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Sorry, as hard as you might try to humanize McCann and gloss over the past, the truth still remains : He is an arrogant and venal bully with a grandiose view of his accomplishments in life.

That Felon Inspecting Trash? He Used to Be Mayor
By EVAN SERPICK
The New York Times
Published: October 7, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/nyr ... eye-on-trash.html?_r=1&hp

My encounter with Gerry McCann began with a warrant for my arrest.

In August, my wife and I sold our house in Jersey City. About a month later, I got a call from the new owner, who had received some ?important-looking? mail addressed to me. I asked her to open it. She did, and gasped ? not a good sign.

?NOTICE OF WARRANT FOR ARREST ISSUED,? it read at the top. It did not explain why the warrant was issued, but it did suggest that I report to the police in order to post bail, which was listed at $1,000.

I didn?t recall committing any crimes, so I called the municipal courthouse. I discovered that the warrant was issued after a ticket from the Jersey City Incinerator Authority had gone unpaid. Apparently, my tenants had left some garbage out a day early when they moved out in August. A $106 ticket was mailed out but never received. When a month had passed without payment, the warrant was issued.

After pleading my case several times and being forwarded to various municipal offices, I was told I had to speak to the inspector who issued the ticket, Gerry McCann, and was given his cellphone number. After I explained my case, Mr. McCann was surprisingly sympathetic.

?I?m going to see the judge later ? I?ll get her to dismiss the warrant,? he said. ?Just make sure you send her a check for the fine, and make sure you mention my name.?

I hung up, relieved. But something about Mr. McCann struck me as strange. He was nothing like the countless bureaucratic functionaries I?d dealt with over the years. He was confident, reasonable ? and able to actually solve a problem on the spot. Also, his name apparently carried some weight, and he seemed to have an oddly close connection to Chief Judge Nesle A. Rodriguez.

On a lark, I Googled him. All the links referred to Gerald McCann, a twice-elected former mayor of Jersey City. ?Well, that ain?t him,? I thought. Then I noticed that Mayor McCann had been removed from office in 1992, after being convicted of a savings-and-loan scam, and spent two years in federal prison. I wondered if it could be the same man. Then I came across a topic from February 2010 on a local political Internet forum: ?City Hires Former Mayor and Felon, Gerry McCann.?

?Yeah, that?s me,? Mr. McCann said when I called him back. (This time I smiled at his ring-back tone: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers? ?I Won?t Back Down.?) For those familiar with Jersey City politics, the irony of the former mayor?s employment with the incinerator authority is especially thick.

Mr. McCann?s trial, which related to investments made in the four years between his two terms in office, proved to be particularly contentious. Michael Chertoff, who went on to become Secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush, was the prosecutor. Mr. McCann, who vehemently denied wrongdoing ? and still does ? assailed Mr. Chertoff.

?They were insane to bring this case in the first place,? he announced at one news conference. ?And we are going to send Mr. Chertoff back to preparing wills. Maybe I can find him a job driving a sanitation truck in Jersey City.?

Mr. McCann, tucked into a booth in the VIP Diner in Jersey City, allowed a small smirk after being reminded of the comment. ?It just so happened that this is the job I like doing,? he said. ?Chertoff handled Katrina, so you get an idea of how competent he is.?

At 61, Mr. McCann still has the glad hands of a politician. Within 10 minutes of sitting down, he had been recognized and greeted by former Councilman Ben Lopez, who sang the former mayor?s praises ? ?Without him, a lot of that development downtown would never have happened,? he said ? and a local building manager who has been ticketed by Mr. McCann several times. He was less enthusiastic, but still friendly.

Mr. McCann was 31 when he was elected mayor in 1981 ? the second youngest in the city?s history. He takes credit for promoting waterfront redevelopment, helping spur an economic boom and attracting young professionals from New York. As a Democrat, he was an early and vocal supporter of Ronald Reagan ? who kicked off his 1980 campaign in Jersey City ? which helped lure federal money to the city. Mr. McCann lost a bid for re-election in 1985, but he won back the office in 1989 and served until his 1991 conviction.

The trial revolved around Mr. McCann?s 1986 partnership with a Florida savings and loan association to develop a marina in Liberty State Park. The S.&L. sent Mr. McCann $300,000 to develop a proposal for the project, but the government contended that the former mayor spent the money on a leased Mercedes-Benz, rare coins and other luxuries, and failed to deliver a proposal. Mr. McCann maintains that he did nothing improper and earned less than $60,000 for his work on the project over two years.

?If you go against the federal government, you?re going to lose ? it?s almost impossible,? he said, explaining the conviction. ?The government wins, like, 98 percent of the time.? Mr. McCann, an accountant by trade, served his two-year sentence in the low-security Allenwood federal prison in Pennsylvania, where he did the payroll and cost accounting. ?It was one of the funniest times of my life,? he said. ?I had my own car there.?

After getting out, Mr. McCann wanted to return to politics in Jersey City and tried unsuccessfully to challenge the prohibition against felons running for office. Nonetheless, he has remained in the political mix, and not without contention.

He served as an adviser to various campaigns over the years and won election to the Board of Education in 2007, though he was also sued by one of his opponents in the race who claimed that Mr. McCann had improperly signed up voters in a nursing home; the case was eventually dropped. Later, it was suggested that Mr. McCann had leaked pictures of Jerramiah T. Healy, one of the candidates in a 2004 special election for mayor, naked and drunk on the porch of his house. Mr. McCann denies it. (Mr. Healy won and remains Jersey City?s mayor.)

He first worked for the incinerator authority as an inspector 10 years ago, but he was fired in 2004 (as payback for supposedly leaking the photos, he claims, though the authority?s chief executive, Oren Dabney, said it was over policies and procedures).

He started at the job again last January, earning $50,000 a year, as an environmental services monitor, a non-uniformed inspector who follows up on complaints about illegal dumping and other compliance issues throughout the city. But he still does not see eye-to-eye with his superiors. ?He?s overly aggressive at times,? said Mr. Dabney, who recently suspended Mr. McCann for failing to give people warning before issuing tickets (hello!). ?We want to educate people, give them the benefit of the doubt, but Gerry has a strong work ethic ? a little too strong maybe.?

Mr. McCann dismissed Mr. Dabney?s concerns, as he does others who have criticized him. ?Whatever I do, I give it 100 percent,? he said. ?They ask me to give out tickets, I?ll give out tickets all day. I?ll go sit on sites at 2 in the morning.?

Walking around Jersey City with Mr. McCann makes it clear that he is not a disgraced man. There are the occasional shouts of ?Hey Mayor!? and Mr. McCann?s running commentary includes a tour of buildings that were developed during his administration, along with properties he has recently ticketed.

There is also the endless reserve of Jersey City trivia: ?Jackie Robinson played his first major league game here?; ?The original Ozzie and Harriet lived in that building right there?; ?The Stanley Theater was once the second-biggest in America, behind Radio City.? He brags about growing up with Robert Bell from Kool and the Gang, suing New York for control of the Statue of Liberty, and meeting Richard Nixon, who told him, ?I read about you in The Bergen Record!?

?Frank Sinatra hated Hoboken,? Mr. McCann declares at one point, citing Jersey City?s next-door rival, the birthplace of Ol? Blue Eyes. ?He moved to Jersey City and lived here for nine years ? he married a Jersey City girl, and his first two kids were born here!?

He could have gone on all day, but Mr. McCann had to get to track practice ? he coaches the St. Peter?s Prep team ? at 3:30.

?People ask me all the time if I have any regrets and I tell them no,? he said. ?I have three daughters and four grandchildren that I love. I get to coach track, which I love, every day. I don?t need money ?cause I don?t have bad habits.

?I?ve had a successful life,? he said. ?I had a lot that I had to deal with, but it?s not my whole life.?

What has convicted felon Gerry McCann been up to lately ... ?Probably a good idea to keep some light on him. I really hope that the Board of Ed has taken some measures to insure that convicted felon is not allowed to run for the school board again.

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Sorry you will waste your vote, but others here, mothers and fathers, teachers, informed voters who rent and own, have children or not, all will vote tomorrow to fight the school board corruption and fiscal mis-management that raises our taxes, could raise others rent and most definitely will impact all of us in JC.

Vote for the Future of your Children. Vote for your own Future, and consider that this election for the school board is the most important election that will start to end the corruption in JC, the fiscal mis-management and the cronyism that puts those on the board with criminal pasts and ongoing criminal activities.

Vote April 20th, Tuesday, 2-9PM!

I wonder who Gerry will vote for. You know, since he himself can't vote and all....

Does any one have photos of the stickers & mess McCann's campaign has posted all over the city?

I agree about the inconvenient hours (2PM-9PM). I can't say it is intentional, but it does further limit us. I think a complaint to the Board of Electors would at least give voice to the problem and consistent calls to the council requesting the election be moved to November.

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Look again, Captain.

"Understand me, I'm not saying that McCann should work at the Incinerator Authority or hold elected office."

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Tomorrow is a crucial election and we have a chance to chart a new course for Jersey City. As Councilman, I have worked week after week to fight the political establishment and move Jersey City forward, but tomorrow is the biggest opportunity we have had in a long time. The best way to improve Jersey City is by replacing decision-makers who care little about the tax payers with those who do care. Tomorrow is that chance.

Please remember to vote tomorrow as I need your help. Please support Carol Lester, Sterling Waterman and Angel Valentin to be elected on to the school board. Vote for 3A, 5A, and 8A ? Sterling, Carol, and Angel for the Board of Education.

The polls are open 2-9pm tomorrow and if you have any questions please respond to this email.

Sincerely

Steve

I would not deny a convicted felon the right to employment. If they are qualified and fulfill their duties, they should earn a wage.

A convicted felon is not qualified to hold public office.

Gerry McCann is blanketing the city with campaign stickers, etc. The garbage he's pasting public and private property has his face all over it. Illegal dumping & littering is an abuse of the city. He is not fulfilling his duties as an employee on the Incinerator Authority.
He should lose his position.

Tell me, you say his position "wreaks of patronage" and yet you defend his right to hold on to it?

There are many deserving, more qualified people out there who would fulfill their duties if given a position on the Incinerator Authority. Some may even have criminal records.
Gerry is no reformed criminal. He is an active criminal con artist.

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Yeah, because the only good people in this city live downtown. ignoramus.

Also, Lord knows McCann has done some dirt in this town and this job at the Incinerator Authority reaks of patronage, but the fact that he is an ex-con is not reason enough to deny him or any other ex-offender the opportunity to make a living. Understand me, I'm not saying that McCann should work at the Incinerator Authority or hold elected office. But if someone (anyone) has served their time, they shouldn't be denied work.

This thread has made me decide that I should vote for McCann.

is this true or urban legend

7. After losing the mayoral election of 1985 he glued all the locks in city hall and defecated on his desk before he left.

Arnold Diaz from Shame on You comes to mindQuote:

Who is the authority we can appeal to that would levy fines & punishments to candidates who have littered? I am serious. We should force whichever city entity is "responsible" to confront the issue--even if their response is to do nothing--at least they will be doing nothing in the face of an active community. And I know it might be the Incinerator Authority (and that McCann is a paid employee). All the better for attracting the news vans.

Melissa you fool - standing side by side with a felon with little regard for the law doesn't give you any credibility of making wise choices or moral standings.

Sorry Melissa, but with that sort of blind loyality, I wouldn't vote for you to run to the store to fetch me a can of coke.

McCann must be hung like a horse or he has promised you some sort of position if elected - Pity you don't put the community first !

Stupid is as stupid does.

Another interesting historical tidbit on McCann. What a great example he sets for children:

Ex-Mayor Must Stay Home
By ANDY NEWMAN
New York Times
Published: April 15, 1997


JERSEY CITY? April has been a cruel month indeed for former Jersey City Mayor Gerald McCann. Ten days after a judge ruled that he could not run for his old job because he was still technically serving part of a tax fraud sentence, Mr. McCann was ordered yesterday to serve six months under house arrest for failing to report a 1995 drunken-driving arrest to his probation officer. Judge John C. Lifland of Federal District Court ruled that Mr. McCann had also violated the terms of his supervised release program by drinking excessively.

Although Mr. McCann's plans to run for mayor in next month's election have been dashed, the judge granted him two hours of freedom per day to campaign for City Council candidates. Councilwoman Melissa Holloway said she would still campaign beside Mr. McCann. ''His personal life's gone haywire,'' she said, ''but we will go on out there and continue on.''

The City should have them clean it up or go after the money it's going to cost to do it. They appeared in my neighborhood on Kennedy, seemingly overnight. City doesn't have any funds to squander.

Get the money.

Campaign signs are hanging all over county and city roads on public property including light poles. Every light pole in front of the Hudson County Courthouse has a campaign poster for the Patel, DeHere, McCann Team. This is illegal and a gross amount of taxpayer funds will be expended cleaning it up.

I am enclosing the Jersey City Municipal Code, Chapter 81 on Advertising Materials, Article 1 Governing the Posting of Handbills and Signs. This code clearly indicates that this practice of hanging campaign literature on public property is illegal and punishable.

The members of the Jersey City Teachers Union are not at all surprised to discover that one of the candidates on these illegally posted ads is Gerry McCann himself, a former felon. He is up to unscrupulous business as usual.

Jersey City teachers are outraged that these signs are littering our public property. They are glued on to the light poles, not taped or stapled, and will therefore leave filth behind for years to come. The message being sent to the young people of our City is, "It is ok to deface public property."

Gerry McCann and company speak of saving taxes, yet are costing the city taxpayers unknown amounts of money to clean up their waste.

We are calling upon all Jersey City enforcement agencies to crack down on candidates who illegally post signs on public property by enforcing the local municipal laws.

The Jersey City police department should detain all who break this law which negatively impacts the quality of life of all residents. The Department of Public Works should begin an audit of all signs hanging on public poles and issue a fine to the Patel, McCann, and Dehere team for the cleanup of this mess.

McCann, Patel and Dehere are hypocritical when they say they want to save tax dollars. They say they want to save tax dollars. But their actions are contrary. They are arrogantly and belligerently ignoring the laws in the City of Jersey City and their mess will cost taxpayers if this is ignored.

This is not the first time that Gerry McCann broke the law, but it should be the last.

The signs hanging on public property right outside the Hudson County Courthouse, a justice building, are the most offensive. Let?s start there.

Stop having Jersey City taxpayers, public school teachers and parents clean up and pay for Gerry McCann?s mess! We?re already paying his salary at the Jersey City incinerator authority. Isn?t that enough?!

I am a concerned citizen who is sick of crooked politicians using government for their self gain. I feel the citizens, and especially their children deserve better then a CONVICTED FELON THIEF like Gerald McCann.

He is known for threats, against even the prosecutor who convicted him. I am not so much scared of him but his crooked cop friends; they scare me. I know what they are capable of.

I am so thrilled that websites like this let me speak out about politics without littering the city with slogans. I am especially happy that it lets people get the word out about powerful criminals like Gerald McCann.

Gerald have you Googled yourself? That is your legacy. The only thing bigger than your greed is your ego. Must really suck.

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Is Siculo your last name Or are the transparentcy rules only for everyone else.McCann is a low life who needs to be rejected on tuesday.

I LOVE how McCann has taken an ad on JCList!

In his frame of logic I am sure he expects the webmaster to now censor negative posts about him now that he is paying for an add.

Thats the way it works in McCann's world. I don't think it is gonna get you too far in this 21st century portal of free speech.

I hope the webmaster got the check BEFORE running the ad McCann was convicted of FELONY THEFT so I wouldn't expect him to pay his bills . . . especially if his bribe tactic doesn't work out like he wants.

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Number 1 is all I need.

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Why don't you grow a set and tell us all who you are along with backing all the trash that your stating in your comments with factual reference points?
Until then your a Troll who finds pleasure in slandering people. what a life, I mean you should get one!!!

Gerry must really be starting to feel the heat.He was in court yesterday trying to delay the election.Most likely setting up his excuse for why he lost.

#11 Think about this.He was hired by healy to be a litter inspector and catch people who are dumping on the city yet while on duty he has plastered the city with glue on signs.This is exactly what he was hired to stop.One set of rules for Gerry and another for the rest of us.

FedUp - Great idea! Great list! I changed yours a little bit and added a couple of my own.

EVERYONE should do this and PASTE IT TO YOUR FACEBOOK STATUS until the election!


1. As a convicted felon in a bank fraud case he should not be anywhere near a 630 million dollar budget let alone the children of this city.

2. As a school board member he pushed through a no bid contract for the accounting firm he used to work for.

3. He had the school board pay his personal attorney over $50,000 so he could defend his right to serve on the school board even though he was a convicted felon.

4. He has gotten friends and McCann loyalists jobs at the BOE.
One was fired from his last job for drug use.

5. During his time as mayor he tried to suppress the minority
vote by having an elevator cable cut in the housing projects.

6. As mayor he stationed uniformed police outside all polling
stations in minority area's to suppress the vote.

7. After losing the mayoral election of 1985 he glued all the locks in city hall and defecated on his desk before he left.

8. He has repeatedly trolled nursing homes and coerced seniors into voting absentee for him which is illegal. He is so good at manipulating the elders and infirm that he has been hired by other politicians to help them do it.

9. We are sick of politicians blaming teacher?s salaries for citizen?s financial woes when it is the POLITICIANS and BANKERS who bear the vast majority of blame.

10. He has no real interest in education and only serves on the school board because as a convicted felon that is ironically the only political position he can hold to further his own financial interests, political power, and ego.

Agreed, while he attempts to come across that he is doing this for the children in his clean-cut looking, smooth talker ways, he is not doing this for the children, it is all smoke and mirrors. This is all about him and his self-serving ways.

One word describes Gerry McCriminal - FELON!

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It couldn't have been more obvious from his thinly veiled attacks that Gerry is running scared.

To me, the highlight of the night was when McCann attacked another candidate for not adhering to his principles. Principles!! What, exactly, are the principles of Gerry McCann???

The runner up for highlight of the night was the two incumbents who are running together continued to rail against the status quo and the problems inherent in the system. Gee fellas, you've had three years to do something about it - maybe you should step aside and make room for people who are serious about reform and not just adopting a populist campaign stance.