If At First You Don't Succeed

by: Thurman Hart

Thu Apr 20, 2006 at 08:49:57 AM EDT

What do you do if you are a mayor and can't get the City Council to approve of you picking your buddy to head up the Department of Housing?

If you're Jeremiah Healy, Mayor of Jersey City, you pick an end run and reward your buddy by giving him a job that only requires the approval of several of your friends.

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.

Thurman Hart :: If At First You Don't Succeed

Healy, of course, is ignorantly happy that he was able to run a patronage mill right under the noses of the City Council.

"I am thrilled to have Bob Antonicello on board," Healy said in a statement yesterday. "He possesses over 20 years professional experience in real estate management and development, making him an ideal candidate to spearhead the city's growth as we move forward."

Yeah, he has experience - but not the good kind:

Antonicello, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, holds a master's degree from New York University and has more than two decades of experience in real estate as a broker and the head of several property management companies. He has said he divested himself of his real estate companies.
His attorney in a number of business deals was Healy's former law partner, Oswin Hadley, and the two currently share office space.
His former company, ACI Management Inc., filed for bankruptcy last year after a dispute over roughly $6,000 with a local condominium association.

Wait a minute - this guy files for bankruptcy over a $6,000 dispute? Either he's the brokest real estate magnate in history or he's just a prick who abuses the bankruptcy system to get out of paying bills honorably.

Antonicello will serve for 90 days and the board will vote again to lengthen the contract.
"I am happy it's just 90 days," said City Councilman Bill Gaughan. "I was against the appointment for HEDC, and I have mixed feelings about the current appointment, but let's see how this works out."

With a record like this, with opposition like this, one wonders how Healy was able to get his boy a nice fat job.