Hudson officials behaving badly

by: Thurman Hart

Fri Jan 22, 2010 at 02:20:07 PM EST

Yeah, I know - this almost isn't news.

Former town construction code official Franco Zanardelli has been sentenced to two years in federal prison, a $25,000 fine and two years of supervised release after his term, for extorting more than $30,000 from individuals and business owners.

But the newspaper is selling it soft. Here's an excerpt from the USA press release when Zanardelli was busted:

By way of example, Zanardelli admitted that he accepted a series of corrupt cash payments in connection with exercising his official influence in connection with a building project on Johnson Place in West New York. In total, Zanardelli admitted that he accepted more than $30,000 in corrupt cash payments and other benefits in exchange for exercising his official influence as West New York's Construction Code Official.
In addition to his position as West New York's Construction Code Official, Zanardelli became the Construction Code Official for the Town of Guttenberg in or about 2006, having first been employed as a Building Inspector by that Town from in or about 1999 to in or about 2006. Also, Zanardelli was employed as a Building Inspector by the Town of Secaucus since in or about 2004.

That's $30K he took from one job in one town. This asshat worked the same position in three municipalities. Wanna bet that others were put under his thumb, too? This isn't a bad apple, folks, it's a symptom of a sick system that is rotting our communities from the inside.

Thurman Hart :: Hudson officials behaving badly

Story 2:

The township is conducting an internal review after discovering that an official exchanged inappropriate emails with a secretary on a township computer last week.
Peter Giunchini, director of automotive services and public transportation, was allegedly exchanging nude photos and having risque chats with his secretary. He resigned from his $130,000 position on Wednesday, said township spokesman Phil Swibinksi.

At first, I figured this was just a personal failing and the guy should be allowed to slink off to his wife to get his just desserts. Then I realized that he uploading naked photos (presumably of himself) on the town computer and emailing it to his secretary...the best case scenario is that this was a mutual relationship that just got stupid and sloppy. Worst case is sexual misconduct and harassment.

Kudos to NJ.com for giving props to CliffviewPilot.com for breaking the story. See, it doesn't hurt when you share the credit, does it?