"My current situation would only serve as distraction and I would do a disservice to those who elected me to do a job," he said. "Something that would simply break my heart."
[snip]
"While I have an unblemished record of over twenty years in public service, I fully understand the outrage that has accompanied these accusations," he said, "and I recognize that the public has a right to its reaction."
"In the months ahead I will simply tell the truth, and in the end hopefully prove that I was worthy of the public trust that has defined a part of who I am."
Van Pelt joins Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano and Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell as indicted officials that have resigned their positions. Paging Joe Vas, Harvey Smith and everyone else that was indicted, what the hell are you waiting for? I don't really care if you say you're innocent, defend yourself on your own dime. You have the right to a presumption of innocence, not to represent the public while you try to disprove the charges leveled against you.
Hoboken city attorney Steven Kleinman announced this morning to the media that Mayor Peter Cammarano had submitted his resignation, effective at noon. The City Attorney read the contents of the letter to the media:
Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano resigns in a letter to the city
As a parent and Hoboken resident said on NJN tonight, their child is 4 months old and has now had their third Mayor. Good luck to Dawn Zimmer leading Hoboken. She will serve as Mayor and run in the special Election to be held this November.
In the recent, but rich tradition of laughing to keep from crying, Lisa at Hoboken 411 has a pretty funny take on the deepening corruption drama gripping Hoboken and New Jersey.
Brilliant.
What other movie titles - or cartoons, or tv shows, or video games - does thismesssuggest? (Uh ... keep it clean). Drop your titles in the Comments. Or, if you have mad photoshop skillz, let's see your posters!
Peter Cammarano will resign tomorrow, less than one month after that Young Turk, whose political future looked limitless, took the oath of office as Mayor of Hoboken.
Cammarano was stubbornly working at his desk, and swearing to stick it out without resigning the day after he was arrested for taking $25,000 in cash bribes - including $10,000 just days ago - from Solomon Dwek, acting as the government's cooperating witness.
But in the end, it looks like a deal brokered by Gov. Corzine - and transacted by attorneys from the Governor's office coming to terms with Cammarano's own lawyers - is what sealed the deal.
Cammarano is a lawyer, too, and was the protegee of Democratic uber-lawyer Angelo Genova, the Democratic Party's go-to guy on election and campaign finance law. And that makes it all the more repulsive, if the charges against Cammarano are true; he must have known precisely, and in detail, what a vicious twist of justice he was perpetuating.
At just 32, Cammarano was a rising star of the Golden Boy variety, who managed a fragile alliance of Old Hoboken forces and New Hoboken blood, and rose through a complex and dramatic election, to Mayor of the hottest place to live in the state of New Jersey.
Peter Cammarano will resign tomorrow, less than one month after that Young Turk, whose political future looked limitless, took the oath of office as Mayor of Hoboken.
Cammarano was stubbornly working at his desk, and swearing to stick it out without resigning the day after he was arrested for taking $25,000 in cash bribes - including $10,000 just days ago - from Solomon Dwek, the government's cooperating witness.
But in the end, it looks like a deal brokered by Gov. Corzine - and transacted by attorneys from the Governor's office coming to terms with Cammarano's own lawyers - is what sealed the deal.
Cammarano is a lawyer, too, and was the protegee of Democratic uber-lawyer Angelo Genova, the Democratic Party's go-to guy on election and campaign finance law. And that makes it all the more repulsive, if the charges against Cammarano are true; he must have known precisely, and in detail, what a vicious twist of justice he was perpetuating.
At just 32, Cammarano was a rising star of the Golden Boy variety, who managed a fragile alliance of Old Hoboken forces and New Hoboken blood, and rose through a complex and dramatic election and run-off to become Mayor of the hottest place to live in the state of New Jersey.
I have no sympathy for those indicted in the corruption busts. Yes they can defend themselves and are innocent in the eyes of the court, but the accustations put a taint on the work that I and many others try to do for no other reason than we think it's the right thing. But like Jay said in his video diary, sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. NJDemocrat sent out a tweet earlier yesterday linking to a photo on Hoboken411.com that is apparently popping up on telephone poles around town in Hoboken:
On the one hand, I think it's humorous that someone is putting these up. In fact, a friend said that 1989 called and it wants their dot matrix printer back. On the other hand, it's a sad commentary on where things stand. For his part, Cammarano says he's innocent and he won't resign. Even if he's innocent, he's going to have to put a good deal of time and attention into defending himself. Plus, all the actions he takes while in office are going to be tainted by the previous accusations and indictments hanging over his head. He may not think that right or fair, but at this point it's what it is.
The Mayor of Hoboken, sworn in just days ago and arrested yesterday amid one of the largest and strangest corruption sweeps in New Jersey history, says he's not going anywhere.
Cammarano announced today he is planning to plead innocent, is back at work in the Mayor's office today. He says he has done nothing wrong, is innocent until proven guilty and can serve his duties in office while his case is pending.
Cammarano's bail was set at $100,000 and it was posted shortly after a federal hearing yesterday in Newark. The charges against Cammarano, 32, read as follows: charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. He is accused of taking $25,000 in cash bribes, including $10,000 just last week, from an undercover witness.
Maybe this is just what looks like business as usual in Hoboken, to him.
Assemblyman Reuben Ramos was too busy vacationing in the tropics to take a stand against the corruption tsunami engulfing his district. So in the meantime, here's Ramos actually defending his right to be bribed.
Note: I was at the Federal Building in Newark today, but not at the press conference. I was not permitted in the room, and I'll deal with that one later, because I'm steamed about it. But this is culled from the documents distributed there - - - Rosi Efthim
The ironies and contradictions of today's news whip the head around. Contradiction: This is bad news, as Jason points out. But it's also good news; when rocks are pried up and sunlight hits what squirms underneath, it's a victory. You know it is.
Contradiction: Today was a shock, but no surprise to a lot of weary voters. This is why people don't vote, why they throw their hands up in disgust. Ironically, the disgusted ones are precisely the ones we need engaged.
You've seen the big-name arrest list and the extraordinary perp walk, pols shuffling off one FBI bus, and rabbis another. Envelopes stuffed with cash. Meetings in diners. Promises made for introductions only to "players" who would "do the right thing" if greased sufficiently. A complex system of rabbis, and "cash houses" to launder dirty money. This is a bad movie.
Shoes still to drop Information may still sift in. Court-ordered search warramts were executed today for about 20 locations in NJ and New York to recover, among other things, large sums of cash. And 28 seizure warrants were executed against bank accounts of the money laundering defendants, and the entities in their control. There were 300 agents involved, in 54 locations in NJ-NY. And there is one charge of trafficking in human kidneys.
How did it work? What's still not clear to me is the extent to which all these politicians' alleged bad acts are tied together. To what degree were they in league with each other?
One clue to how federal investigators think it worked is included in a description of where their investigation started - with the money laundering - and how it wound its way to the pols.
The "CW," the Triangle, and the rabbis... Law enforcement, along with the cooperating witness (in documents, "CW") widely rumored as Solomon Dwek, infiltrated a pre-existing money laundering network between Deal, NJ, Brooklyn and Israel. The related investigation - hauling inthe politicians - has roots in 2007 Hudson County, when the CW started showing up looking to nab public contracts in the county schools.
He got himself introduced to a Jersey City building inspector. And from there a web of introductions and referrals grew that eventually included elected officials, council and mayoral candidates, zoning officials and others in official capacity, mostly in Hudson. Here's how (from the US Attorney's office statement):
In part, the bribe-taking was connected to fund raising efforts in heavily contested mayoral and city council campaigns in Jersey City and Hoboken, and the bribes were often parceled out to straw donors, who then wrote checks in their names or businesses to the campaigns in amounts that complied with legal limits on individual donations - so-called conduit or conversion donations. Other bribe recipients took cash for direct personal use and benefit; others kept some of the cash and used the rest for political campaigns, according to the criminal Complaints.
The biggest fish may be Peter Cammarano, just sworn in as Hoboken mayor days ago, and also a lawyer. He's charged with taking $25,000 in cash bribes, including $10,000 just one week ago, from an undercover witness. Cammarano's alledged to have taken cash bribes to grease the skids for a high rise development by the witness. At the diner meeting, Cammarano promised the CW "...you're going to be treated like a friend."
Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez, Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, state Assemblyman President L. Harvey Smith and state Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt were among those arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Ridgefield Mayor Suarez, who is also an attorney, is charged with agreeing to accept an illegal $10,000 cash payment for his legal defense fund.
What began as a federal investigation into money laundering by Syrian Jewish community leaders in New Jersey and New York a decade ago spawned into a broad web of political corruption that enveloped two N.J. assemblymen and three mayors.
Selling Body Parts and Money Laundering: Many of the Rabbi's were charged with money laundering millions of dollars through charities. Additionally disturbing is the fact that one Rabbi reportedly called himself a matchmaker trying to arrange for the sale of a kidney for $160,000.
People are still trying to wrap their arms around all of this news. The scope of the news today is what seems to be catching the attention of people. Some of the stories almost seem to be out of a movie script or novel. What do you think of what happened today and looking forward we can discuss what it means for the state, the Legislature and the Governor's race.
FBI and IRS agents are making the roundups all across the state in what is being described as one of the biggest investigations of its kind in Jersey's scandal-plagued history.
It appears to be a corruption related investigation but justice department and FBI spokesmen would not commenting on the details this morning.
We'll have more news as the day goes on, but this isn't good at all, on so many levels.
Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer today ended her Mayoral campaign by congratulating her opponent, Peter Cammarano, on his hard fought victory.
Zimmer said, "I congratulate Peter Cammarano for his victory. He worked tirelessly and campaigned effectively. While I know we will not always agree, I pledge to work cooperatively with him as we address the big challenges ahead."
Zimmer went on to say, "This has been a tough election that ended in a photo finish. Now, it is in the best interest of Hoboken that we move on to the task of governing our City."
Here's a bit more from an email sent to her mailing list...
Given the closeness of the race, and the anecdotal evidence of serious improprieties, many have advised me to pursue an election challenge. I gave much thought to doing so, but I have decided against it. This election was extremely divisive, and an election challenge would literally tear our town apart. My attorney has advised me that the margin of victory -- 161 votes - was large enough to make overturning the result extremely unlikely, even if we could prove that improprieties had occurred.
My own view is that Cammarano stole the election and that, in the interests of justice and of democracy, she should have fought on.
As it is Cammarano will not have a majority of the council "in his pocket" so let us hope that the Zimmer/Mason alliance will be able to reign in any future giveaways to developers and to the corrupt Hudson County political machine.
I understand why Zimmer chose discretion as opposed to valor, and pray that it works out for the best. In some sense it's easy for me to urge her to fight on; but she and her people have to live in that town and be subject to the consequences of an ongoing conflict (especially one in which the police are self interested supporters of the other side). Having said that, I urge any ambitious federal prosecutors out there to initiate a probe of all the underhanded shenaningans that were allegedly perpetrated by the Cammarano campaign.
Screwing with the electoral process is, in my book, a form af high treason and should be treated as such. Elections should be seen as a sacrament of democracy and playing these kinds of games should be seen as sacriligious. We, in New Jersey, have become so cynical about living with corruption that we are loathe to really get to the bottom of things for fear of the systemic disruption it could cause.
Progressives in Hoboken, Hudson County, and the whole state need to adopt a far more muscular approach to cleaning up our state or nothing much will ever change.
Meanwhile, I look forward to Dawn Zimmer and Beth Mason staying on the reform track as allies and becoming aggressive guardians of the best interests of the PEOPLE of Hoboken until the next electoral opportunity to clean things up.
Unless Dawn Zimmer asks for a recount, Peter Cammarano will be the next Mayor of Hoboken by a margin of 161 votes. Even if she doesn't, the victory of Zimmer's council candidates has them still ready to flex their muscles:
"It appears we'll have control of the City Council," Zimmer said yesterday.
"The council majority is going to be able to stop the NJ Transit Western Edge, and other out-of-scale projects that are currently in the works," said Zimmer's campaign manager Sam Briggs. "They will finally make redevelopment work for the people of Hoboken and not just the developers."
The new mayor dismissed those concerns:
"Every mayor has to work with whatever council they are presented with. And no City Council majority is lasting," he said. "Just because you have three council members who are with Zimmer doesn't mean they will always vote in lockstep. You will always have some new issue that will change their minds."
It looks like things will continue to be fun in Hoboken.
Well, the absentee ballots have been counted. With the help of absentees, Peter Cammarano won Hoboken's election by 67 vptes. The final vote count, including absentees was 6,043 Cammarano to 5976 to Dawn Zimmer.
But officials are saying it's still too close to call. There are an estimated 100 provisional votes still out there to be counted, which will be counted tomorrow.
There are 775 absentee ballots, but reportedly 75 of them have been impounded as the counting goes on at the Hudson County Clerk's office in Jersey City.
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
Updated by Jason: We had a lively discussion with Candidates for Mayor Beth Mason and Peter Cammarano, with candidate Ryn Melberg calling in as well following their discussion. You can have a listen by clicking play to the right.
Each week, Blue Jersey Radio streams LIVE with New Jersey's latest political buzz, interviews with newsmakers, and your stimulating calls.
This week, we will be joined by Hoboken Mayoral candidates Beth Mason and Peter Cammarano for a debate and discussion about the issues facing the city they would like to lead.
As always, we welcome the participation from our callers if you have something you'd like to say about the campaign or anything else. Remember, it's all LIVE, so you never know who might show up.
Promoted from the diaries - Thurman Last Monday, George W. Bush came to New Jersey to raise money for some conservative Republicans seeking election to Congress. The President knows these congressional candidates will work hard to pursue his policies, and that?s why he came to our State even though his popularity here is abysmal. Now, Leonard Lance and Chris Meyers might have George W. Bush swooping in to raise big bucks for their campaigns, but that doesn't mean we can?t do something about it.
Like most New Jersey residents, I don?t live in a swing district. So I won't be able to cast a vote to stop these Bush Republicans. I won't be able flip a seat to the Democratic side of the aisle at the ballot box on Election Day. But, I still want to do something to give Barack Obama a larger congressional majority. That's why, a week from tomorrow - next Tuesday, October 7th - I'm helping put together a fundraiser for Linda Stender's campaign in Hoboken.
If you are asking youself, "Self - who is that guy in the picture over there on the left?", then you can stop wondering. It is none other than Peter Cammarano, member at-large of the Hoboken City Council. I first met Peter back in '04 (remember '04? I do.) just after the John Kerry campaign wound down to...well, something slightly short of success.
I won't blame that on Peter, though. Peter has kept himself busy working on the statewide campaigns of Bob Menendez and Hillary Clinton, in addition to trying to restore a bit of sense to the Hoboken City Council. He even found the time to stop by NJCU and spend the evening talking to my students for a Local Politics Forum last month.
So I decided to ask Peter to go on the record with some comments about every municipality's greatest problem - its finances. Here's what Peter had to say:
Question: Like many cities, Hoboken seems to have budget problems every year. All I hear is that yet another deficit has to be plugged. What's the problem?
Answer: Passing a budget is arguably the most monumental task for local governments to accomplish. It is critically important that we approve an honest and responsible budget after considerable input from members of the public and State government.
The short and simple answer to why we seem to have budget problems in Hoboken is that that we spend more in our budget expenditures than we collect in taxes and other revenue sources.
The more comprehensive answer is that the City continues to hire people, and the cost of employing people continues to rise dramatically - including the cost of collectively bargained salaries and benefits. Hoboken has also developed an unhealthy reliance on one-shot gimmicks and non-recurring revenue as a short term fix for budget shortfalls - for example, the sale of municipal assets like the public works garage.
When the Port Authority of NY/NJ initially proposed a 50 cent/trip PATH fare hike, almost everyone thought it was a done deal. But some, including Senator Bob Menendez and Hoboken Councilman Peter Cammarano stood up and said it was wrong to penalize those who use public transportation. Tonight, Ron Marsico at the Star Ledger breaks the news that the PATH hike is expected to be just 25 cents.:
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is expected Friday to vote to increase PATH rail fares by a quarter instead of the originally proposed 50-cent hike, officials familiar with the plan said today.
PATH customers would pay $1.75 per trip, up from the current $1.50, while motorists using the Port Authority's Hudson River and Staten Island crossings will pay $8, under hikes likely to be approved Friday by the agency's board of commissioners.
Agency officials initially proposed raising PATH fares to $2, though New Jersey representatives privately were ambivalent since the overwhelming majority of customers are Garden State residents and because the agency has made increased use of mass transit a major goal in recent years. They said they do not believe New York's representatives would seek to block the reduction in the PATH hike.
Updated by Jason: We had a lively discussion with Candidates for Mayor Beth Mason and Peter Cammarano, with candidate Ryn Melberg calling in as well following their discussion. You can have a listen by clicking play to the right.
If you are asking youself, "Self - who is that guy in the picture over there on the left?", then you can stop wondering. It is none other than Peter Cammarano, member at-large of the Hoboken City Council. I first met Peter back in '04 (remember '04? I do.) just after the John Kerry campaign wound down to...well, something slightly short of success.
