Four Years for Della Donna

by: Thurman Hart

Fri Oct 24, 2008 at 01:51:08 PM EDT

A federal judge today sentenced a husband-and-wife political team from Hudson County to more than four years in prison each for accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from a local bar owner trying to fend-off town inspectors.

U.S. Senior District Judge Harold Ackerman sentenced former Guttenberg Mayor David Delle Donna and his wife, Anna, to each serve 51 months in prison.

QOTD worthy?

"Public office is a public trust. That's the bottom line. This notion cannot be repeated often enough. It cannot be forgotten," Ackerman said.

While his wife begged for mercy, David della Donna was unrepentant:

"Your honor, some see me as a broken man. I have no money, I have no job, and I'm going to jail," he said. "I am not broken. Your honor, I stand before you today with my conscience clear."

Was Justice Sold to Ambition in Hudson County?

by: Thurman Hart

Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 03:24:08 PM EDT

Yes, David and Anna della Donna were convicted of three out of five counts against them - and I'll be the first to celebrate the jailing of another guilty public official.  But if Luisa Medrano gets off scot free - like Javier Inclan - then there is no way to call this anything close to justice.  The della Donnas are guilty of letting greed rule their hearts and taking money to make legal problems go away.  Luisa Medrano is guilty of procuring slaves and beating them, if necessary, into submission so she could boost her profits (and, depending on your point of view, she may be guilty of murder as well).  Javier Inclan is guilty of simply not caring that this was going on.  He is guilty of smiling into the mirror at the cretin that was more worried about moving up in the Democratic Party than he was about anything - ANYTHING - that happened in his own community.

Complete trash.  Every stinking one of them.  But one of them will get up tomorrow and go to work as a representative of our state, work in our name, get paid with our money, and look at his boss with guilty eyes and say, "If I were guilty of something; they would have prosecuted me."

So why is Chris Christie willing to let this go unpunished?  Why is he willing to deal with modern-day slavers and corrupt politicians who are totally bereft of any political compass just to get two more convictions on his belt?  Does he fear angering the Hispanic voters by going after two shitbags that deserve to be shot more than prosecuted?  

Why is Anne Milgram letting this go unpunished?  Why is she not filing charges against a bar-owner who forced a woman held in slavery to take abortion medication after the clinic had told her that her pregnancy was too far advanced?  Why is she not pounding her desk in anger that Medrano ordered the actions that caused an infant to be born early and die horribly?  Why is she not hauling Inclan out of his office by the scruff of his neck and planting a stiletto heel against his backside?  Why isn't she sticking him in a witness chair and making him look at the picture of the child his nonchalance towards corruption helped to kill?  Does she need her next job so badly that she can't be troubled to fulfill the moral obligations of this one?

Why is Governor Jon Corzine so blind?  Why can he not see that his willingness to take no action actually blesses such actions and - not merely encourages - ensures that it will happen again and again and again?  Has he become so lost in Trenton that he cannot find his own soul?  Is he so enwrapped in Hillary Clinton's bubble that the angels of his heart cannot rouse him with the river of their tears?  Is he so sure of his Secretary job in DC that he is willing to crap all over the honest and decent people still fighting for a better New Jersey?

I'm asking everyone to send the following message to our Attorney General:

I would like to understand why charges have not been filed against Javier Inclan - he has sworn in open court during the trial of David della Donna that he violated any number of laws by not upholding his duty as Treasurer of the Guttenberg Dems.  Furthermore, Nadia Davila-Colon was convicted of doing the exact same thing Inclan admitted to doing.  Are there any plans to take action against him?

Then do the same for Jon Corzine.

What's in this rice pudding?

by: Thurman Hart

Mon Mar 31, 2008 at 05:30:46 PM EDT

This was not entirely unexpected.  Brian Stack had to donate to charity contributions made by Medrano after she was indicted for human trafficking, forced alien labor, and conspiracy charges.  At the time, Stack defended his honor by pointing out that Medrano had used her Fairview address to mislead his campaign.  He stated:

"Anyone who knows my record knows how strong I have been on [the bar establishments]," said Stack. "My biggest opposition has come from the bar owners."

Exactly.  Just like Elliot Spitzer busted a couple of prostitution rings - but that didn't stop him from blowing $80,000 on whores.  The question facing Mr. Stack would be: Why were you so hard on bars and why did they oppose his election?

Is it the rice pudding, baby?  Click on through.

Mr Corzine - Grow a pair!

by: Thurman Hart

Fri Mar 28, 2008 at 11:37:37 AM EDT

As sick as that is, it gets worse.  Make the jump.