Dennis Oury was called and testifed at the Joe Ferriero trial yesterday. When asked about why he wasn't named on resolutions appointing he and Ferriero's consulting company as grant writer, he said it was an intentional omission:
Each of the towns that received in December 2001 a resolution appointing GGC as grant writer was controlled by Democrats. Thomas Barrett and Anthony Mottola were listed as officers in each resolution, and Ferriero and Oury were not named at all.
"It would not have been good for business if our names surfaced in a public way, for reasons I said before," Oury testified.
I really, really loathe the political machine system we have throughout New Jersey. Whether it's a Democratic or Republican machine, whether it's run by a boss named Ferriero, Adubato, Lesniak, or Norcross, the whole idea of unelected but very powerful puppet masters pulling strings and playing kingmaker sickens me.
That said, I also believe strongly in the right of those in the United States to a fair, public trial by jury, and the requirement that those accused of a crime must be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in order to be convicted.
Right now, one slimy character in particular has caught people's attention, and rightly so. Joe Ferriero is best known as the erstwhile boss of the Bergen County Democratic machine...I mean, Organization. There's no doubt that a lot of the things party bosses like Ferriero do are unethical and conflict with the principles of a free, democratic nation. A boss wields a lot of money and power. Thanks to gerrymandering, it's easy for these party heads to essentially handpick people for an elected post before going through the motions of them being "nominated" and "elected" by the people. And most candidates aren't willing to take on the machine, instead running on the party line and then doing the party's bidding once in office. State Senator Loretta Weinberg is a prime example of that rare public official who's willing to actually do something about political machine, as evidenced by her challenge and defeat of Ferriero's legislative slate in 2005 and 2007. Unfortunately, Weinberg is also a prime example of that race public official who takes on the machine and wins. We've all heard of politicians who've fought the machines and ruined their careers in doing so. There's State Senate Co-President John O. Bennett, who refused to appropriate state funds for an arena in Pennsauken that had been demanded by George Norcross. Norcross, of course, stormed out of the room, shouting, "I will fucking destroy you!" and proceeded to trample the top Republican in the Senate in his re-election bid the following year. Or more recently, machine rival and current Senate President Dick Codey, who will probably lose his post next year thanks to a back-room deal between Norcross and Stephen Adubato, who want their candidates – Steve Sweeney and Sheila Oliver, respectively – in charge the New Jersey legislature. Just a couple examples of an all-too-common phenomenon here in Jersey.
Anyway, to get back on track: Political machines may be unethical, and the bosses who run those machines may be unethical. But have their slimy activities ever violated federal or state law? Federal prosecutors, including (at least up until recently) Chris Christie, say that in Ferriero's case, the answer is yes. Ferriero's defendant pleaded guilty last month, but Ferriero pleaded not guilty. And now that he's receiving his fair, public trial by jury, the question is: Is Joe Ferriero guilty beyond a reasonable doubt?
Dennis Oury can actually be credited, along with Boss Joe Ferriero (currently on trial) for being the catalyst that prompted me to write and write and write since January of 2007 - right here on Blue Jersey.
While the Christie campaign attempts to rewrite history as if Mr. Christie singlehandedly brought down Boss Joe and Dennis the Menace, I'll guide you all on a little history hike down memory lane, whaddaya say?
It was a chance meeting with then Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg at a Howard Dean meetup in 2003 that inspired me to enter politics in 2004 and ultimately to become a councilwoman. Loretta swore me in Tenafly in January, 2007. Ironically, it was the brief but outrageous missive written to the Bergen County Committee by Mr. Dennis Oury that very same month, that turned this newly elected official into a political blogger virtually overnight.
It was a brazen attempt by Joe Ferriero to allow his friends from OUTSIDE District 37 to unseat Loretta Weinberg from the Senate seat Boss Joe had promised to Ken Zisa. Ferriero & Oury were trying to change the bylaws to make it a COUNTYWIDE election for a DISTRICT wide senate seat. I called it "representation without representation". Do WE vote for NY's Governor? 'Course not. But here was Mr. Oury's letter in 3 little points making Joe Ferriero's wishes abundantly clear to those of us who fought hard to make our votes count in electing Senator Weinberg and Assemblywoman Valerie Huttle.
Ferriero emerged from the questioning as the driving force in the scheme, the de facto lobbyist pressuring state officials to free up state grant money, and the author of a phony shareholder agreement that assigned "front people" to disguise their interest in Government Grants Consulting LLC. And it was Ferriero who dispersed their payments, including $25,016.97 for Oury.
According to Stile, Ferriero was mentioned in 20 of the 61 questions asked by the Judge. Ferriero's trial is scheduled to start tomorrow, with his lawyer saying he will not plead guilty and that he wants a speedy trial.
Seeking to turn a negative into a positive, Senator Loretta Weinberg is donating $1,000 contributed to her in '04 and '05 to a worthy charity:
"I've instructed my campaign to donate that money to the Jill Fader Breast Cancer Endeavor at Englewood Hospital which helps to pay for mammograms for uninsured women," said Weinberg, the Democratic lieutenant governor candidate.
After Republicans tried to make an issue of the donations, the Senator had this to say:
Weinberg, a critic of Oury and Ferriero when they were in power, said she did not know why Oury made the two $500 donations to her campaign, which date back to 2004 and 2005.
"I'm the one who supported the candidates who wound up getting rid of Dennis Oury in Bergenfield," she said, referring to the ouster of Oury as Bergenfield's borough attorney. "Where were the Republicans when I was standing up to Dennis Oury?"
The charity is especially significant because of the recent focus on Christie's plan to offer mandate free policies and the implications that would have for coverage of procedures like mammograms, which Weinberg hit on again today as well:
"If we don't require insurance companies to cover mammograms, they won't. Period. That is why we battled against the big insurance companies to enact these mandates in the first place," said Weinberg. "The American Cancer Society helped lead the fight for the mammogram mandate because mammograms are a crucial defense against an insidious disease. Mr. Christie is either lying or he fails to understand the implications of his own policies. Either way, he has once again shown that he is wrong when it matters most."
Weinberg sponsored a bill that strengthened the original law mandating coverage in 2004, requiring insurance companies to also cover mammograms for women under 40 who have a family history of breast cancer.
NorthJersey.com/The Record is reporting that Attorney Dennis Oury pleaded guilty this morning "to charges of defrauding the residents of Bergenfield, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and failing to file a tax return for 2006." Opening arguments had been scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
I'd say the obvious issue is whether Oury made a deal to testify against Joe Ferriero.
"Did you and Joseph Ferriero deliberately set up and structure this company so that your involvement would not be publicly known to others?" asked U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler.
Attorney Dennis Oury says his failure to tell his accountant about $25,000 he received from a grant consulting business is like the "innocent oversight" cited by former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie in neglecting to report interest income from a loan to a colleague.
Without mentioning the Republican gubernatorial candidate by name, Oury's defense lawyer, Gerald Krovatin, alluded to him in court papers seeking to strike certain language from a revised indictment as irrelevant to the crimes charged, and prejudicial to Oury.
Here's what they want changed and their justification for the motion:
Oury is seeking to strike language from four new counts, added in July, alleging willful failure to file tax returns for the years 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
The passages in question allege that from 2004 through 2007, Oury "concealed" from his personal accountant $25,000 he received from GGC in 2004 and only after he became aware of the grand jury probe in 2008 did he instruct his accountant to include that income.
Krovatin said Oury's memory was jogged by the investigation and, in an apparent reference to Christie, described the lapse as an oversight, "similar to an innocent 'oversight' of interest income from a personal loan to a colleague or friend."
Prosecutors opposed the motion made by Oury's team. I didn't think it was an oversight for Christie and I don't think it's one for Oury either. But it's certainly an interesting legal argument that keeps the Christie loan story in the news.
Word is that the BCDO has replaced their general counsel yet again (Update: This has been confirmed.). If it's true, Joseph Ariyan would be the fourth BCDO attorney in less than six months. Ariyan was the Democratic senate candidate in the 39th legislative district in 2007.
Former BCDO attorney Dennis Oury was replaced by Paul Kaufman on September 11. Joe Ferriero fired Kaufman on January 15 and replaced him with Joseph Marinello.
Thank you Mr. Christie.
As a BCDO County Committee member who may not share your party affiliation, I have to express my extreme gratitude for your hard work.
As someone who:
Grew up in Bergenfield, and was horrified to watch my home town get swallowed up by Pay to Play
Witnessed brazen attempts to make sure my vote DIDN'T count at special elections to elect my state legislators
Was thrown off the BCDO line again and again by Joe Ferriero for having the AUDACITY to vote my conscience
Who stood on the steps at the Hackensack Middle School in 15 degree weather for hours to protest Ferriero's attempt to change the BCDO Bylaws to weaken our vote
Who signed petitions to get a special meeting of the BCDO called only to have Mr. Ferriero ignore our pleas for a fair and open process
Who stood up to nominate Mr. Ferriero's opponent at his re-elections only to witness undemocratic behavior of the worst kind
Who watched the Pay to Play boys outspend us 13 to one with the help of large donations from no-bid contract companies to win a County primary
I want to thank you. You gave those of us in NJ who love democracy no matter what their party some hope today. Hope that we can clean up corruption, and that we should always try, because sometimes, sometimes, the good guys actually win in the end.
I know you are a Republican, sir, but as a Democrat from Bergen County, I sincerely want to thank you for helping us take the first steps to take back our party and County Government for the PEOPLE of Bergen County.
Update:PolitickerNJ is reporting that Ferriero will resign as Bergen County Democratic Chairman. A special election will have to be held for a new chair with Vice Chair Kay Nest serving as acting chair until then.
Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero, one of the state's most powerful political figures, was indicted today by a federal grand jury on corruption charges.
Dennis Oury, an attorney for the Bergen Democrats and a partner in a private consulting firm with Ferriero, was also indicted.
The charges stem from the pair's partnership in Government Grants Consulting LLC, a private consulting firm that was awarded government contracts across the county, including one in Bergenfield.
According to the eight-count indictment, the men conspired to conceal Oury's interest in the firm from officials in Bergenfield, a town that employed Oury as borough attorney. Oury's dual role posed a conflict of interest, prosecutors alleged.
More to come as Chris Christie is holding a press conference to make the official announcement.
When asked if any borough official or employee discussed taking steps to "hurt, harm, damage or inflict any type of suffering" on former Sgt. John Ward, Shore responded, "Yes."
"Tell me what you heard," Ward's lawyer, Andrew Samson, said to Shore.
"I can't," he said.
"Why not?"
"It was in closed session. There was - it was the borough attorney talking to the council," Shore responded.
That's borough clerk Ian Shore with the pretty singing voice.
I'm not a lawyer, but if the borough council plotted to break laws during closed session, then legal privilege is mooted. And the whole lot can be subject to RICO charges.
The image to the left is one that Joe Ferriero and Dennis Oury will likely have etched in their memories for the rest of their lives. Published in The Record (credit to Leslie Barbaro), it shows FBI agents taking reams of documents into their possession. Michael Gartland and Peter Sampson write:
A half-dozen agents, all in suits, were still at Ferriero's law offices at the firm of Scarinci Hollenbeck early this afternoon and had loaded at least eight boxes of documents into unmarked cars with non-government plates. No police officers were at the site.
Lawrence H. Kraft, executive director of Scarinci Hollenbeck, also confirmed in a written statement that a warrant had been executed at the firm's headquarters.
He emphasized that the warrant called for a search of "the private office of Joseph Ferriero for records relating to Mr. Ferriero as an individual and not related to his position at Scarinci Hollenbeck."
That, my friends, is the sound of Joe Ferriero being thrown under the bus. If Scarinci and Hollenbeck is moving to protect its reputation and putting Boss Joe out with a big target on him...yeah. It's a matter of time.
Give the Fort Lee Borough Council credit for not being afraid to keep their bread buttered on both sides of the bread. Despite having an active investigation into Dennis Oury's contracts with the Borough of Fort Lee, the Borough Council voted to extend his contract through the end of the year.
Christine Rossi reports:
Mayor Mark J. Sokolich said regarding the reappointment, "At this point it would be detrimental to change ships in midstream. Mr. Oury knows this file backwards and forwards. To train someone else at this sensitive stage could take three to five months." He described the action as "logical."
Also in May, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark subpoenaed documents including contracts and invoices with Mr. Oury's firm-The Law Office of Dennis J. Oury-which serves also as Planning Board attorney.
At that time, Mayor Sokolich said the dual appointment was made because Centuria requires Planning Board approvals and it would provide "a level of consistency."
Why doesn't Mayor Sokolich just admit the truth? "Dennis Oury won't let us fire him." Apparently, it is more important to get the Centurion project done quickly instead of making sure that nothing crooked is going on.
But here's the thing - Oury is getting paid $22,500 for his work on behalf of the Borough of Fort Lee. If there is no conflict of interest, then he would also be getting paid to do the same thing for the Planning Board. If, on the other hand, there is a separate payment from the Planning Board, then that would indicate the presence of a separate interest that needed legal representation.
Or am I missing something? Nope. I don't think so. Either Oury is double-billing or he is in violation of his professional ethics - which is, of course, a redundant statement.
Wood-Ridge Borough Hall has confirmed to Blue Jersey that the Bergen County municipality was served with a subpoena on Friday seeking records in the investigation of Joe Ferriero and Dennis Oury. Last Monday, the US Attorney's office subpoenaed records in a dozen other Bergen County municipalities. State Senator Paul Sarlo is the Mayor of Wood-Ridge.
Bergen County Corruption Calendar Corruption-free for 0 days Longest corruption-free streak: 9 days Running since June 22, 2008
Update: Wood-Ridge Borough Administrator/Sarlo Legislative Chief of Staff/Bergen Tax Commissioner Chris Eilert tells the Record:
"We've never done any business with the company, the individual partners listed or their other companies," he said. "It looks like a fishing expedition."
Last week's round of subpoena's, when the US Attorney hit twelve towns instead of just one, looked more like a fishing expedition. Wood-Ridge was apparently the only municipality to receive a subpoena on Friday, so there's a good chance Chris Christie's office was looking for something specific.
Michael Gartland of the Bergen Record is now telling us that an illegal partnership may be the undoing of the Boss of Bergen County and his Lackluster Lackey-in-Chief:
A consulting firm at the center of a federal investigation did not incorporate in New Jersey or file an affirmative action report, as required by law, according to state officials.
Governmental Grants Consulting also doesn't show up in a database covering corporate documents from all 50 states.
The only paper trail left behind by the firm is the contracts it had with at least five Bergen County municipalities, along with records showing payments for those contracts.
Hmmm. Let's see - if they opened a bank account under an illegal business name, then that would be bank fraud. If they mailed a bill to their clients, then that would be mail fraud. Looks like it's pretty bad for Ferriero and Oury. Oury, in particular, seems to have "forgotten" to file disclosure reports for some of his conflicted interests.
The best excuse for those handing out contracts? Take a lesson from James Guida, former mayor of Lyndhurst:
Former Lyndhurst Mayor James Guida, said he thought Spatz showed him the proper credentials for a limited liability company, but was not entirely certain.
"I met the fellow, I think, once," he said. "Governmental Grants - it sounded professional. David Spatz - he sounded very professional."
Ineptitude and stupidity, it seems, will be the defense.
In related news (or soon-to-be-news-I-hope), there has been a lot of hard feelings (understandably) towards my old boss, Congressman Steve Rothman, for his public support of Joe Ferriero following the Senate primary. As I recall, however, Congressman Rothman showed some real courage in pulling his support for a grant in North Bergen because of ongoing investigations into no-show jobs in the Public Works Department. Surely these revelations about Oury/Ferriero's (allegedly) illegal partnerships are enough to cancel any feelings of loyalty Mr. Rothman would feel towards his "long-time friend". If nothing else, Mr. Rothman's constituents would like a public statement to the effect that he would not support anyone currently under investigation for illegal activities for the position of County Chair.
The Real Bergen Democrats seem to have caught Joe Ferriero off guard this year. This time around, the RBD's county-level challengers are more than just placeholders and they're running a serious county-wide operation. Those canvassers are apparently considered enough of a threat that the BCDO is making robocalls warning people to demand identification before allowing those "outsiders" into their homes. Here's some audio (the first few seconds were clipped off, but I think it mentions the reports of corruption against Ferriero/Oury).
"[cut off]...claiming that Bergen County Democratic candidates are corrupt. This is an underhanded attempt by outsiders to undermine the Democratic party in a crucial election year. Democrats are therefore being advised to ask anyone coming to your door to produce identification before permitting them access to your home. Thank you."
One step ahead of the BCDO, the Real Bergen Democrats canvassers were sent out with name tags and identification.
A great story about how Michael Wildes - Joe Ferriero's pick for LD37 State Senator last year, stacked Englewood's Planning Board with political donors. One of the guys put on the Board by Wildes is Joe Ferriero's handpicked BCDO Freeholder Vernon Walton.
It is such a good article, with charts and everything, I'm thinking about sending links to everyone on the Tenafly Council. It appears that the only folks our Mayor wants on our Boards have enough money to wipe out the national debt. Knowledge of planning is NOT required, being a YES man IS - and an EXTREMELY wealthy one at that. I wonder who donated to his expensive re-election campaign..........
Then on page 1 of the Local section is an article about how Joe Ferriero may just lose his re-election at the BCDO if we elect enough Real Bergen Dems on Tuesday.:
Boy do they have that right. This is going to be a bare knuckled fight right down to the wire. Tyrants never give up the throne easily and those County Committee seats are key to this Party Boss holding onto his power. The key thing is that an official Primary is less likely to be tampered with than Joe's re-election vote (that happens with flimsy cardboard boxes and glowering goons in the room and NO PRESS) only a week after the Primary. So getting out the vote and having Democrats vote our column instead of Joe's is crucial for ending Pay to Play and Joe Ferriero's reign of terror. As we know from bitter experience, an election carried out by Ferriero's people is NOT a democratic affair.
Thank you Karen for explaining why this Tuesday is so vital to our Party cleaning up corruption!
As if Joe could stand to turn a few more pages, Page 1 of the Opinion section (It was a true blue Triple Front Page Tri-Fecta!):
This Mike Kelly column ( I love that man) reminds everyone that the FEDS had to serve those subpoenas, because, just like in the Sopranos episode where all the boys go to Italy together, Bergen County Prosecutor Molinelli, (whose appointment had been held up by Senator Loretta Weinberg - for damn good reasons) travels to Italy every year with best buds Dennis Oury (remember him?) and Joe Coniglio (disgraced former State Senator). Molinelli is also best buds with Joe Ferriero himself. The really sad part is that this guy - a prosecutor - couldn't even tell it MIGHT BE a conflict of interest to go on vacation with the guys he should be INVESTIGATING.
(Being from Tenafly, I need to acknowledge that the Prosecutor's STAFF worked well and quickly with our Tenafly detectives to bring Mr. Choi to justice within 36 hours of the 9-11 call for the Tenafly Rd homicides. However, our Tenafly Police Chief had to call Mr. Molinelli with the news the bad guy had been caught while Mr. Molinelli was already in Florida. Probably on vacation with Mr. Oury at his asset-protected dwelling. Molinelli wanted the spotlight that Friday night - which was fine - it kept him busy while the REAL cops were busy catching the bad guy.
For comic relief in the whole extremely sad story I need to tell you that the only elected official in our town who felt the need to duck under the Police tape was our Mayor - of course. He went under the tape and was collared by an officer who asked what he was doing there. He started with "I'm the Mayor..." and was abruptly told to be the Mayor on the OTHER side of the tape. (I love our Police dept.))
Molinelli DID drop the ball. I doubt if he ever had it in his hands in the first place. Too bad we could not get more information about him while folks were skewering Loretta Weinberg for using senatorial courtesy to prevent the travesty of justice in the appointment of this fox to guard the henhouse. I think we all owe Senator Weinberg an apology. She was right all along. Molinelli is not going to clean up corruption in Bergen County. How can he? He doesn't even know it when he sees it.
There was an editorial in the Record about the Primary fight in Bergen - including the Real Bergen Dems efforts to unseat the incumbent Dems Ganz, McPherson, and Walton, who are Joe Ferriero's candidates.
While the Record did not endorse any of the Freeholder candidates for Tuesday's Primary, the editorial brings up the positive implications of giving voters an actual choice and a possibility for change at the County level. We couldn't agree more - of course we'd like our friends in Bergen County to choose US, but we are encouraged by the effort the Record is making to educate the voters about the race.
Other news about the Oury/Ferriero subpeonas and what is now being touted in the Record as "The Oury Story":
Apparently, Oury only filed ONE financial disclosure form in the past 6 years - in 2002 - and it did NOT include his involvement with Governmental Grants Consulting who was hired that same year to get grants for the Borough of Bergenfield. I love the inset that explains the kind of clients Oury typically works for. It gives you an idea of his sense of priorities.
Below is the paragraph that really struck me:
The phone number in a Governmental Grants Consulting letterhead is the same number Spatz uses for a more recent enterprise, Community Housing and Planning Associates. That number also appears on a Hudson County Economic Development Corp. document that lists Spatz under Zoning Administration in Union City.
Wow, these boys do get around. Coincidence that that phone number got used so darn much? I think not.
It's a good thing BCDO Spokesman Bill Maer says that the expensive attorneys Dennis and Joe are using won't be billing the BCDO. Will they be billing Bergenfield? Or Edgewater? or Demarest? or Garfield? Are we to actually believe that FINALLY Joe and Oury will know how painful it is to have pay exhorbitant amounts of money for an attorney? What sweet sweet justice.
Ah - FINALLY somebody may get Ferriero to release financial records. We tried to get records last year as members of the Bergen County Democratic Committee, but Oury and Ferriero refused our legal request.
But the guys asking this time are the Feds. I bet that's why BlueBergen isn't around lately nipping at my heels on every single diary. Must be helping Dennis and Joe shred some documents - in a hurry. It was only last week that the Politicker NJ folks were trying madly to distance Ferriero from Oury. Too late. So sad.
Here is the thing. I didn't even know about this consulting firm Oury and Ferriero had together. They basically made boroughs like Bergenfield hire - with barely a discussion and on the SAME Day that Oury would become Borough Attorney - a firm to GET government grants. Pretty easy, I guess when you not only own the machinery of government at Municipal and County level as well as the "Consulting Firm" to get the grants AND you own the politicians who give those grants away.
Can you say "Conflict of Interest?".
Wonder if HUMC also hired them too. HUMC got all the grants while other hospitals languished only to fail and be gobbled up by ....... HUMC.
This appears to be the direction the probe is taking. The only funny part of this sad saga in NJ corruption history is that FOJ are still trying to say that this is a witch hunt.
Buying municipal "consultants" in NJ lately has the air of paying for "Protection" in the heydays of Mafia control whenever Oury and Ferriero are involved.
Don't feel helpless. There is something you can do: Please vote Column 3 on June 3 for the Real Bergen Dems so we can get rid of the corrupt influence of Oury and Ferriero.
Two years ago, I stood up in a Hackensack gym and nominated an opponent of Ferriero to the jeers of his goons. This year - with honest Real Bergen Democrat County Committee Members that YOU can help elect in the Primary, we just may be able to replace Ferriero with an honest Dem who still believes in Government BY The people. Remember? The People. YOU and me. WE the people.
The image to the left is one that Joe Ferriero and Dennis Oury will likely have etched in their memories for the rest of their lives. Published in The Record (credit to Leslie Barbaro), it shows FBI agents taking reams of documents into their possession. 
