.
Hey Raj was that you tearing up NJTP on 3/28/13 around 5:00 pm driving about 80+ mph? (trying to out do your buddy Corzine?s crash?) You cut me off around exit 13 in the 55 mph zone. Too bad there wasn?t a trooper around. I would have liked to see if those charges would have been reduced like the ones in this long thread. Who was the guy in the front seat on the phone? It looked like Healy. I remembered the distinct car color and license plate from the picture below in post # 48.

** **
I don?t even care about your past indictments of impersonating a U.S. Defense Intelligence agent , stalking two women, burglary, contempt of court and witness tampering. Those were somehow reduced or dropped ..great. (did you get to keep the golden badge?) I think your defense was .. ?you were young and intoxicated?. God knows we have all done stupid things when we were young?and intoxicated. (just ask Healy well maybe not the young part right Jerry?)

Maybe that sentence (no pun intended) in PolitickerNJ should have read: ?How long will it take before the BIGhouse is redubbed " Raj-catraz ?" (lol)

I just still for the life of me can?t understand how a partner/owner in a major lobbying firm (Impact NJ) that has clients that do business with HC/JC is a JC Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Jersey City Housing Authority. (wait Healy appointed him maybe I do understand)

** ***
(hey Fulop watch your back in the debate on Apr 17th at SPU. It is not only moderated by PolitickerNJ.com,(I recall Healy?s guy Raj was either a founder or dept. head when it was PoliticsNJ.com) But it is also moderated by the executive director Nicholas Chiaravalloti of the GUARINI Institute for Government and Leadership who I am pretty sure was a director for U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez before running unsuccessfully for an assembly seat. Good luck)

Mr. Mukerji's getting the nod for the Assembly seat is a reward for him bringing money to the formerly cashless Healy campaign.

As someone who makes his primary income from lobbying, Mr. Mukerji can be expected to abstain from a lot of votes. (Sound of loud laughter echoes through the Statehouse hallways.)

Wow. This guy sounds like a real douchebag.

Has he done anything positive for Jersey City besides make backroom deals to fund his d-bag lifestyle?

I wonder how much time and money he spends helping others.

By PolitickerNJ Staff | March 29th, 2013 - 11:29am

Raj Mukherji - A lock to win the 33rd District Assembly seat, the likeable deputy mayor from Jersey City will be the second Indian American serving in the legislature, joining Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula (D-17). How long will it take before the Statehouse is redubbed "The Raj Mahal?"



Read more at http://www.politickernj.com/64330/win ... ico-and-man#ixzz2Ox2GQuOR

Quote:

Yeah - Go Raj! Well, except for the "elected" and "no felony arrests" parts....

I'm all for elected officials who have no felony arrests. Go Raj!

Awesome. If I was a girl I?d totally let him stalk me.

The Deputy Mayor Of Jersey City Is A Gearhead

Jalopnik
August 31, 2012
Travis Okulski

I'm not rich or cool enough to live in Manhattan, so each evening I slog home from Jalopnik world headquarters to scenic Jersey City, NJ.

But it ain't all that bad. Yes, I live one block from where Snooki and JWoww did, but last night I discovered that our Deputy Mayor drives a green Porsche Cayman R.

Niiiiice!

It appears Deputy Mayor Raj Mukherji made the money for the Cayman through Impact NJ, a New Jersey based lobbying firm. If true, that means there is at least one NJ politician that didn't get it through corruption, the mafia, or other dubious means. Yay!

And because he made more than $500,000 from that job in 2011, he decided to only accept $1 as his salary for being the Deputy Mayor. He is still a part owner of Impact NJ, but is no longer involved in daily dealings.

Taxpayers only pay his health insurance, since he no longer receives it from Impact.

But who cares about those formal political dealies? He drives a Cayman R. That alone makes him ok in my book.

http://jalopnik.com/5939349/the-deput ... jersey-city-is-a-gearhead

Quote:I always thought he was a great pick. Clearly he is in the 1% and obviously he is a cheap guy ... Way to go Gerry!

Ok thanks. I thought it might be a nonprofit entity after I posted.

I just can?t get over how a building that went through an 11 million dollar renovation not too long ago was sold for $900,000. Sick. There are small houses on Montgomery going for or just sold for millions.

*** ?for sale? listings in the area of the $11 million renovated, 38K square foot JCM building *** from internet, don?t know if these are still on the market**

31* Montgomery Street, $830K, small one family attached brick.
27* Montgomery Street , $850K, 4 family
25* Montgomery Street, $1.2 million
25* Montgomery Street, $2.5 million, old mansion
21* Montgomery Street, $2 million, 4 story with store.

(put * in last digit didn?t want to list the true address)


Thanks again.

Neverleft - I never said that the City wasn't aware that LibertyHealth was interested in purchasing the building - of course this was discussed with them. And, yes, LibertyHealth is a nonprofit entity. Actually, the LibertyHealth Foundation provided the funds for the purchase. I don't understand why you feel that this ownership situation is bad. I think it's wonderful. The Medical Center was in need of an audutorium for its community education programs and space to house financial services personnel who were in rented space in Secaucus. The Museum needed to be relieved of financial responsibility for the ownership & maintenance of the building. This acquisition by the Jersey City Medical Center allows for the ongoing storage of the entire museum collection and periodic display & Museum programs while the Museum Board works on raising needed funds to continue its mission and perhaps move to a new and more prime location.

Quote:

Thanks for the info??.So then Jersey City is just plain stupid.

JC funded the JCM to the tune of $625K a year for many years. Were there any checks and balances attached to that money? If I give someone 100 dollars a year I would want to know how my money was being used. $625K to a financially screwed up organization? Great.

JC WAS involved in trying to help out United Way purchase the building. JC was even giving them $212K for the purchase. But for some reason the UW deal fell through.

** **

?According to the memo, sent last week by corporation counsel Bill Matsikoudis to museum board members James Kobak and Mark Rodrick, ?the planned sale to United Way has been aborted and foreclosure by Sovereign Bank is imminent.?

Though the deal between the two nonprofits was said to be in ?the final stages? last month when the city authorized awarding the United Way $212,415 in federal funds towards the purchase of the museum building, since then it has fallen apart and the museum is once again scrambling to stave off foreclosure, according to several sources. (The federal funds will not be awarded if the building purchase does not occur.)

?The United Way deal is dead,? one City Hall source says. The reasons why remain unclear, and when reached Thursday, United Way president Dan Altilio declined to comment. ?

Above from the jersey city independent?

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... -foreclosure-is-imminent/

** **

Liberty Health comes out of no where and buys the building from the bank for $900K. Without the city having any knowledge that LH was even interested in the building? (Strange to me) It says it will let the JCM use the first floor rent free for two years. But after that the JCM must start paying rent with grants they get.

How could Jersey City not purchase that building? JC probably could have gotten it at an even lower price then $900K. They could have kept it as the museum, moved some JC offices there instead of paying high rent in some hacks building. Could have even done the same deal charge the JCM rent for the first floor from the grants they get. Or JC could have flipped it to a developer or sold it to the JCMC for 3+ million. Take the 3+ mil and build a small museum in?.Journal Square. In that big ugly empty lot that the city doesn?t have the balls to go after.

PS ? hey Sammy check out the JC Online Tax inquiry. Now that 350 Montgomery is no longer a nonprofit I guess taxes need to be paid..right? (not a big tax history on the property so I can?t tell) It does look like Liberty Health is two quarters behind in taxes. Can someone in City Hall get them on the abandoned property list and take the building away from them?

If I didn?t pay my taxes since Feb 2012 my house would be gone by now. Also can any one explain those other entries in the tax inquiry for 350 Montgomery? What does REFUND 3RD PARTY LIENHOLDER mean? What does CANCEL TAXES mean? Did the bank pay taxes while it had the foreclosed property? If so why a refund?


(wait is LibertyHealth for profit or not for profit????)

The City of Jersey City and Mayor Healy had absolutely nothing to do with the acquisition of the JC Museum building. This was a negotiation between LibertyHealth and the bank that held the mortgage and the Board of the Museum.

Quote:

The hits keep coming for this guy?..great pick Healy..

High-powered lobbyist and Jersey City deputy mayor is having city residents pay for his health benefits

Published: Sunday, July 15, 2012, 4:59 PM
Updated: Sunday, July 15, 2012, 4:59 PM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY ?
When Raj Mukherji was sworn-in as a Jersey City deputy mayor in March, the 27-year-old lobbyist took pains to say he was accepting only a $1 annual salary and forsaking a city car.

Mukherji -- whose counterpart, Deputy Mayor Kabili Tayari, made $110,056 in 2011 -- said he wanted to save the city money due to the "austere economic climate."

But taxpayers aren't entirely off the hook.

In May, Mukherji, who state records show raked in more than $500,000 last year as a managing partner of lobbying firm Impact NJ, began accepting health benefits paid by the city. The premium costs taxpayers $796.55 a month.


Full JJ piece?.


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

Buy the JJ

Nice Sock puppet..lol

TheSystemisFlawed wrote: Quote:


Here is a piece dated the day after?.I think you are getting your ?legal research? mixed up. I think I will stick with my newspapers..err I mean ?second hand? sources?The Star Ledger, Jersey Journal, Westfield Leader, Westfield Reporter, and Asbury Park Press. Hey when they printed all of his good achievements were they bullshi* too? After all they were in ?second hand? sources.

Weren?t there two separate indictments? The first a state indictment for alleged stalking and burglary. Isn't that the one where the Mayor of Fanwood kicked him off of the Fanwood development project when she found out about the indictment? Or did he resign? The second an 11 page federal indictment for all of the other alleged bs..badge, lying to FBI, impersonating? .

Quote:

It seems from the below piece published on Jan 12, 2007 the women ok?ed the state deal. Would a prosecutor said the following if the women were the guilty ones? How odd.


Sameiro said his office was
willing to agree to the deal
because "It's in accordance
with the victims' wishes."


Indictment against Mukherji is dropped

FANWOOD ? Raj
Mukherji, a 22-year-old borough
resident who has gained
attention at an early age for
his exploits as a lobbyist,
businessman and member of
the Marine Corps, won dismissal
on Monday of a fivecount
Middlesex County
indictment alleging he
stalked two women.
While the indictment was
dismissed, Mukherji did
enter a conditional guilty
plea on a disorderly trespass
offense in which he stated
that, in an intoxicated state,
he entered a structure without
license to do so. Under the
terms of that plea, he will
enter a pretrial diversionary
program known as "PTI." If
Mukherji complies with the
terms of that program, which
have not yet been set, that
offense also will be dismissed.
Assistant prosecutor?.

http://archive.wmlnj.org/TheWestfield ... 07/2007-01-12/pg_0003.pdf

*** ***
Quote:

? wasn?t the shield part of the 11 page federal indictment mentioned in the piece below?

Fed Grand Jury Indicts ?Prodigy? On More Charges

http://archive.wmlnj.org/TheWestfield ... 06/2006-02-02/pg_0001.pdf

Mukherji Faces Charges

http://archive.wmlnj.org/TheWestfield ... 06/2006-02-02/pg_0002.pdf

*** *****

All of this is pretty wild. It started with a concerned taxpayer trying to get information on a political appointment in a corrupt Jersey City. Trying to get information on a no body who was appointed as Deputy Mayor to the second (almost first) largest city in New Jersey. Do we just hand out Deputy Mayor?s jobs willy-nilly without the taxpayers knowing a history of the person we are turning our city over to? When the one dollar a year drunk guy who pissed on the audience was appointed we at least knew what we were getting?.err?forced to get. (and guess what now he?s the $128K a year guy)

I am glad all of this came out, it should have come out with his appointment announcement from Healy himself. If the guy was cleared of everything years ago he shouldn?t have anything to worry about. Look what happened to the American Idol dude from NJ, he lied about his past and he got the boot!

Oh BTW I am not finished with my vetting. I still have a few things I am looking up, checking out other political hacks. The internet is an amazing source for public ?second hand? news?ain?t it?


Hey Paco & Taco there is still a chance you both can become Deputy Mayor's don't give up trying.

SOCKPUPPET

Quote:

super furry, the court record in the federal case shows he never ended up pleading guilty and the day after that article is dated the entire stalking indictment was dismissed (no trespassing conviction) and that the alleged victim was actually first accused of stalking him and his girlfriend. the 2nd woman admitted falsifying allegations

there is no court record from the state, only in the federal record. the state record probably got erased/expunged after it was dismissed

neverleft, legal research trumps google and secondhand sources. the shield was not part of the conviction; he was in defense intelligence as a marine; it turned out to be a fake id misdemeanor and its all that he pled to. The Journal obviously reviewed all of those records since they cited the court pleadings

The Jersey Journal article also omitted the fact that Mukjerji pleaded guilty to a trespassing charge (according to the 2007 newspaper article) - related to the indictment for stalking two women. This has been mentioned by neverleft.

http://www.goleader.com/07jan11/07jan11.pdf

Thursday, January 11, 2007
Indictments Dropped Against FW Man; Fed. Case Remains
By PAUL J. PEYTON
Specially Written for The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times
FANWOOD ? A five-count indictment
by a Middlesex County grand
jury against a Fanwood lobbyist, developer,
businessman and Marine
Corps intelligence specialist was dismissed
Monday after the 22-year-old
pleaded guilty to a trespassing charge
following a plea agreement reached
with the Middlesex County
Prosecutor?s Office.
Raj Mukherji had initially been
indicted on two counts of stalking
and one count each of witness tampering,
burglary and contempt. Assistant
Prosecutor Manuel Sameiro
told The Scotch Plains-Fanwood
Times that the burglary charge was
reduced to trespassing and ?all the
other charges were dismissed.?
?I think it is a fair resolution in light
of the victims? desires. They approved
the plea,? Mr. Sameiro said.
The assistant prosecutor pointed
out that as part of the agreement, Mr.
Mukherji is banned from having any
contact with the two women he allegedly
stalked ? a Rutgers University
student and a woman he had
attended high school with in Union
County.
Quote:

Hey Terrence?but what about the stinkin? gold badge? And the 11 page indictment?

Does any one in City Hall know how to use a computer? I put in the guys name and all his past popped up.

I guess they are still part of the ?punch card? crowd. It must take ages to vett someone that way.

Sounds like this whiz kid won't be answering any of our questions. Welcome to Club Crony Mr. Mukerji....or as you call it City Hall.

Jersey City's newest deputy mayor pleaded guilty three years ago in federal court to misdemeanor charge

Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 3:00 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal




Raj Mukherji, recently sworn in as a Jersey City deputy mayor, speaks at The Jersey Journal's office.

In what he?s calling a charge that stemmed from ?youthful indiscretion,? Raj Mukherji, Jersey City?s newest deputy mayor, pleaded guilty in federal court in 2009 to a misdemeanor charge of committing fraud with identification documents.

City officials are rallying behind the 27-year-old lobbyist, with Mayor Jerramiah Healy saying the city reviewed the charges and they were ?not found to be credible.?

Debate about the 8-year-old charges began after posts about them appeared last week on message board JC List.

After his guilty plea, Mukherji was sentenced to one-year probation and ordered to pay a $2,500 fine, while five other counts against him were dismissed.
In a statement, Mukherji called the episode ?stupid and immature,? and said he is ?deeply remorseful? about it.
?I am thankful that people have judged me on my accomplishments in the private sector and public sector since that time, rather than an isolated youthful indiscretion,? he said.

The case began in 2004, when New Brunswick police investigating a domestic disturbance call caught Mukherji, at the time a U.S. Marine, with phony identification cards that identified him as ?defense intelligence,? according to documents filed with federal court.

Mukherji?s attorney claimed in a court motion that the information on the phony ID cards was ?accurate,? aside from a missing birth date and that Mukherji obtained the cards ?so that he could get into bars before turning 21.?

In a June 1, 2009 letter obtained by The Jersey Journal, retired Lt. Col. Neil A. Puckett said he investigated the incident on behalf of Mukherji?s attorneys and found the ID cards were ?accurate in their representations other than the omission of his age and no false impersonation resulted.?

State charges regarding the domestic disturbance were dismissed, according to a letter from the Middlesex County prosecutor obtained by The Jersey Journal.
Mukherji is just the latest Jersey City deputy mayor who has had run-ins with the law.

He replaced Leona Beldini, who was sentenced in June 2010 to three years in prison after she was found guilty of accepting $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions from a federal informant.

Current Deputy Mayor Kabili Tayari was arrested in 2008 after being pulled over in a rental car that had been reported stolen. The charge was later dismissed.
In 2007, former deputy mayor Ador Equipado pleaded guilty to charges he demanded $130 from couples for the then-free City Hall wedding ceremony.
Healy said Mukherji?s service to the city has been ?exemplary and unblemished.?

?He accepted responsibility, and we feel his talents and accomplishments far exceed an isolated incident from his youth,? Healy said.

(read the above posts first by JSleese, LawyerLady141, T-Bird, Asif)

*****
This all sounds like it should be over on the ?Movies filmed in JC? thread, talk about International intrigue. It has all the makings of a spy novel. Romance, stalking, booze, false credentials, Defense Attach? Office, U.S. Consulate, a stinkin? gold badge, government contracts, overseas travel to India, lies, and the FBI. Maybe Tom Cruise is available for the part. (don?t get any idea?s Healy you?re a singer not an actor and that?s being kind)

Glad you cleared all of this up before you started working for all of us. Facing up to 15 years in a federal big house must have been scary.

You do have good lawyers if they got your 11 page federal indictment down to a misdemeanor for fake id.

But I?m confused?so this all turned out to be total bullshi* ? And you got all of the newspapers to run retractions to the alleged actions in the 11 page federal indictment that they printed? There is no retraction in The Westfield Leader achieves.

These two Westfield Leader links have the whole ?juicy? story?..wow!!! (pages one and two)


Fed Grand Jury Indicts ?Prodigy? On More Charges

http://archive.wmlnj.org/TheWestfield ... 06/2006-02-02/pg_0001.pdf

Mukherji Faces Charges

http://archive.wmlnj.org/TheWestfield ... 06/2006-02-02/pg_0002.pdf

*** *****

And no ?Defense Intelligence? George Carlin oxymoron jokes please!

*** ****

Hey you better scrub the internet before you run for President. Did you ever google Marijuana Raj Mukherji

Your quotes show up in every pothead website from here to Washington State. Tokeof the Town, Cannabisnews, TokeCity..


(Hey T-Bird?speak of the devil err?I mean Dwek?? )

As a lobbyist representing Compassionate Care Centers of America Foundation Inc this must have shocked the CRAP out of you?.

N.J. medical marijuana center official booted over ties to con man Solomon Dwek


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

Doesn?t attorney John Inglesino work for Impact NJ also?

Weisser, one of Compassionate Care?s directors, said attorney John Inglesino represented the medical marijuana center and could speak more about the issue. When reached by phone Tuesday, Inglesino said his representation of the group ended more than a month ago.

Last week, the lobbying firm Impact NJ also decided to cut ties with Compassionate Care, said Raj Mukherji, the firm?s managing partner.



(my only questions?did you get any free samples? Did you have to do quality control tests on CCCofAF?s product?)

I think T basically is right on about this guy. He is smart and has worked to get where he is and no one should knock that. But if this guy is really about helping the community and people then. I have two questions for you. And hope he will reply.

Why don't you make a pledge right here on JClist and in writing that you will take a leave of absence from your firm and not meet with any old or new, prospective clients that might come your way?

After all you said you have done well....so money is not an issue for you.

Would you make public all the people, groups, firms or companies that you have done business with to ensure that you would not use your community service position(deputy mayor) which you seem to portray it as, for personal gain?

LadyLawyer - what you say may be true, although if what was posted earlier about it taking more than three years to work out a settlement is true it seems like there were at least some serious issues involved. Interesting defense by a first time poster.....

Still - for me it comes down to some pretty basic things: Even if he is only being paid $1, Mukherji remains employed as a lobbyist. The potential for conflicts and self-dealing is very high. This nonsense about having done very well in his professional career is insane - he's 27 and not a shortstop, point guard or an oscar winner. He isn't doing this as a noble gesture to give back to the city. (No more so than Lipski was when he ran his short-lived $1 a year scam.) He is able to work for $1 because he will cash in at least three-fold on the lobbying side. Everyone who does business with the city will use his firm because that will become the route to a "most favored" status with the administration. Or, even more likely - people wanting to do business elsewhere will use his firm and then be given favored treatment here because he was paid elsewhere. He won't even have to be directly involved on the firm's side... they'll just leave his share in an envelope on his desk.

Speaking of envelopes.... after Dwek and the conviction of three of Healy's nine council slate - not to mention another deputy mayor, how can there not be one person with Healy's ear who can point out the glaring trouble signs with having an active lobbyist serve as a deputy mayor? There may indeed be lobbyists who double as decent humans, but putting an active one on the city's payroll is over the top - even for this administration. It is really not all that different from letting Tony Soprano run your sporting goods store.

Then there is the issue of having been a significant contributor to the mayor's last campaign, which makes Mukherji potentially just another crony hire. Although this crony comes with the added benefit of being of an ethnicity that has growing electoral clout, I'd bet the Indian community can see through the wrapping paper on this one. Just a hunch.

Throw in the conviction - which really pales in comparison to this other stuff, in my book - and this is one odious stew.

raj, I am impressed with what you have achieved (being only 4 years older than you) and impressed for acknowledging us mere mortals in the blogosphere by having a dialog. I don?t know if it was smart to give out your cell phone but it seems like maybe you do that regularly. i agree a misdemeanor shouldn?t overshadow your big picture, but Healy?? really????

I am a reader who doesn't normally comment but I will say, i had doubts about you based on the above posts but reading your response and sifting through the court docs has swayed me. I hope you can help our city as deputy mayor. As I said I do not support your boss, he is a disaster for our city, but I guess I can be glad that at least he appointed someone without a 9 to 5 ?me me me? attitude like I bet most of the others in JC ogvernment have.

Jsleez, i am a lawyer. I work for a defense attorney but she used to be a prosecutor. from the docs I read online via pacer, it seems he wasn?t released on 100 bail -probably wasnt arrested at all. His bail was set at that amount of bond (signing a piece of paper with the court assuring them the defendant will show up). Anyway, bond gets set based on allegations in the charges ? and the docs jive with what he was saying in that all those other charges were dismissed beyond the misdemeanor. The misdemeanor offense he pled to was 9 years ago, regardless of when the disposition was. I'd say that's pretty far removed so i see his point.

Fake ID or not, it still bore a defense seal; actually 1 year of probation seems light for the misdemeanor. From the allocution the government seems to concede he was in the marines in intelligence so I?m confused as to why he was charged with impersonating (it seems, impersonating himself) in the first place which explains that dismissal. But my boss sees clients charged on bad facts all the time. Sometimes the government doesn?t check up until after bringing a case. I doubt the feds would have dropped the other charges if there was something more to them; they don?t let up easy. By the way, post-9/11, previously trivial fake ID offenses like drivers licenses were upgraded and we have had kids plead to 4th degree fake ID offenses (in NJ superior court, but these offenses are more serious than the misdemeanor this guy pled to). Their probation can be longer than a year and the fines larger.

Raj - Kudos to you for coming on here and putting yourself in the line of fire. I have a few questions.

Quote:

And so here is what the record shows: You were held on $100,000 bail. You were granted 16 continuances which dragged the proceedings out for over three years. You paid a $2,500 fine and had your passport taken away for 1 year, while you served probation and performed 200 hours of community service. These are not consistent with what I would expect from a misdemeanor related to harmless youthful indiscretion. (And let's be honest, at 27, you really aren't all that removed from "youthfulness" - your sentencing occurred less than three years ago....) Why all the continuances? Why such a harsh penalty for faking an ID to buy beer? Or wasn't it that you were impersonating a military officer in order to intimidate witnesses in the stalking case? Again, thanks for coming on here to allow for a full discussion of this issue. The current administration has embarrassed the city again and again and you can understand why people have an itchy trigger finger when it comes to convicted deputy mayors

What?s up, guys? since you invited me to respond to these questions and comments, I?m happy to oblige. (To be clear, I arrived at City Hall at 7:45am and won?t leave until it?s dark, and I write while eating a late lunch and from a personal laptop.) If my responses are insufficient to satisfy your curiosity ? or if you ever simply require assistance with any constituent issue or just want to get a beer ? feel free to call me on my cell at (201) 222-3300 or at the office at (201) 547-5275.

First, I am grateful that all of you are participating in political discourse. If more people were as civic-minded and involved in or watchful of their government as the commenters on JCList, perhaps I wouldn?t be facing as many challenges in my new job.

Let?s start with the juicy stuff and get it out of the way. The allegations were untrue, and the criminal charges were ALL DISMISSED with the SOLE exception of a single, misdemeanor charge of possessing a fake ID that omitted my age when I was 19. As to the charges that were dropped, the underlying allegations were total bulls**t and were brought long before anyone (law enforcement or otherwise) interviewed me or the relevant witnesses or reviewed the evidence. Also, some of the media coverage inaccurately reported the dispositions and a retraction was issued. Anyone who needs to consider my background should review my actual criminal history (it?s public record) and the underlying documents, not news reports (many of which were just reprinting allegations from the initial inaccurate report; falsus in unus, falsus in omnibus). I don?t knock them for that. I have tremendous respect for folks in print media, but they often have a limited amount of space to recite extensive details. Also, when charges are pending, defense lawyers don't let their clients speak to the press (or even to the cops) to share their side of things.

The reason I agreed to take on this role, knowing my name might be dragged through the mud (regardless of the falsity of the bulk of the decade-old allegations that might resurface), was because of the passion I have always had for public policy and shaping it. That?s what led me to start my lobbying firm, to serve at the Housing Authority, and to take on this new role.

As to the misdemeanor fake ID, I am deeply remorseful for my isolated, youthful lapse in judgment while a teenager who was serving as a Marine reservist. I?ve matured considerably in the near-decade since that time; I?ve started and built the state?s third largest lawyer-affiliated lobbying firm, accumulated valuable economic development experience, earned an Ivy League masters degree and am almost finished with law school, and have served with distinction at the helm of the Housing Authority as detailed more fully below.

?shadrack?: They didn?t incorporate my entire quote from Kung Fu Panda (leaving out the best part!). It?s actually, ?Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift? that's why it's called the present.? My contribution to Mayor Healy isn?t that unique; I?ve contributed to many candidates and officials who are not mentioned in the article who have never appointed me to anything (some I?ve never even met? but I supported a viewpoint of theirs or shared some ideal that led me to donate). I?m a political junkie with a deep-rooted passion for public policy. It shouldn?t be surprising that I participate in the electoral process through fundraising and other means.

?neverleft?: No, I was never paid for my volunteer service as JCHA Chairman. No, this isn?t a fake-out; I will not suddenly get a raise in a few months to $110K from a dollar a year. I am declining the salary during my tenure as Deputy Mayor, period. Your suspicion is fair given the other situations you cited. Nevertheless, the business endeavors I started have thankfully done well enough to obviate the need for me to be on the public payroll while trying to attract capital investment, create jobs in a struggling economy, and improve municipal services to make life just a little better for all of us in the great city we share a fondness and appreciation for. Let me debunk the conspiracy theories right now: $1/year means $1/year.

Also, I don?t understand all this commotion about the ceremony being hush-hush. I am advised the press office sent out a press release on that day, and between 100 and 150 people attended my swearing-in. I think it is being shown on JC1 TV. In tribute to Dr. Seuss? birthday, I delivered my speech in rhyme.

?coronalime?: Sun-Tzu is awesome. That quote rules. As to the cynicism about lobbyists, I can?t blame you. Mostly a bum rap though. The profession is full of honest people that are passionate about the issues they represent and policymaking and aren?t influence-peddlers selling their souls. There are a few bad apples, as in every profession. But for every ?evil? agenda being pushed by an empty suit, there are well-intentioned people (even lobbyists) pushing back on the ?good? side and seeking to educate policymakers about the umpteen sides to every issue. I have been selective about the issues I?ve taken on as a lobbyist and am proud of my track record. I think it will be helpful to me as Deputy Mayor in getting the help we so desperately need from our partners in the state and federal governments. For example: as a lobbyist, I have worked with the NJEDA and the Business Action Center in successfully advocating for job creation and tax credit incentives; successfully brokered or facilitated complex transactions, including the sales of a nursing home and hospitals; facilitated labor negotiations; secured millions in grants or appropriations for hospitals and nonprofit clients and advocated to expand charity care for the underprivileged; while representing the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, successfully advocated to expand its powers to develop professional football training facilities for an NFL team as well as legislation revising horse racing regulations in New Jersey, etc. etc. etc.

During the time I?ve chaired the Housing Authority, and I say this humbly because I have an excellent staff that made all this possible, our reforms at the JCHA led to improving the agency?s annual Section 8 management score from HUD to the 3 highest performance ratings in our history for the past 3 consecutive years (and in 2 of those years, the highest score in the State among large municipal PHA?s). We received acclaim for our new anti-crime and social services initiatives; for using stimulus funds to create a ?Green-hab Crew? to renovate units using green technologies; for undertaking a $9 million energy efficiency investment that spanned 7 of our complexes; and for the HOPE VI-funded A. Harry Moore revitalization and beginning the $300 million transformation of the Montgomery Gardens-McGinley Square corridor (both of which led to visits from U.S. Secretary of HUD Shaun Donovan and $10 million in combined federal grant awards). Even the JCHA?s critics who were initially concerned about my nomination for some of the reasons you expressed are pleased with the reforms and the direction in which we are headed, and a few of them showed up on Friday.

I hope my tenure in this new job will similarly be marked by progress. Only time will tell. You all will have an opportunity to measure that. I?m only trying to do my small part for a great city. Call me anytime and stay involved (perhaps send in a resume and apply to volunteer on a board or commission).

Quote:


There's also Ador L. Equipado -

August 23, 2009
In a post Friday, NJ Voices Thurman Hart delves into the statistic Journal staff writer Amy Sara Clark highlighted on Hudson County Now and in the paper last week: Three out of four deputy mayors Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy has appointed has wound up in handcuffs.

Indicted for extortion last week, Leona Beldini, is the just the latest example of a Jersey City deputy mayor getting into trouble.

Ador L. Equipado resigned in disgrace in 2007 after pleading guilty to charges that he demanded about $130 from couples for the then-free service of marrying them at City Hall while also trying to sell the newlyweds phone service plans.

Then last summer, Deputy Mayor Kabili Tayari was arrested for not paying his rental car bill and charged with theft by Essex County. .

The charge was later downgraded to a disorderly persons offense and on January 16 the charges were dismissed altogether at the request of the Essex County prosecutor.

The only deputy mayor Healy has appointed who hasn't been arrested is Rosemary McFadden. Unlike Beldini and Equipado who earned $66,000 a year, and Tayari who earns $104,000, McFadden, the former head of the New York Mercantile Exchange, works for $1 a year.
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... thurman_hart_cites_j.html