonne Tenant Organization time to get new signatures and refile their petition seeking a referendum on the future of the city's rent-control ordinance.

The City Council adopted a vacancy decontrol ordinance in November. The measure allows landlords to remove an apartment from rent control restrictions after a tenant moves or is legally evicted. The tenants' group are trying to kill that legislation that is being heavily backed by developers and real estate interests.

They have until next Friday to get 850 signatures and submitted 1,000 in December. City officials said the petitions were no good because the group only had their name on the cover page instead of every page.

Saturdays are a good day to collect signatures in front of supermarkets and other shopping areas. I'm amazed. In the past, an elected official who supports such legislation could kiss his political career good-bye.

Now its rain praying time.
http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index ... insider_manzo_says_h.html

Political Insider: Manzo talked back to feds from beginning -- and is off the hook

February 18, 2012, 12:46 PM
By Agustin C. Torres - The Jersey Journal

"The Ghost Who Walks" is also known in comics as "The Phantom." It could also apply to former Assemblyman Lou Manzo of Jersey City. Today, Manzo is no longer under indictment on corruption charges.

When Manzo was indicted in 2009 as part of the massive FBI investigation, he said his life was over, no matter the outcome. His date of death was July 23, when he was picked up among many politicians in a nationally publicized sting that saw 44 people cuffed and marched before TV cameras and news photographers.

I'll skip the heavy details of the indictments. Let's just say that in May 2010 a federal judge tossed the heart of the case out, extortion charges under the Hobbs Act, which only applies to elected officials. Manzo was running for mayor and was not an official. As far as I was concerned, the prosecution was essentially over.

The U.S. Attorney's Office then tacked on two superseding indictments, two counts under the Travel Act (going to another state to plan bad things) and one count of failing to report that others were doing bad things (taking bribes).

Yesterday, federal Judge Jose Linares released a 60-page opinion that dismissed the remaining charges.

While the longtime Jersey City politician won, it cost him his home, insurance business and savings to defend himself -- this after he spent a ton of money running for office. During his legal battles, Manzo was unable to find even a part-time job because the issue of his indictment would pop up.

It didn't stop him from challenging the U.S. Attorney's Office right from the start. When there were other defendants meekly pleading guilty to avoid long, protracted trials, Manzo went on the attack. Hooking up with Union City attorney John Lynch, the former legislator is considered very good at researching and coming up with some interesting bills, and he used his skills to help his defense.

While Lynch cringed a bit, Manzo was the first to verbally attack prosecutors when he held a press conference in the Heights calling Operation Bid Rig III an effort to bolster Chris Christie's gubernatorial campaign. As he railed against the federal complaints, many in the media considered him a nut case. I just thought it was Lou's pugnacious character determined to go down fighting.

Is it over? The U.S. Attorney's Office says it accepts the ruling but still took some potshots. It was pointed out that the judge called the alleged bribery reprehensible, but the meaning of the statement could be argued in a first-year law class. It was a generic comment by a judge discussing common law.

I believe that deep down U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman would love to appeal Linares' opinion. A social democrat, Fishman probably takes offense at the constitutional slap by the judge. The federal prosecutor's problem is that Linares delivered what appears to be a bullet-proof document. Besides quoting federal law, the judge must have looked at bribery law in all 50 states to support his opinion.

Legal arguments aside, with no trial, New Jersey residents have been cheated out of hearing the names of Republican officials in the state who met with FBI informant Solomon Dwek and who were never indicted. Those names were part of Manzo's expected prosecutorial misconduct defense and have never been publicly released by the court. Any appeal may mean eventually opening this can of worms.

Reached at his Jersey Shore residence, Manzo was pleased with the outcome but says it will be difficult for him to resuscitate his life. His name and corruption will come up in a Google search.

"The indictment is the punishment," he said.

Manzo praised his attorney. Last night, he was being inundated with telephone calls from well-wishers.

"I plan to answer every one of them," he said.

INSIDER NOTES

-- Manzo must have acquired some religion during the past few years. Here is Manzo's public statement:
"With God nothing is impossible -- he blesses the truth.
"John Lynch was an awesome Guardian Angel who delivered a truthful and brilliant defense.
"I am thankful for the many people who prayed vigilantly for this victory, which was delivered by a just God.
"It only takes a mustard seed of truth to topple a mountain of lies."

-- It is obvious that Juan Perez is planning to go after his old job as the Hudson County sheriff. Perez is planning a fundraising event at Puccini's in March.

-- Took a day, but here is Jersey City Councilman Steven Fulop's reaction to Mayor Jerramiah Healy's State of the City address that harped on how safe the city is despite comments by "fearmongers." Fulop's statement is below.

"The mayor continues to state things that are not rooted in reality. His comments are laughable when his appointed police chief for the last nine years and the newly appointed interim police director Comey all reside in South Jersey. That says all you need to know about the mayor's view on importance of city residency and doing things in-house, as he says."

-- A different column was written for today but the breaking news about Manzo required a do-over. The original column will probably be used during the week and the subject is about what that mysterious congressional poll I mentioned last week is really all about -- Cry "havoc," etc.

I also owe you a meeting I had with a Jersey City pol with ambition and some other fun items.

-- So tell me again about how they're restoring Peter Stuyvesant, etc. and how he'll make it back to Bergen Square by - what was it, last May or June?

-- Before I forget: I made a mistake in last week's column when I said they stopped using those small Confederate flags as table displays at the Jersey City Lincoln Association's annual dinner, held Feb. 12. I was wrong. They never stopped using the flags.

-- BTW, Manzo has pretty much completed a manuscript about his ordeal and Operation Bid Rig. I read the first few pages when it was being written. I suggested he get himself an editor and it needed some more car chases. I guess the next step is a literary agent. I always wondered who, outside of New Jersey, would be interested in such books. You'd have to ask "Jersey Sting" authors.

Ecstatic former state Assemblyman Lou Manzo reacts to dismissal of corruption charges

February 17, 2012, 7:32 PM
By Michaelangelo Conte - The Jersey Journal

"The truth is the truth," an ecstatic Lou Manzo told The Jersey Journal this evening, about an hour after learning a federal judge had thrown out all of the corruption charges he faced as part of Operation Bid Rig III.

"I went to church, thanked God, and now I'm just enjoying it,'' he said. "It was a hard-fought battle. Hopefully, I can get my life back."

The former state assemblyman from Jersey City said he was walking on the boardwalk in Belmar when his lawyer, John Lynch, called him with the good news.

"I was very happy about it," said Manzo, who was accused of taking more than $20,000 from FBI informant Solomon Dwek, who was posing as a developer seeking favors.

Manzo's life has been hit hard by his long and vocal battle since his arrest in July 2009.

"I went from making six figures a year to nothing," Manzo said. "I lost a home in Jersey City. I lost my insurance business in Jersey City. I have been fortunate my mom and my sister have helped me.''

Manzo has been living with his mother in Belmar.
On the day he and some 40 others were arrested, Manzo was placed in a holding cell with numerous others, including several rabbis charged in non-political portions of the massive sting. He couldn't imagine, he said today, why he had been charged.

"Why am I here?'' he recalled thinking. "And why are there so many rabbis?"
Manzo, who wasn't an elected official at the time of the alleged bribes, had recently lost a bid to become mayor of Jersey City when he was busted.

He faced two counts of bribery under the Travel Act and one count of failing to report that others were taking bribes. In a 60-page opinion filed by U.S. District Court Judge Jose Linares before 5 p.m. today, those charges were dismissed.

Manzo was originally charged with two counts of extortion under the Hobbs Act and two counts of violating the Travel Act, meaning he crossed state lines to commit a crime.

In May 2010, Linares tossed the Hobbs Act charges, saying the Hobbs Act only applies to elected officials. The U.S. Attorney's Office then obtained two superseding indictments, leaving Manzo facing two counts under the Travel Act and one count of failing to report that others were taking bribes.

On Jan. 26, Lynch, argued that the corruption charges against Manzo were bogus and part of a conspiracy to get Chris Christie elected as governor, a charge the governor's office has called "total nonsense.'' Christie had been the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey when the Bid Rig III probe was launched.

Lynch said today that Linares found the bribery statute does not apply to a candidate under the circumstances alleged by the government.

The government said Manzo should have reported the conduct of two people who took bribes, but Linares found that the conduct witnesses by Manzo was not criminal, Lynch said.

Now, Manzo said, he is working on a book about Christie, his election as governor and the Bid Rig III probe.
He is hoping, he added, that the government will not choose to seek a fourth indictment against him.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said prosecutors accept the judge's ruling.

New indictment filed against former Jersey City mayoral candidate Lou Manzo

Published: Saturday, July 09, 2011, 3:00 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal


Former Jersey City mayoral candidate Lou Manzo is facing more trouble from the U.S. Attorney?s Office, which yesterday filed a superseding indictment that adds one count of failing to report a felony to the two bribery charges Manzo already faced.

Manzo, one of the 46 defendants rounded up in the massive 2009 corruption sweep, allegedly agreed to ?accept corrupt cash payments and illicit political contributions? from federal informant Solomon Dwek, according to the indictment.

Manzo and his brother, Ronald, pocketed $27,500 in the scheme, and agreed to accept an additional $17,500 after the 2009 mayoral election, in exchange for assisting Dwek with his purported real-estate projects, the indictment states.

?I?m disappointed that they returned an indictment, and it seems like they ignored the testimony of their own witnesses,? said his attorney, John Lynch.

Lynch said he was referring to testimony in the recent corruption trial of former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, in which Ronald Manzo testified that he accepted the $27,500 without telling his brother about it.

Lou Manzo was previously charged, along with his brother, of seven extortion counts that were later thrown out by Judge Jose Linares because they were violations of a federal law that pertains only to public officials. Neither Manzo was a public official at the time the alleged crimes were committed.

Lynch said his client?s successful appeal of those charges has led to today?s indictment.

?This has now become more of a persecution than a prosecution,? Lynch said.

The new charge, failing to report a felony, stems from Manzo?s failure to report felonies committed by his brother and former Jersey City official Ed Cheatam, who pleaded guilty in 2009 to accepting bribes from Dwek.

This is the third time the U.S. Attorney?s Office has indicted Lou Manzo. The original indictment was filed in October 2009, while a superseding indictment from April 2010 added a mail-fraud charge. That count has been dropped from this indictment, as have the seven Hobbs Act violations.

Manzo, a Democrat, lost his 2009 mayoral bid to Mayor Jerramiah Healy. He represented Jersey City in the state Assembly from 2004 to 2008.

Quote:

========================
Also one yesterday:
========================

OPERATION BID RIG III

Former Jersey City Assemblyman Lou Manzo and his brother are due in federal court today for status conferences

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Former Jersey City Assemblyman Lou Manzo and his brother are due in federal court for status conferences today.

Last week, the U.S. Attorney's Office decided not to appeal a court decision from February that ruled the feds could not charge the Manzos under the federal Hobbs Act because the two were not public officials at the time of their arrests.

While the decision allows the brothers to escape the most serious corruption charges they faced, they are still charged with mail and wire fraud.

John Lynch, Lou Manzo's attorney, said last week he did not want to speculate about whether the feds would toss the lesser charges altogether.

Federal authorities also charged four other council candidates with Hobbs Act violations: former Councilman James "Jimmy" King, former Jersey City Housing Authority chairwoman Lori Serrano, LaVern Webb-Washington and Michael Manzo, who is not related to the Manzo brothers.

TERRENCE T. McDONALD

=============================
2 Jersey Journal articles today:
=============================

Government plans for 'superseding indictment' mean Lou Manzo could be facing more than mail and wire fraud charges

Friday, May 13, 2011
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - Former Jersey City Assemblyman Lou Manzo hoped for good news at a federal hearing yesterday but instead learned prosecutors will seek a superseding indictment against him and he may face more corruption charges.

Last week, the U.S. Attorney's Office decided not to appeal a court decision from February that ruled prosecutors cannot charge Manzo under the federal Hobbs Act because he was not a public official at the time of the alleged crimes.

The decision allowed the longtime Hudson County politician to escape the most serious corruption charges against him, but he still faces mail and wire fraud counts. John Lynch, Lou Manzo's attorney, said last week he did not want to speculate on whether the feds would toss the lesser charges altogether.

Following a short conference with the federal prosecutor in the judge's chambers yesterday, Lynch said: "The government has indicated it plans to issue a superseding indictment ... I would assume they are looking for more charges." He said the government will notify him of how it will proceed in 45 days.

"To me, there was no case left," said Lynch, referring to the Hobbs Act charges having been stricken.

Manzo, was originally indicted with his brother Ron and they were accused of accepting $27,500 in corrupt cash payments prior to the May 2009 Jersey City mayoral election and agreeing to take $10,000 for helping FBI informant Solomon Dwek get approvals for a fictitious Garfield Avenue development project.

Ron Manzo was also charged in a separate corruption indictment along with former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell. Ron Manzo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right yesterday in connection to the Elwell indictment and all other charges against Ron Manzo are to be dropped.

"To me, this is the U.S. Attorney's version of waterboarding," Louis Manzo said after leaving court yesterday. "They destroyed my life. This is not justice."

Manzo has accused the U.S. Attorney's Office of misconduct and on many occasions said the massive Operation Bid Rig probe that led to the arrests of more than 40 individuals in July 2009 was a ploy to get former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie elected governor.

========================

Hudson Country pol Ronald Manzo pleads guilty to passing bribe to former Secaucus mayor in remnant from 'Operation Bid Rig III' sting

Friday, May 13, 2011
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - Hudson County political operative Ronald Manzo pleaded guilty yesterday to passing a $10,000 bribe to former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell in exchange for Elwell's promise to provide official help to an FBI informant posing as a real-estate developer.

Manzo pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit extortion under the color of official right, the first count of the indictment in which Elwell is also charged.

The remaining counts against Manzo in the indictment will be dropped as part of the deal, as will charges against him in a separate indictment in which he and his brother, former Jersey City Assemblyman Louis Manzo, face similar charges.

The Manzos were arrested and charged in 2009, along with nearly two dozen other Hudson County political figures, as part of the massive Operation Bid Rig III sting in which FBI informant Solomon Dwek posed as a developer on the make for politicians and political fixers willing to accept bribes to help him get around zoning and other rules.

Ron Manzo admitted yesterday that during a meeting in 2009, Dwek told him he would pay cash for Elwell's assistance, officials said.

He admitted that at a later meeting with Elwell, Dwek said he would give them several installments, both before Elwell's upcoming June 2009 mayoral primary election and after the general election, officials said. At that meeting, Dwek gave Ron Manzo $10,000 in cash, officials said.

Ron Manzo admitted that at another meeting with Dwek he confirmed he gave cash to Elwell by writing "yes, no problem" on a napkin, officials said.

Finally, Ron Manzo admitted receiving more payments from Dwek, bringing the total to $42,500, officials said.

Elwell's attorney, Thomas J. Cammarata of Jersey City, said yesterday that Elwell is going to trial, jury selection begins June 13 and the trial starts on June 20.

"There are two separate cases here," Cammarata said. "There is one against (Ronald) Manzo and one against Elwell, and as far as we are concerned, the fact that (Ron) Manzo may have had criminal intent does not mean that Elwell had criminal intent. We have pleaded not guilty and are going to trial."

As to whether Ron Manzo will cooperate with prosecutors in Elwell's trial, his attorney, Peter Willis of Jersey City, said yesterday: "The subject of potential cooperation has only been briefly discussed and there is no agreement up to today."

"Over the past six weeks we spent a significant amount of time trying to devise a defense for trial but in the end, it was just too damn risky," Willis said after the plea. "It was in his best interest to put it to rest."

Ron Manzo faces 12 to 18 months in prison when sentenced Sept. 22 by US District Court Judge Jose Linares. He will also forfeit the $42,500.

Federal appeals court upholds dismissal of extortion charges against former Jersey City mayoral candidate Lou Manzo and his brother Ronald

Friday, February 18, 2011
By TERRENCE T. McDONALD
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A federal appeals court in Philadelphia upheld a lower court's ruling that threw out the most serious charges against a former Jersey City mayoral candidate and his brother, both arrested in the massive corruption sweep of 2009.

Lou Manzo, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2009, and Ronald Manzo, his brother and campaign manager, were charged with four counts of extortion. The U.S. Attorney's Office filed the charges under the Hobbs Act, a federal law prohibiting government officials from accepting cash for influence.

But the court yesterday ruled that the Manzos could not have violated the federal Hobbs Act, which prohibits extortion by use of force, violence, or "official color of right" because the Manzo brothers do not hold public office.

The Hobbs Act, the ruling states, "does not prohibit a private person who is a candidate from attempting or conspiring to use a future public office to extort money at a future date."

A district court came to the same conclusion last year. The U.S. Attorney's Office appealed, and yesterday's ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the earlier decision.

Lou Manzo is "elated" by the court's decision, according to his attorney, John Lynch.

"We said from the beginning this was an overreaching prosecution, and this validates us," Lynch said.

According to the July 2009 criminal complaint against the Manzos, the brothers met six times with informant Solomon Dwek that year, and accepted $27,500 from Dwek in exchange for the brothers' official assistance.

Dwek also agreed to pay the brothers an additional $17,500 after the May 2009 municipal election, according to the complaint.

U.S. Attorney's Office of New Jersey spokeswoman Rebekah Carmichael said she had no comment on whether her office would appeal this latest ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We are reviewing the court's decision to determine our next steps," Carmichael said.

The Manzos are also facing three additional counts of bribery and mail fraud. Those charges still stand

Former Jersey City assemblyman Lou Manzo, who won dismissal of some federal corruption charges, feels his "life is over, no matter what happens"

Friday, October 15, 2010
By BOB BRAUN
THE STAR-LEDGER

Lou Manzo cannot be called a winner. That's too much of a stretch. But, in the oddly circumscribed world in which he must live, the former Democratic assemblyman from Hudson County is less of a loser than his many of peers. His indicted peers.

The status isn't comforting. His relative luck in court, another source of misery.

"It just puts everything on hold," says Manzo. "It extends the misery."

Manzo stares out over the railing of the porch of his mother's home in Belmar. He is now, more or less, homeless, he says, because he sold his Jersey City home to pay his legal bills, bills growing as he waits for the resolution of the issue he initially won.

"Innocent until proven guilty - that's a myth."

Manzo is one of a score of political figures, nearly all Democrats from Hudson County, caught up in the federal sting operation in July, 2009.

Most defendants have either pleaded guilty or been convicted and, in the process, their lawyers have filed, argued and lost scores of legal motions.

Manzo's lawyer, however, succeeded in achieving what could become a major turning point not only in his case, in other sting charges, but also in corruption trials throughout the country.

The lawyer, John Lynch, persuaded federal Judge Jose Linares that Manzo could not be convicted of one the charges - extortion committed by a public official - because Manzo was not a public official. The federal statute prohibits public officials from using their offices to seek or accept anything of value "under color of official right."

When Manzo had the misfortune of meeting the government informant, Solomon Dwek, who was then masquerading as developer David Esenbach, the politician was only a candidate. Linares ruled prosecutors could not resort to "legal alchemy" to make Manzo an office-holder.

"We respectfully disagree," said Paul Fishman, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, whose office is appealing the ruling.

When Linares ruled, Manzo saw a legal mountain disappear. He was free to combat the other charges and bring motions charging prosecutorial misconduct.

"But then everything stopped - I'm in a cage with no way out," says Manzo, whose brother also is charged in the case. The cage was the decision by Fishman's office to appeal Linares's decision, and not to proceed with trying the charges until appeals courts rule - and the case conceivably could go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Manzo can't get a job or use any of three state licenses - he is a teacher and worked as a health inspector. He is, of course, a pariah among former political pals, a hooked fish whose twistings to become free are not a pretty sight to those who are not yet hooked.

"My life is over, no matter what happens," says Lou Manzo. "A day in jail, a day on the outside, it's all the same to me."

Political Insider: Credit Manzo's unwillingness to go along

By Agustin C. Torres/The Jersey Journal
May 19, 2010, 12:01AM

Essentially, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark suffered its biggest setback in about a decade. Federal prosecutors face an 0-2 count in its case against former Assemblyman Lou Manzo of Jersey City. They are still at bat and wondering if another curve ball is coming.

U.S. District Judge Jose Linares ruled that Manzo and his brother Ronald, also of Jersey City, cannot be charged under the Hobbs Act, a federal extortion statute. Linares said the law applies to those holding public office and both Manzos did not at the time of the alleged crime.

The brothers are accused of accepting $27,500 in bribes last year from FBI cooperating witness Solomon Dwek.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said they are reviewing the situation.

I would say that unsuccessful Jersey City council candidates Lavern Webb-Washington and Jimmy King, who both pleaded guilty to corruption charges, fall under the category of not holding a public office. I wonder how they feel after reading about how Manzo beat most of his charges. There are also pending cases that may be affected.

Manzo said he feels bad for Webb-Washington and King. He said the government "steamrolled" them.

Yes, but is having the heart of the case against you thrown out the same as saying you did not take any money?

"They expected me to come to them on my knees and plead," he said. "I committed no crime. It was contrived by the government."

What is his description of a crime "under the color of official right?"

It is this:

"Say a guy in the U.S. Attorney's Office promises to give people in the office outside jobs, if they would assist him in prosecuting cases that would help his political candidacy. This is under the color of official right."

Briefly, this is the foundation of an upcoming prosecutorial misconduct hearing with Judge Linares that Manzo, through his attorney John Lynch of Union City, initiated. Attorneys I talked to say it will be difficult for a defendant in a case to win such a session.

The Jersey City political figure is an extreme Green Bay Packers fan and his offense against the federal government is very Bret Favre-like (when he was with the Pack), an open offense. He has held a press conference attacking the prosecutors, the mass arrests, criticizing Gov. Chris Christie, who initiated the corruption probe, and ridiculing their case against him.

He also has barbs for the media, accusing it of giving the federal prosecutors a free pass.

"It's happening right under the nose of the Fourth Estate, a contrived crime," said Manzo, who has been called loony not only by his usual political opponents but also by some members of the press. He can be a little hyper, but Manzo also uses that energy to research his case, night and day.

There are some who are surprised by Linares' ruling. One who is not is Andrew Krieg, executive director of the Justice Integrity Project (www.justice-integrity.org), a nonprofit Washington, D.C., group that researches questionable cases and advocates reform.
It watches cases like that of former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and former Alabama Gov. Don E. Siegelman. Manzo is also on their leading cases list.

"I read about the Manzo ruling on (www.nj.com)," said Krieg yesterday. "(Manzo) is one of the rare defendants who is not beaten down by the overwhelming resources of the authorities.

"The authorities are not supposed to try to get everyone on every dubious charge. In Manzo, there should be some tough questions about why this case was brought."

All this does not mean Manzo is home free.

There are still charges of bribery -- actually violating interstate commerce by meeting in another state (Staten Island, New York) to commit an alleged crime. There is also wire fraud, actually mail, where Manzo is accused of failing to list any bribes as donations in his state ELECT reports.

He argues that it was Dwek and the federal government who chose the sites. "You'd meet with someone who says they want to make a donation," he said.

Manzo said he did not list bribes on his ELECT report because he never received any.

This is what a jury will be asked to decide, but they can at least expect Manzo to take the stand.

Judge tosses Hobbs Act charges against former Hudson assemblyman Lou Manzo and his brother By Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal May 18, 2010, 9:16PM A federal judge dropped extortion charges against former Jersey City assemblyman Lou Manzo and his brother Ronald Manzo today. The brothers had been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right and three counts of attempted extortion under color of official right. The U.S. Attorney brought the charges under the Hobbs Act, a federal law that prohibits officials from using government positions to obtain payments. But U.S. District Court Judge Jose Linares ruled that since neither brother was an elected official, or promising to influence an elected official at the time of the alleged crime, the Hobbs Act doesn't apply in this case. "The superseding indictment focuses the conspiracy and attempt charges solely on the allegation of misuse of Louis Manzo's potential future political office," Linares wrote in his 27-page decision. "Therefore, the government has presented no case factually on point to the present case and this court has not found one." Lou Manzo welcomed the legal victory. "I'm just thankful that my attorney made such an eloquent argument on the law and that the judge saw what was there and called it for what it was," Lou Manzo said. "This was in my opinion an abuse of authority by the federal government trying to expand the statute." While the judge dismissed four charges, the Manzo brothers still face two charges of travel in interstate commerce to promote, carry on and facilitate bribery, for allegedly traveling to Staten Island to accept bribes. They also face a mail fraud charge, which stems from an April 21, 2009 campaign finance report mailed to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission that does not disclose $17,500 in bribes the brothers allegedly accepted up to that point, according to the indictment. Manzo was running for mayor of Jersey City when he and his brother allegedly accepted $27,500 in bribes from a government informant in exchange for helping the informant, who was posing as a developer, with a future project. "We are reviewing the opinion and considering our next steps," U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Rebekah Carmichael said. . Lou Manzo maintained his innocence. "I never took a bribe, I never agreed to do anything, and the federal government knows it," Manzo said. Ron Manzo's attorney, Samuel DeLuca, called it an "appropriate decision." Lou Manzo's attorney, John D. Lynch, said he was "extremely pleased with the decision." Lynch was uncertain how the decision might affect other cases. The Manzos are among 44 people who were arrested and charged with political corruption and international money laundering in July

Lou Manzo attacks Gov Chris Christie

Apr 28, 2010 12:37 pm US/Eastern

Brothers Charged In NJ Sting Plead Not Guilty

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ― Two defendants in New Jersey's largest corruption sting pleaded not guilty Wednesday to additional charges.

Former Assemblyman Louis Manzo, of Jersey City, and his brother Ronald, who served as his political adviser, are charged with a new count of mail fraud. The counts were in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury and filed April 20.

The indictment charges the Manzos with devising a scheme to defraud candidates for Jersey City Council of $27,500 they allegedly received from a cooperating witness.

Louis Manzo's attorney, John Lynch, asked U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares for more time to examine what he said were contradictions in the government's charges against his client.

"The new indictment appears to be inconsistent with itself," Lynch said. "The original charge says it was a bribe given to my client by (undercover government witness) Solomon Dwek, the new charge says it was a campaign contribution ? I don't see how they reconcile; you're changing the argument midstream."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Gramiccioni told the judge, "There's nothing wrong with having two prosecutorial theories" in a case, adding that "someone can get a campaign contribution and still be charged with graft."

Linares granted Lynch four weeks to study the new charge and file any challenges to it.

Ronald Manzo and his attorney, Sam DeLuca, did not speak in court except to answer the judge's questions and enter the not-guilty plea. They declined to speak outside the courtroom as well.

The Manzos were among 44 people arrested in July 2009 in an investigation into political corruption and money laundering.

Seventeen people have pleaded guilty so far. One was convicted at trial.

Grand jury adds mail fraud to charges against former assemblyman, brother
By Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal
April 22, 2010, 3:50PM

A grand jury added a count of mail fraud to the charges against former Assemblyman Lou Manzo, of Jersey City, and his brother Ronald Manzo, who are accused of accepting bribes from a government informant.

The brothers were charged in July?s massive political corruption and international money laundering sting. At the heart of the charges is Solomon Dwek, a failed real estate developer, who was working as an FBI informant.

The superseding indictment returned this week and filed by the court today, accuses the brothers of devising a scheme to conceal $27,500 in bribes from Dwek from candidates running for City Council in Jersey City. Lou Manzo ran unsuccessfully for mayor last year on a ticket with seven council candidates. The slate had a joint fundraising committee. Ronald Manzo served as his brother?s campaign manager.

The mail fraud charge stems from an April 21, 2009 campaign finance report mailed to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, which does not disclose $17,500 in bribes the brothers allegedly accepted up until that point, according to the indictment.

In addition to mail fraud, the Manzo brothers are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right, and three counts of attempted extortion.

Each count carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The mail fraud charge carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. The government is also seeking $27,500 in restitution.

Also named in the indictment is Maher Khalil, who was employed at the city Department of Health and Human Services; former housing commissioner Edward Cheatam and late political consultant Jack Shaw, who is referred to as ?the consultant.?

Cheatam pleaded guilty in September to accepting $70,000 in bribes from Dwek and funneling $15,000 of that to the re-election campaign of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy. Healy has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Khalil pleaded guilty in September to accepting $72,500 from Dwek and funneling some of the money to City Councilman Mariano Vega. Vega had pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted $30,000 from Dwek. His trial is set to start Oct. 12 before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares.

Quote:

As someone pointed out on the original scandal thread, this is only what they were CAUGHT taking. A little here, a little there, it all adds up. Hopefully his jail time will too.

My thought on this is how CHEAPLY one can buy a Hudson County politician.
Gosh, almost everyone could afford at least one and the mob could buy them ALL, including all the judges, for chump change.

'Spains a lot about how this joint has been run the last century and the mess that it's in now.


As Bette Davis famously said: "What a DUMP!"

[quote] GrovePath wrote: 'There was an attempt to use a government sting to help elect Christopher Christie as governor of New Jersey,' defendant Manzo said By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal March 16, 2010, 1:25PM "It actually frightened me that this could happen in this country."
via videosift.com Ummmm... I think Mr. Manzo should watch this, to enlighten himself. This will explain everything...about his false ego that is... Just saying...

'There was an attempt to use a government sting to help elect Christopher Christie as governor of New Jersey,' defendant Manzo said

By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
March 16, 2010, 1:25PM


Former Assemblyman Louis Manzo of Jersey City, who faces a federal corruption trial, is at a press conference where he accuses the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office of orchestrating the massive corruption probe to politically benefit former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie.

Clearly of the mind that the best defense is a good offense, former Assemblyman Lou Manzo came out swinging yesterday, charging that the corruption probe that led to his arrest and dozens of others was a political ploy aimed at getting former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie elected governor.


Former Assemblyman Louis Manzo, who is facing a federal corruption trial, provides documentation of campaign donations by U.S. Attorney's Office staffers to Christie campaign.

"There was an attempt to use a government sting to help elect Christopher Christie as governor of New Jersey," Manzo said at a press conference in Jersey City yesterday. "I'm astonished at seeing the evidence we collected.

"It actually frightened me that this could happen in this country."

Manzo, 54, with his brother, Ronald, 65, are charged with accepting $27,500 in bribes from government informant Solomon Dwek. The bribes were allegedly handed over and accepted last year while Lou Manzo was waging yet another unsuccessful campaign to become mayor of Jersey City.

According to prosecutors, the Manzos promised to help Dwek gain approvals for a development he was supposedly building on Garfield Avenue.

The sting ultimately led to charges against 46 people, including two Hudson County mayors.

The sting was part of a plot to launch Christie into the governor's seat by individuals who stood to personally benefit by Christie's election, Manzo charged yesterday, singling out former Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra and former First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Brown.

Brown made headlines when it was revealed that she had borrowed money from Christie and owed him $46,000. She landed a state job after Christie was elected.

Marra left the USAO after he was appointed by Christie to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.

The assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting Manzo, Christopher Gramiccioni, contributed $500 to Christie's campaign, Manzo noted.

After winning the election, Christie promoted Gramiccioni's wife, Deborah, to the post of director of the Authorities Unit in the Governor's Office.

"I think it is obvious when you connect the dots that there was an attempt to use a government sting as an effort to help Christie's election," Manzo said.

Manzo hopes the state Senate, perhaps even Congress, will investigate the matter.

"He (Manzo) appears to be just another former public official in New Jersey charged with corruption who wants to divert attention from his own conduct," Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said yesterday.

"Maybe at his next press event Mr. Manzo could go into full detail about his conduct as described in the charges against him, but I don't think anyone will hold their breath," he added.

Twelve persons have already pleaded guilty in the massive money-laundering and corruption sweep.

Former Jersey City Mayor Leona Beldini, the first defendant to go on trial, was found guilty last month of accepting $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions from Dwek. Beldini was the treasurer for the re-election campaign of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, who has not been charged with any crimes.

Quote:

All this may be true however it is being used as subterfuge to avoid the fact that felonies were committed. Someone else in the Christie Crew may piece of crap but that is not a sufficient reason to get away with egregiously vile, corrupt and stupid crimes. IMHO anyone that takes such a substantial amount of money as a bribe should be incarcerated. There should be no "get out of jail free card" just because the one who caught you with your hand in the cookie jar represents opposing political forces.

Louie is still a loser. But he's right about Christie and his crew. Christie tried to get Menendez out of office and failed. He did succeed in smearing Joe Doria and embarassing Jon Corzine.

It wasn't hard for Christie to find fools like Lou and Guy Catrillo who'd take the cash. But it is interesting to see how all Christie's cohorts in the US Attorney's office now work in his Administration.

"You can't get something for nothing. Everybody remembers this except politicians."

P.J. O'Rourke

Quote:

OMG! How he fall for this trap!He should have known that no one would think he would become mayor or less their really dumb, or their playing him at his own game. who in their right mined would think this guy would ever become mayor!!! He probably was laughing inside when Dwek gave him the money because he knew he would never become mayor but the jokes on him!

"What If"

Manzo was not arrested and Healy was..

I think Lou would have a different take on this...

These criminals were the "victims" of a political attack??? I just spit up my coffee from laughing so hard. Trying to lay this as the ground work for a defense??? Good luck with that strategy. Attacking to get a deal??? Hope one never comes and you piss off the prosecuting attys.

From the Hudson Reporter:

JERSEY CITY AND BEYOND - Former state assemblyman Louis Manzo at a press conference in Jersey City on Monday blasted the federal government's July 2009 corruption probe, claiming it was tainted by misconduct by prosecutors involved in the case.

Manzo was arrested on July 23 as the part of the sting, which netted public officials and religious leaders on bribery and money laundering charges. Manzo and his brother Ronald were both charged with allegedly accepting $27,500 in corrupt cash payments from government informant Solomon Dwek in exchange for Manzo?s official assistance on development matters once he became mayor.

Manzo at the press conference took to task assistant U.S. Attorneys prosecuting his case and others.

He said they ran afoul of federal law with actions such as donating to the campaign to former U.S. Attorney, now Gov. Chris Christie. Many of them were hired for jobs in Christie's administration, he said.

"It is shameful that this once great symbol of law and order has denigrated into the characteristics of a political ward club," Manzo said.

Also, Manzo called for an investigation of the attorneys by the federal government. Manzo said he filed a motion of misconduct regarding the attorneys with U.S. District Judge Jose Linares and will be in court on Monday for a hearing on the matter. - RK

ANOTHER 2 INDICTMENTS
Story of Elwell writing message on a napkin

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell and political associate Ronald Manzo were indicted yesterday on corruption charges as part of the massive federal probe that resulted in the arrest of 44 people in July.

The indictment charges Elwell and Manzo with conspiring with former Jersey City Housing Authority commissioner Edward Cheatam and others to extort cash from FBI informant Solomon Dwek in exchange for Elwell's promise to help Dwek obtain government approvals for a fictitious hotel project in Secaucus.

Elwell accepted a $10,000 bribe and Manzo received $5,000 from Dwek, the indictment says.

Cheatam pleaded guilty on Sept. 18 to accepting $70,000 in bribes from Dwek, including $15,000 that he said was funneled to Mayor Jerramiah Healy's re-election campaign. Healy has not been charged.

"We are going to enter a plea of not guilty," Elwell's attorney, Thomas Cammarata of Jersey City, said yesterday. "Our client, is not guilty and we intend to try the case. We intend to vigorously defend him."

Manzo's lawyer, Samuel DeLuca of Jersey City, could not be reached last night.

This is the second indictment on corruption charges for Manzo, who was indicted on Oct. 6 with his brother, Louis Manzo, a former state assemblyman who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Jersey City several times.

The October indictment alleges the Manzos accepted $27,500 in bribes in exchange for Louis Manzo's anticipated official assistance to Dwek once he became mayor of Jersey City. Louis Manzo was running for mayor at the time of the alleged crime.

At a meeting between Dwek, Elwell, Ronald Manzo and Cheatam at a Secaucus restaurant on May 28, Dwek told the former mayor he was "trying to make a relationship" with Elwell and that "[a]nything I do, I'll do through" Manzo, the indictment says. Elwell responded, "Right, right."

Dwek said he would give Manzo $10,000 for Elwell and "do another $10,000 after the primary," which was to be held on June 2, 2009, the indictment says.

Dwek told Elwell the money was given to secure Elwell support for his projects and Elwell nodded, the indictment says.

When Elwell, Ronald Manzo, Cheatam and Dwek met five days later, Dwek asked Elwell if he received the $10,000 and the former mayor wrote, "Yes. No problem," on a napkin, the indictment says.

When all four met again on July 17, Dwek asked Elwell if all was "fine with" the May 28 payment and Elwell responded, "Yes," confirming he received the money from Ronald Manzo, according to the indictment.

Brothers plead not guilty in NJ corruption probe

SAMANTHA HENRY

The Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. - Two more people charged in New Jersey's largest corruption probe have pleaded not guilty.

Louis Manzo, a former state assemblyman who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Jersey City, and his brother and political adviser, Ronald Manzo, entered their pleas in Newark federal court Thursday.

They are both charged with conspiracy to commit extortion for allegedly taking $27,500 in corrupt cash payments from an undercover FBI informant for use in Louis Manzo's failed campaign for Jersey City mayor.

Lawyers for both men say they'll request more time to review the government's evidence, which includes videotaped conversations that purportedly show their clients talking to the cooperating witness, identified as Solomon Dwek, who was arrested for bank fraud in 2006 and later became an informant.

The Manzos were among 44 people arrested July 23 in a two-track investigation into political corruption and money laundering that netted several elected and appointed officials and religious leaders.

A 45th person, Jersey City Councilman Philip Kenny, who also met with the informant but was not arrested in the July sweep, pleaded guilty earlier this month.

Ronald Manzo's lawyer, Sam DeLuca, declined to comment.

Louis Manzo's attorney, John Lynch, said he had viewed some of the videotapes involving his client.

"I wasn't impressed by them , because of Mr. Dwek," Lynch said of the tapes. "The question I have in this case is how does Mr. Dwek get the starring role in the government's big production?"

Dwek, of Ocean Township, is the son of a prominent Monmouth County rabbi. Dwek was accused in 2006 of cheating PNC Bank out of about $22 million by depositing two $25 million checks that were drawn on a closed account, then withdrawing nearly half the money.

He became a government cooperator, alternately posing as a failed businessman looking to launder money through his contacts in Syrian Jewish enclaves in Brooklyn, N.Y. and Deal, N.J., and then presenting himself as a successful developer seeking to exchange cash for favors throughout Hudson County.

The Manzos are among about a dozen elected and appointed officials caught up in the sweep who had ties to Jersey City.

Louis Manzo came in second in the May election for mayor of Jersey City, which was won by incumbent Jerramiah Healy. Healy, who received 53 percent of the vote to Manzo's 26 percent, has neither been arrested nor charged in the probe.

Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, who was arrested and indicted in the probe, has pleaded not guilty. She is expected to be the first defendant in the wide-ranging case to go to trial, possibly in December.

Six people have pleaded guilty in connection with the investigation.