Prince Charlie Faces Hudson Revolution

by: Thurman Hart

Thu May 25, 2006 at 06:56:50 AM EDT

By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The state Department of Education wants Jersey City Superintendent of Schools and Assemblyman Charles T. Epps Jr. to give back the money he charged taxpayers for his ritzy trip to England in 2004.

"We are going to be recommending that the district seek reimbursement for all charges that were outside the trip, specifically the four days he was not attending the convention and the days he spent at the hotel instead of at the university lodging," said Kathryn Forsyth, director of public information for the DOE.

I have a better idea: Fire him and then make him pay it back.

After initially staying silent on the issue, state Assemblymen Brian Stack, the mayor of Union City, and Albio Sires, the mayor of West New York, joined fellow Assemblyman Lou Manzo, D-Jersey City, in criticizing Epps for the trip.

Sires, as you may know, is running for Bob Menendez's old seat.  Stack just won re-election as Mayor and also serves as Assemblyman for his district.

Look, when the old-time Double-dippers from the home of Double-dipping starts hacking on you, you know you've been caught.

"If I were Epps, I would give the money back," said Stack.

A spokeswoman for Sires, Julie Roginsky, said: "Mr. Epps should reimburse the school district for personal expenses he incurred while in England."

Or he could resign in disgrace.  Or Gov. Jon Corzine could make a show out of kicking him in the groin and throwing him down the stairs of the Capitol.

Many political leaders remained silent on the issue once again yesterday.

State Sen. Bernard Kenny, D-Hoboken, the head of the Hudson County Democratic Organization and the Senate majority leader, said: "I refuse to comment on the issue."

Neither state Sen. Nicholas Sacco, D-North Bergen, nor Joseph V. Doria Jr., D-Bayonne, both mayors of their municipalities, would comment, either.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy has not responded to phone calls regarding the issue.

See what I mean about double-dipping?  They're just pissed that they didn't get such sweet deals.

These demands came on the day a Jersey Journal article detailed how Epps arrived in England four days before the Oxford University convention that he and his staff attended on July 19, 2004.

Epps and his traveling companions spent those four days racking up a nearly $500 tab at two of the London's finest restaurants and another $1,500 bill for rooms at a posh hotel, according to documents obtained by The Jersey Journal.

In addition, Epps paid more than $300 to be chauffeured to London's hot spots in limousines and taxis, according to district documents.

Epps then traveled 50 miles to attend the five-day Oxford Round Table on Superintendency and School Leadership, where he turned down university lodging so he and another companion could stay at the nearly $300-a-night Old Parsonage Hotel.

Taxpayers eventually reimbursed Epps $5,179 for his dining and lodging expenses, which does not include the "all inclusive" tuition of $8,195 paid by the school district.

This does not qualify as an "oversight".  He didn't "forget" to fill out his voucher properly.  He willfully misused his position to rob the citizens of New Jersey as surely as if he had held a gun to their head and rifled through their pockets.

Of course, that was actually scheduled for next week.

This guy is a bum of the worst kind.  Throw him out, make him repay the money he stole, and ban him from working for any public institution.