Zack Fink has a story about Lou Manzo, who has announced he will hold a press conference next week to accuse federal prosecutors of misconduct in building a case against him.
Toward the end of Fink's story, which he titled "Jack Shaw's last words," he has this exchange that occured after Manzo and Jersey City Political consultant were waiting in jail:
When asked about the nature of the interrogation Manzo says Shaw told him "Guantanamo's got nothin' on these guys." Shaw died a week later,...an apparent drug overdose which Manzo believes was not intentional.
According to Fink, Shaw told Manzo he had been interrogated for "several hours" the night before at a hotel room in Secaucus trying to get him to implicate Joe Doria, who still hasn't been charged. Even if you believe what Manzo is saying, I don't know how he will ever prove what he's saying because Shaw isn't around to corroborate the story. And it's not like Manzo will be able to clear his name in the court of public opinion, past a correction on the inside pages of a paper.
Former Jersey City Mayor Leona Beldini was found guilty this afternoon by a Federal Jury in Newark on two of six counts this afternoon:From the Jersey Journal:
Beldini was acquitted on four of six counts, including one conspiracy count, two attempted extortion charges and one bribery count in which she was charged with agreeing to be the exclusive real estate broker for Dwek's condo project in exchange for getting him zoning approvals in the city.
Beldini was convicted of two bribery accounts for accepting $20,000 in a illegal campaign contributions on behalf of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.
She now faces up to twenty years in prison, but will most likely get a shorter sentence says the article. We'll have JRB, who has been providing excellent coverage for the Jersey City Independent of the case on Blue Jersey Radio next Tuesday night. He'll discuss the case, the verdict and what it means going forward.
It's always something in Jersey City. The latest dust up is over a selection by the Mayor to serve on a City Authority. Councilman Steve Fulop criticized the pick made by Mayor Jeremiah Healy to put ex Mayor Gerald McCann to a position at the Incinerator Authority:
"The idea that the City would hire a convicted felon to its payroll during the same time period that key members of the administration are being tried in Federal court is incomprehensible," said Fulop. McCann was Mayor from 1981 to 1985 and again from 1989 to 1992, when he was terminated from office following his criminal conviction.
Fulop wants to withhold funding from the authority until Healy removes McCann from the position and that prompted this response:
"I'm totally going to sue him. I'm going to make sure that every single nickel that he gets to run a campaign against anybody will be my nickel," said McCann. "...I'll have him in court for years. And since he's doing it as a political candidate, I will sue his campaign fund."
The trial of former Jersey Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini got under way this week and along with the testimony of Solomon Dwek, the prosecution showed videos he took while working under cover for the FBI.
Black-and-white recordings shot by a tiny hidden camera depict meetings at Hudson County diners and a luncheonette where the informant, Solomon Dwek, tries to arrange a bribe to the deputy mayor, Leona Beldini, in exchange for help securing approvals for a 750-unit condominium building he claimed to be developing. Jurors watched their first clips in federal court in Newark
The defense may want the whole tapes shown so that they can argue there is some kind of context to the conversations and statements as the pieces don't always make their client look very good:Dwek does most of the talking on the tapes and makes clear what he is offering. Beldini's attorneys will no doubt try to spin it that JC Political Consultants Jack Shaw and Edward Cheatam are the ones that were playing the game:
Authorities say Dwek funneled the bribes to Beldini through Shaw and Cheatam, who converted them into donations for Healy's campaign. Beldini, Healy's campaign treasurer, never took money directly from Dwek. But on prosecutors' videos, it appears she may have known who was actually donating.
Cheatam has plead guilty and is going to testify against Beldini, while Shaw was found dead of a valium overdose just after his arrest last summer. Beldini seems to make it clear that everyone, including the Mayor knows what is going on. And Healy himself is all over the tapes as Dwek talks to him about giving money and what it will get him:
As Healy got up to leave, Dwek followed him and said he had donated $10,000 to his campaign previously and that he would give Shaw another $10,000 that day.
"Dave, thank you so much," Healy says - using the Dwek's phony name - as the video records him. He tells Dwek he wants to keep working with him.
"It's good for the city, it's good for everybody," Healy says.
Healy hasn't been charged with anything and maintains he has done nothing wrong. Beldini is charged with taking $20,000 in bribes from Dwek and faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted. The Jersey City Independent has a familiar face at Blue Jersey, JRB covering the trial as well.
Remember back in July when the FBI busted thirty political operatives and about a dozen rabbis? Well, one of those guys was a guy named Guy Catrillo. Catrillo was a planning aide in Jersey City, but today he was sentenced for his corruption. He could have gotten fifteen to twenty years. He got eighteen
Vega's lawyer, Peter R. Willis, said the issue of whether the councilman knows Dwek would be resolved at trial along with the other charges. "Mariano has no intention of pleading guilty," Willis said.
Another domino fell this afternoon as Jersey City Councilman Mariano Vega was indicted on 8 counts after allegedly taking $30,000 in bribes from an undercover informant and making false statements to investigators:
Vega allegedly conspired with Maher Khalil, another Jersey City official who was arrested in July and has since pleaded guilty, to deposit three $10,000 bribes from faux real estate developer Solomon Dwek into his campaign account through a series of straw donors. In return for the money, prosecutors contend that Vega promised Dwek help with development approvals for a make believe residential high rise development project on Garfield Avenue.
[snip]
Adding a new wrinkle to the case against Vega is the false statement charge. FBI agents met with Vega on July 22 - the day before he and 43 others were shuffled off busses and frog marched into the federal court house in Newark. In the interview, Vega claimed not to recognize a Dwek when agents showed him his photograph, despite having met with him six times in five months - including a meeting just two weeks prior.
At the time of his arrest, Vega was serving as the Council President. He no longer holds that post after stepping down, but still says he's innocent and remains on Council.
For the betterment of the City of Jersey City, the Municipal Council and under the current circumstances, I am temporarily stepping down, effective Friday October 9, 2009 as of 4:00 p.m., as City Council President until such time as I am completely exonerated.
It was a year ago my wife took a job out here in Newark and we moved from sleepy Ypsilanti Michigan (next door to Ann Arbor). We've been subletting a place here in Jersey City for the past year and we had a decision to make. Jersey City gets an awful bad rap and a lot of it is deserved but after sizing up the people of Jersey City we decided to make it our 'Happily ever after' and tomorrow we'll buy our first ever property, a beautiful loft 3 blocks from the Hudson River with a rooftop view of NYC.
The lesson here is this; a city can have a bad reputation, it can have one of if not the most corrupt city governments going, it can be loud and crime can be on an uptick. BUT when you take the time to get to know the people you find THEY are the true measure of the town. They are the salt of the earth, they are your neighbors who hate the crime and graft just as you do. Citizens of New Jersey you have shattered every stereotype I'd ever read or heard about you. Everyone has been helpful beyond belief. I've found one of the tastiest Thai restaurants ever in Jersey City, 'More'. I enjoy walking along the Hudson River, I love Liberty State Park. I point out to everyone I know that the Statue of Liberty is actually located in Jersey City.
So thank you good people of New Jersey and specifically Jersey City, you've made us feel welcome and shown us a pretty good time. Yes, the government needs work but then again, after coming from just outside of Detroit and watching the Kwame Kilpatrick debacle, hope remains here for us to clean it up together.
Tomorrow I feel like I really become one of you, after 46 years as a Michigander, tomorrow I'll fly my Garden State and yes BLUE Jersey flags proudly.
P.S. I still hope my Red Wings crush the Devils when they play. SOME things won't change ;)
Maher Khalil, a former official with the Jersey City Zoning Board of Adjustment, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Newark to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion. The 39-year-old Mr. Khalil was the first public official to plead guilty in the case.
He admitted he accepted more than $70,000 in bribes from Solomon Dwek, a government cooperating witness posing as a developer, in return for setting up meetings with other officials who would help Mr. Dwek with zoning changes and approvals.
Mr. Khalil acknowledged converting some of the bribes into campaign donations for Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega Jr.
Later Wednesday, Guy Catrillo admitted in U.S. District Court that he accepted bribes from Mr. Dwek. Mr. Catrillo was an aide to Jersey City's planning and zoning boards and was a community-relations specialist in Mayor Jerramiah Healy's office.
Mr. Catrillo was accused of attempted extortion for taking $15,000 from Mr. Dwek in exchange for introducing Mr. Dwek to other officials and promising to expedite development approvals.
Following the guilty pleas, their suspension turned into a termination by Mayor Healy. Along with the guilty pleas, prosecutors were granted an extension for two more officials:
Meanwhile, Judge Linaris granted prosecutors another month to prepare for trial against two other Jersey City officials indicted in connection with July's corruption sweep.
Leona Beldini, a deputy mayor, and Edward Cheatam, a former city Housing Authority commissioner, had been scheduled to begin trial Oct. 26 on charges of conspiring to commit extortion.
But Linares granted prosecutors' request for more time yesterday, saying the case involved hundreds of hours of recorded conversations.
Beldini's attorney, Brian J. Neary, objected to the extension, saying the 74-year-old is too old to wait for her day in court.
Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy confirmed tonight that FBI agents paid a visit to his Bradley Beach home in August and to City Hall today.
Healy said he couldn't discuss the visits further because investigations connected to July's massive corruption sweep are ongoing. But according to sources, six to eight agents visited the City Hall offices of the business administrator, tax assessor, tax collector and city clerk today.
It should be noted that Healy still says he did nothing wrong, but it one has to question why you would have these visits from your friends at the FBI. With all of this news, the Ledger Live took a historical walking tour down Jersey City corruption memory lane:
Who knows if this is history repeating itself, but it still looks like there is more of the story to come.
The day before 44 people were arrested across the state on various charges, Jersey City Mayor Jeremiah Healy received his own special visitors according to the Jersey Journal:
The FBI paid a visit to Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy one day before the July 23 FBI corruption sweep in which 44 people were arrested, Jennifer Morrill, the mayor's spokeswoman, confirmed today.
Reports of the FBI visit to Healy was first reported in The Jersey City Reporter earlier today.
Although Morrill confirmed the visit, she said the mayor refused to disclose what was discussed, citing an ongoing investigation. Michael Drewniak, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office also refused to comment.
Oh to be a fly on the wall in the room during that conversation. Healy has already admitted that it's clear he is Jersey City Public official #4 listed in the indictment of other jersey City Officials, though he maintains he did nothing wrong.
I have to shake my head in disbelief today. Again.
I always believed there should be a certain understanding between a people and government officials in a representative democracy: we elect them to office, with all the power and decision making authority that entails, but with the expectation (fingers crossed) that they will govern in the public interest.
This has been understood by every leader worth looking up to in the history of our country. It's a matter of leadership responsibility. Part appreciation of the burden of office, it's also the command accountability to know what's going on under you, and if it is wrong, unethical or violates the public trust, to put a stop to it. It's the acknowledgement that the buck stops with you. You alone.
Mayor Healy's press conference today, coming on the heels of a heated city council meeting, showed an utter failure -- if not contempt -- of this principle.
"Based on review of the complaint, it is clear that I am Jersey City Public Official 4. I did nothing wrong at anytime. Right now we are going to continue to conduct open and honest government and are focused on moving the city forward. In fact, yesterday we solicited instructions and advice from the U.S. Attorney's Office on how to secure the offices and records of those officials who were charged and suspended," Healy said in a written statement. "We are complying with those instructions and will continue to cooperate. We will make no further statements at this time due to the ongoing nature of this investigation."
The person identified as "JC Official 3" in the federal complaint against Jersey City political consultant Joe Cardwell is Carl Czaplicki, a former chief of staff to Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy who heads up the city's Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce.
Two Jersey City sources confirmed that Czaplicki is JC Official 3, who is identified in the complaint as "an official who had responsibility for housing and economic development matters in Jersey City government." He served as Healy's chief of staff from 2004 until his promotion in 2007.
Cardwell, who is close to Czaplicki, allegedly solicited money from a cooperating witness - later identified as developer Solomon Dwek - to expedite "approvals" for a real estate project on Garfield Avenue. According to the complaint, Cardwell told the witness that JC Official Three was one of his "guys."
In case you missed it, Tuesday was Election Day in New Jersey's ostensibly nonpartisan municipalities. In two closely watched races, Jersey City's incumbent Mayor Jerramiah Healy cruised to a whopping 52% victory while Peter Cammarano and Dawn Zimmer will face one another in a runoff to determine which of the two will lead Hoboken.
Jersey City Mayor L. Harvey Smith Phillip G. Webb Louis M. Manzo Jerramiah Healy Daniel B. Levin Personal Choice Total
The more I think about it, the more I realize just how much of a tone deaf epic fail this is for someone not to realize the panic this would cause given what the region has already experienced.
Talk about a communication breakdown. Residents of NY and NJ got quite a scare today when buildings were evacuated as a 747 circled around the Statue of Liberty accompanied by a military escort. It turned out to be a photo shoot so they could get an updated photo of Air Force one. Here's the official story:
An FAA spokesman said the fly-over "was approved and coordinated with everyone," with notifications made to the New York City Police Department, the mayor's office, the New Jersey State Police, and other agencies.
However, a confidential security memo that went out last week by the FAA's Air Traffic System Operations Security office -- while acknowledging "the possibility of public concern regarding Department of Defense aircraft flying at low levels," instructed that all information about the flight be kept confidential, and not to be released to the public or media.
"The information in this document is considered FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY, and should only be shared with persons with a need to know," the memo declared.
The possibility of public concern? Seriously, that's all they thought there would be? Imagine the fear looking up to see this:
I can't imagine the memories this must have evoked for people as they evacuated their buildings. Here's video of the plane flying over head as people run to get away:
The sound of the plane is enough to turn my stomach and I'm seeing it hours after the fact knowing what went down. I'm sure there will be plenty of questions raised about the official explanation and how anyone thought this was a good idea. It is absolutely amazing to me that they wanted to fly a big airplane accompanied by military escort during mid morning and couldn't possibly imagine that people would be concerned at such a site to the point they needed to be notified. Because we've never had any problems or concerns with that before. Regardless, this was a great deal of trouble caused to get a good picture.
Last week, I attended a very special event at the Maureen Collier Senior Center here in Jersey City. It was the 102nd birthday of Earl Martin. Earl is a wonderful man, with an amazing spirit and - if his birthday party was any indication - a lot of great friends. It struck me that Earl has seen a lot over the past century-plus - from the Great Depression to the struggle for civil rights to Jersey City's many transformations as we grew to become one of America's most sustainable cities.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will host a $1,000-per-person fundraiser at his home this month in support of the re-election campaign of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy. That creates the possibility that Healy, the Hudson County Democratic Chairman, will back Bloomberg for re-election and not the Democratic mayoral nominee. There is no word if Healy will host a similar fundraiser for Bloomberg at his Jersey City residence.
The campaign is seeking a $23,400 commitment to serve as General Chair of the event, $10,000 for Co-Chair, $7,200 for Vice-Chair, and $2,600 for finance committee member.
$23,400 to chair a night with Mayor Healy? Anyone else thinking Cuba Gooding Jr. and Tom Cruise yelling "Show me the Money"?
This Monday, I took part in a really exciting event at the Liberty Science Center for Jersey City's second Sustainable Cities Conference. The location was very appropriate because Jersey City is the most sustainable city in our state. In fact, it is second only to New York in the entire nation. Mayor Healy, who hosted the event, should be proud of this fact. And Hackensack Riverkeeper Captain Bill Sheehan, who also took part, should be proud of his record of local environmental stewardship. Keynote speaker Robert Kennedy, Jr. delivered a rousing keynote address that highlighted the fact that, in this day and age, environmental sustainability isn't a luxury. Rather, it is common-sense that can even serve to benefit the bottom line in the public and private sectors alike.
I wanted to share a brief video of my comments at the panel discussion, followed by some of my thoughts on the conference below the fold.
Jersey City Councilman Steve Lipski, who faces charges of urinating on a crowd of people during a concert in Washington, D.C. in November, will not get a slot of Mayor Jerramiah Healy's ticket in the May municipal election. Sources say that businesswoman Nydia Rivera, the wife of former Jersey City Councilman Ben Lopez, will run on the Healy slate and challenge Lipski for the Ward C Council seat. Ward C has one of the largest Hispanic populations in Jersey City.
Sources also say that Ward B Councilwoman Mary Spinello will be replaced by Phil Kenny, who runs a powerful political operation on the city's west side. Kenny is an ally of Freeholder Bill O'Dea and former Jersey City Councilman Tom Frichone.
There had been rumors the Mayor was polling to see where things stood. I hadn't seen anything from Lipski indicating he was not planning another run before this in today's Jersey Journal:
Journal Square Councilman Steve Lipski will not be on Healy's slate, but he seems intent on running. Does this mean that New York developer Steve Hyman will help finance his candidacy? Does this mean that Lipski's former campaign guy and onetime enemy Steve Kush, of Washington, D.C. and West Virginia, will be back to run his campaign? Does this mean Lipski will file an ELECT report?
It appears Lipski's last filing was a joint report with the Healy ticket in 2005. If he decides to file and run, this may be the best way to keep him in office without tainting the mayor's slate.
Police are searching garbage dumps in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for the body of a baby that was apparently thrown out with the trash at a Jersey City hospital.
Christ Hospital spokeswoman Barbara Davey said the baby was stillborn on Dec. 21 and the body was placed in the hospital morgue. The body was gone when a funeral home employee came to pick it up on Jan. 2.
There's a small problem with the hospital's story - the Star-Ledgerhas a picture of the mother and child, which would tend to back up the mother's contention that the child was born alive. Regardless of whether there was a live birth or stillbirth, there is no excuse - none - for a corpse to be thrown out with the trash. That's the sort of gross negligence for humanity that murderers show. It certainly isn't the type of care families expect - or New Jersey taxpayers provide charity funds to provide.
This calls for more than someone just losing their job. It calls for some serious jail time for someone.
