I also thought a bankrupt wasn't allowed to run or manage any sort of business for an 'x' amount of years.

It would be nice if Healy was to one day appoint someone that was a highly respected person in the community that had a history of public service going back to being a good scout as a kid - yes I know I'm dreaming, but it would be nice if they just didn't have so many or any skeletons in their past.

OK, I was wrong...he's a scumbag. What can I say.

PaulusHooker, you are a great judge of character:

Friday, March 31, 2006
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

In 2003, the Highland House Condominium Association in Jersey City received a bill for nearly $6,000 that left its members scratching their heads.

That's because their bylaws state that all expenses above $500 must be approved by the elected nine-member board.

"We had no clue what the initial bill was for," said James Cooney, the association's president.

Soon after, another letter came in the mail, this time a court summons from the plumbing company that did the work.

Cooney said the building's former property manager, Jersey City-based ACI Asset Management Inc., had approved the work without the board's approval.

The management company's president was Robert Antonicello, the man who Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy now wants to appoint to either the Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce or the Redevelopment Agency.

The condo association lost the lawsuit with the plumbing company, but it won a countersuit against ACI Management.

After two canceled deposition sessions, however, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 24, 2005, which meant the check was not coming.

"I just couldn't figure it out, this guy manages large properties in Jersey City and he's filing bankruptcy because of $6,000," said Cooney.

Antonicello acknowledged that he failed to read the part of the contract that required him to seek board approval, but said the group met less than four times a year and he needed to get things done.

He said that he filed bankruptcy because he feared more lawsuits were coming, but he said he dealt with the association fairly and honestly.

? 2006 The Jersey Journal


http://jclist.com/modules/newbb/viewt ... t_id=50599#forumpost50599




Quote:

The suggestion that Bob's business went belly up is a total lie ? he sold it back earlier in the year. I've known him for a while and I have to say he's one of the nicest and most ethical guys I've met, which is unheard of in real estate.

I think he'll have his challenges coming from the private sector into a bureaucratic city government but he means well and I think that all this talk about him being a Healy lackey is a waste of time.

Like in any municipality, there has to be a balance between entitlement for the people and fiscal responsibility so we'll see what happens with the urban zones, waterfront development and artist districts on his watch.

Taking into account the financial condition of JC, maybe a familiarty with bankruptcy is now an essential qualification for any new city administrator. Could be the mayor knows exactly what he is doing.

The article said very little about Antonicello's background. There was a previous article that went into slightly more detail and another thread here on jclist that went into a lot more detail about Antonicello. Some of us including myself know him from a business relationship. I won't bother to repeat it. But hell, Healy doesn'[t suck any more than his predecessors and lots of other elected officials... patronage regardless of qualifications is at the very core of JC politics.

In any event, if I read that article w/o knowing anything about Antonicello, I'd sure as hell be curious about the circumstances that caused him to file bankruptcy for $6000 debt.

Sure, you can say Healy sucks. I think most of us are ok with that. But the article's cursory review of Antonicello's qualifications suggests that this is not an example of Healy sucking.

Good ol? JC ingenuity? in the spirit of his predecessors, Healy found a way to continue the time honored tradition of patronage and stoopidity. He couldn?t get his buddy, "Bankrupt Over $6k not to mention incompetent," Bob Antonicello, appointed as head of HED, so the honorable mayor found another influential position for him, a position approved by Healy cronies. Can I just say Healy sucks?
---------------------------------

Jersey Journal article

Healy appointees OK his pick for Redevelopment Agency head
Thursday, April 20, 2006

By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy's choice to head the city's powerful Redevelopment Agency has been unanimously approved by the agency's board.
The board, stacked with Healy appointees, approved Robert Antonicello Tuesday night to become executive director of the JCRA, an autonomous government agency responsible for designating developers in the city's blighted areas.
[?]
Healy initially wanted Antonicello to head the city Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce but that was met with skepticism by several members of the City Council.
Five of the seven JCRA board members were appointed by Healy.