Hmmm...
It's April 1st, and you came here looking for what?...
Friday, April 01, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. :: 2011 EVENTS
| SATURDAY · January 15 · Doors open at 12:30 PM Omega Psi Phi: 'The Dream: It's Up To Me' The 'Omega Talent Hunt', showcasing the area's most talented student performers in Dance, Instrumental and Spoken Word/Drama. At: Hubbard Middle School, 661 West 8th Street Sponsor: Omicron Chi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Info: (201) 741-1415 |
| SATURDAY · January 15 · 7 PM New Dems: 3rd Annual MLK Potluck Dinner and Food Drive Donations of canned goods or non-perishable food items will benefit Plainfield's StarFish feeding program. At the home of Councilor Adrian and Amelia Mapp, 535 West 8th Street Sponsor: New Democrats for Plainfield No RSVP necessary. Invite your friends to this popular event. |
| SATURDAY · January 15 · 7 PM POP: Celebrating the Life and Work of Martin Luther King Jr. The annual program this year featuring Larry Hamm as guest speaker At the Society of Friends Meetinghouse, 225 Watchung Avenue. Sponsor: People's Organization for Progress, Plainfield Chapter Info: Steven Hatcher, (908) 731-1518 |
| MONDAY · January 17 · 8:30 AM Frontiers MLK Annual Memorial Breakfast. Guest speaker: Dr. Joy DeGruy, author of 'Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome' At Plainfield High School Cafeteria, 950 Park Avenue (use Kenyon Avenue lot and entrance) Tickets: $16/person, $12/Students/Seniors Sponsor: Plainfield Area Chaper of Frontiers International Info and reservations: (908) 756-4663 or (908) 822-2202 |
| MONDAY · January 17 · 4 PM City-Wide Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration Keynote speaker the Rev. Samuel 'Billy' Kyles, pastor of Monumental Baptist Church, Memphis, Tennessee, and the last person to see Dr. King alive Freedom Youth Choir will sing songs of the Civil Rights movement At Shiloh Baptist Church, 515 West Fourth Street. Sponsor: Shiloh Baptist Church, Rev Dr. Gerald Lamont Thomas, Pastor Info:(908) 754-3353 or visit the website at www.shilohplainfield.org/. |
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Hispanics - AG Peter Harvey's Plainfield Meeting - 2005
AG meets to discuss attacks on Latinos
Plainfield crimes spur talks with activists, police and community leaders
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
BY JULIA M. SCOTT
Star-Ledger Staff Plainfield needs to make "systematic changes" to prevent crimes targeting Latinos, according to state Attorney General Peter Harvey, who met with community leaders for two hours last night behind closed doors.
"I don't just want to be in response mode," he said to reporters following the meeting.
Of the attacks that targeted Latinos in Plainfield and North Plainfield in spring 2004 and summer 2005, only one of the beatings has involved charges of bias intimidation.
To make sure those patterns don't emerge again, Harvey proposed giving immigrants identification cards so they can open a bank account and deposit their wages instead of carrying around cash.
"They have cash in their pockets and some people know it," he said, adding that many of the crimes happen after someone leaves a bar.
To make the community safer, Plainfield needs to hire more Spanish-speaking police officers, increase police patrols, educate the community about safety and hold more meetings between law enforcement and residents. Harvey also suggested posting signs in Spanish in bars alerting patrons to past attacks and linking car services with bar owners to encourage patrons to get a ride home.
Harvey scheduled last night's meeting shortly after activist Carmen Salavarrita renewed claims of bias attacks against Latinos last month. Harvey said that it is "fairly rare" for a community to come together and show concerns about bias crimes, even though he meets frequently with local law enforcement and residents.
Almost 30 people, including Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow, Plainfield Police Chief Edward Santiago and Safety Director Jiles Ship, attended the meeting at St. Mary's School on West Sixth Street.
Salavarrita believes some of the attacks on Latinos have been bias crimes, even though officials have said otherwise.
"A lot of people want to keep it quiet but that's not going to solve anything," she said. Salavarrita, who lives in Piscataway, said victims come to her for help because she has close ties to the community as a board member of Plainfield's El Centro Hispanoamericano and as a trustee of the Plainfield Health Center. She blames "a group of black people" for the attacks.
Another Latino activist, however, says the entire community is actually working together.
"The message we are sending is our community will not be divided," said Flor Gonzalez of the Latin American Coalition.
Gonzalez was not the only one to downplay Salavarrita's allegations.
"Crime statistics reflect that victimization is not solely a Hispanic issue," Santiago said. The police chief agreed the city needs to hire more Spanish-speaking officers in addition to the 14 currently on staff.
"We are getting more and more investigations that require interviews with Spanish speakers," he said after the meeting.
Santiago suggested starting a citizens' education program at the police academy to increase awareness of safety issues.
Councilman Ray Blanco similarly dismissed the claim that there is tension between the African- American and Latino community.
"They're not killing us on the streets," he said to a resident who had come to give Harvey a personal letter. "You know this and I know this."
Julia M. Scott covers Plainfield. She may be reached at jscott@star ledger.com or (908) 302-1505.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Plainfield 2010 Primary Election Results (Council)
Plainfield 2010 Primary Election Results (Council)
District-by-district results for City Council seats.
Wards 2/3 at-large was a contested race between three Democrats --
In Ward 1, Democrat Bill Reid and Republican Sean Alfred were unopposed.
Total voter turnout was 2,286 citywide.
In Wards 2/3, 1,549 Democratic votes were cast. With a total of 7,384 registered Democrats,
this is a turnout of 21%.
(As for unaffiliated voters declaring themselves at the polling place, my experience in one of the busier districts at Evergreen School was ONE person declaring Democratic voter affiliation on Primary day.)
District-by-district results for City Council seats.
Wards 2/3 at-large was a contested race between three Democrats --
- Rashid Burney (Regular Democratic Organization [Incumbent])
- Don Davis (Hold On To Plainfield)
- Rebecca Williams (New Democrats for Plainfield)
In Ward 1, Democrat Bill Reid and Republican Sean Alfred were unopposed.
| WARD/DIST | BURNEY | DAVIS | WILLIAMS | PIVNICHNY |
| WARD 2 | ||||
| District 01 | 22 | 3 | 22 | 0 |
| District 02 | 14 | 5 | 56 | 5 |
| District 03 | 20 | 10 | 47 | 5 |
| District 04 | 24 | 4 | 24 | 2 |
| District 05 | 13 | 1 | 66 | 9 |
| District 06 | 38 | 2 | 77 | 23 |
| District 07 | 35 | 7 | 26 | 2 |
| District 08 | 30 | 4 | 40 | 12 |
| District 09 | 18 | 3 | 59 | 17 |
| District 10 | 30 | 3 | 49 | 12 |
| District 11 | 33 | 11 | 26 | 8 |
| TOTAL - WARD 2 | 277 | 53 | 492 | 95 |
| WARD 3 | ||||
| District 01 | 15 | 3 | 25 | 7 |
| District 02 | 13 | 14 | 28 | 2 |
| District 03 | 20 | 19 | 40 | 5 |
| District 04 | 22 | 23 | 40 | 2 |
| District 05 | 42 | 18 | 35 | 3 |
| District 06 | 35 | 15 | 41 | 6 |
| District 07 | 26 | 9 | 38 | 2 |
| District 08 | 25 | 6 | 20 | 2 |
| District 09 | 49 | 18 | 35 | 1 |
| District 10 | 24 | 19 | 10 | 2 |
| TOTAL - WARD 3 | 271 | 144 | 312 | 32 |
| TOTAL - WARDS 2/3 | 548 | 197 | 804 | 127 |
| WARD 1 | REID | ALFRED | ||
| District 01 | 49 | 1 | ||
| District 02 | 25 | 1 | ||
| District 03 | 37 | 2 | ||
| District 04 | 20 | 6 | ||
| District 05 | 22 | 2 | ||
| District 06 | 24 | 0 | ||
| District 07 | 35 | 1 | ||
| District 08 | 34 | 0 | ||
| TOTAL - WARD 1 | 246 | 13 |
Total voter turnout was 2,286 citywide.
In Wards 2/3, 1,549 Democratic votes were cast. With a total of 7,384 registered Democrats,
this is a turnout of 21%.
(As for unaffiliated voters declaring themselves at the polling place, my experience in one of the busier districts at Evergreen School was ONE person declaring Democratic voter affiliation on Primary day.)
Friday, May 21, 2010
Gangs | Bystanders caught in middle of Plainfield gang feud | NJ Newsroom
Bystanders caught in middle of Plainfield gang feud
Wednesday, 19 May 2010 14:25
BY ALICIA CRUZ
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
A man and two women suffered injuries in the West End neighborhood of Plainfield in what police are calling a gang related feud between rival gangs that has been seething for months.
The 45-year-old male victim in the shooting that occurred around 8:40 p.m. Sunday, drove himself to the former Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center after sustaining a gunshot wound to his upper left arm. He told police he was driving his 2002 Volkswagen Jetta near the 400 block of Liberty Street near the Liberty Village housing complex when someone shot at his vehicle, shattering the rear window and hitting him in the arm. Investigators say the victim, who told them a group of "young boys" fired the shot, was otherwise uncooperative.
That shooting incident remains under investigation, but no suspects have been arrested at this time. Police said there might be a connection between the Liberty Street shooting and a second shooting that occurred during the wee hours of Monday morning less than a quarter-mile away at the Elmwood Gardens.
The first officer who responded to that shooting was already in the area and heard the gunfire. Upon arriving at West Second and New streets in the Elmwood Gardens housing complex around 2 a.m., the officer found a 21-year-old Dunellen female suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper left arm.
The second victim, a 30-year-old woman, was found several minutes later a half-block away suffering from a gunshot wound to the right buttock. Before being transported to the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Brunswick, both victims told investigators they did not see the shooter or shooters.
An immediate search of the area turned up no leads, but several witnesses told police the shots came from a Black 2003 Mercedes-Benz bearing Virginia plates that was seen in the area driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Police later found the suspect vehicle approximately 1.5 miles from the scene of the shootings near the corner of West Fifth Street and Stanley Place fully engulfed in flames.
Emergency crews extinguished the fire, which was believed to be the result of arson. A search of the vehicle by the Union County Sheriff's Identification Unit and Arson Task Force found several live rounds of ammunition near the car's passenger door. The vehicle was later towed to police headquarters.
Investigators say the shooters intended targets appear to have been two males who were at the scene but both remain unidentified at this time. Police say despite increased police presence, trepidation between the Libside and West Third Street gang sets appears to be escalating.
"They don't seem to care," said city Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig. "We've been trying to keep the peace down there, because there's certainly been some things brewing."
According to Hellwig, the feud has been simmering since the beginning of the new year. The violence between the two gangs appears to be escalating at the expense of innocent bystanders, which has forced police to develop an aggressive operational strategy to address the issue.
The three West End housing complexes, Elmwood Gardens, Liberty Village and the nearby West End Gardens, are all managed by the Housing Authority of Plainfield, and have become the nucleus of gang activity for years, but officials said residents, understandably reluctant to speak for fear of retaliation from gangs, hamper efforts.
Anyone with information on either of these shootings is asked to call Plainfield Police Detectives Edwin Maldonado or Nash Brown at 908-753-3415 or Detective Eugene Goldston at 908-753-3531. All calls will remain confidential.
Article #12310
http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/bystanders-caught-in-middle-of-plainfield-gang-feud
---------------------
NOTE: Story was taken down during the day. Below is text of email I sent to NJ Newsroom folks on 5/21/2010 -- Dan
---------------------
Wednesday, 19 May 2010 14:25
BY ALICIA CRUZ
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
A man and two women suffered injuries in the West End neighborhood of Plainfield in what police are calling a gang related feud between rival gangs that has been seething for months.
The 45-year-old male victim in the shooting that occurred around 8:40 p.m. Sunday, drove himself to the former Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center after sustaining a gunshot wound to his upper left arm. He told police he was driving his 2002 Volkswagen Jetta near the 400 block of Liberty Street near the Liberty Village housing complex when someone shot at his vehicle, shattering the rear window and hitting him in the arm. Investigators say the victim, who told them a group of "young boys" fired the shot, was otherwise uncooperative.
That shooting incident remains under investigation, but no suspects have been arrested at this time. Police said there might be a connection between the Liberty Street shooting and a second shooting that occurred during the wee hours of Monday morning less than a quarter-mile away at the Elmwood Gardens.
The first officer who responded to that shooting was already in the area and heard the gunfire. Upon arriving at West Second and New streets in the Elmwood Gardens housing complex around 2 a.m., the officer found a 21-year-old Dunellen female suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper left arm.
The second victim, a 30-year-old woman, was found several minutes later a half-block away suffering from a gunshot wound to the right buttock. Before being transported to the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Brunswick, both victims told investigators they did not see the shooter or shooters.
An immediate search of the area turned up no leads, but several witnesses told police the shots came from a Black 2003 Mercedes-Benz bearing Virginia plates that was seen in the area driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Police later found the suspect vehicle approximately 1.5 miles from the scene of the shootings near the corner of West Fifth Street and Stanley Place fully engulfed in flames.
Emergency crews extinguished the fire, which was believed to be the result of arson. A search of the vehicle by the Union County Sheriff's Identification Unit and Arson Task Force found several live rounds of ammunition near the car's passenger door. The vehicle was later towed to police headquarters.
Investigators say the shooters intended targets appear to have been two males who were at the scene but both remain unidentified at this time. Police say despite increased police presence, trepidation between the Libside and West Third Street gang sets appears to be escalating.
"They don't seem to care," said city Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig. "We've been trying to keep the peace down there, because there's certainly been some things brewing."
According to Hellwig, the feud has been simmering since the beginning of the new year. The violence between the two gangs appears to be escalating at the expense of innocent bystanders, which has forced police to develop an aggressive operational strategy to address the issue.
The three West End housing complexes, Elmwood Gardens, Liberty Village and the nearby West End Gardens, are all managed by the Housing Authority of Plainfield, and have become the nucleus of gang activity for years, but officials said residents, understandably reluctant to speak for fear of retaliation from gangs, hamper efforts.
Anyone with information on either of these shootings is asked to call Plainfield Police Detectives Edwin Maldonado or Nash Brown at 908-753-3415 or Detective Eugene Goldston at 908-753-3531. All calls will remain confidential.
Article #12310
http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/bystanders-caught-in-middle-of-plainfield-gang-feud
---------------------
NOTE: Story was taken down during the day. Below is text of email I sent to NJ Newsroom folks on 5/21/2010 -- Dan
---------------------
Good morning,
NJ Newsroom ran a story yesterday AM on recent gang activity in Plainfield.
I aggregate links to news stories of interest to Plainfield readers on my blog CLIPS, and posted a link to the story in my usual fashion.
As I scanned the item preparatory to putting up a link, it seemed very similar to my recollection of the Courier News item "Three injured in Plainfield shootings as gang feud escalates" of 5/17/2010, and I put a link to their story alongside the one to yours. (The story was actually broken on my local news blog, Plainfield Today, early Monday AM as part of a roundup of police news -- "3 shot over weekend, pedestrian struck, plus unremarked bias incident")
I was told by someone yesterday afternoon that your story had been taken down, and that Plainfield police director Martin Hellwig had confirmed that no one from NJ Newsroom had contacted him about the story, though there was a direct quote in your piece.
As a news junkie (and retired public information officer for the City of Plainfield), I have had the highest regard for NJ Newsroom since its inception and admire both the news stories and the wide variety of opinions expressed on issues of concern to New Jerseyans.
This experience, however, has left me feeling uneasy. In print media, there might be a correction or a small notice about what had gone awry. Scanning your site, I don't find somewhere that a reader could turn for clarifications or corrections or admissions that a mistake or ethical lapse had been made.
I hope you will consider a little 'corner' for such, so that your deservedly good reputation will remain of the highest order.
Sincerely,
Dan Damon
NJ Newsroom ran a story yesterday AM on recent gang activity in Plainfield.
I aggregate links to news stories of interest to Plainfield readers on my blog CLIPS, and posted a link to the story in my usual fashion.
As I scanned the item preparatory to putting up a link, it seemed very similar to my recollection of the Courier News item "Three injured in Plainfield shootings as gang feud escalates" of 5/17/2010, and I put a link to their story alongside the one to yours. (The story was actually broken on my local news blog, Plainfield Today, early Monday AM as part of a roundup of police news -- "3 shot over weekend, pedestrian struck, plus unremarked bias incident")
I was told by someone yesterday afternoon that your story had been taken down, and that Plainfield police director Martin Hellwig had confirmed that no one from NJ Newsroom had contacted him about the story, though there was a direct quote in your piece.
As a news junkie (and retired public information officer for the City of Plainfield), I have had the highest regard for NJ Newsroom since its inception and admire both the news stories and the wide variety of opinions expressed on issues of concern to New Jerseyans.
This experience, however, has left me feeling uneasy. In print media, there might be a correction or a small notice about what had gone awry. Scanning your site, I don't find somewhere that a reader could turn for clarifications or corrections or admissions that a mistake or ethical lapse had been made.
I hope you will consider a little 'corner' for such, so that your deservedly good reputation will remain of the highest order.
Sincerely,
Dan Damon
--
Dan Damon
dandamon@comcast.net
908.448.7688
PLAINFIELD TODAY
The needler in the haystack
http://ptoday.blogspot.com/
C L I P S
Where Plainfield turns for news
http://pclips.blogspot.com/
Our lives begin to end when we are silent about things that matter.
--- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dan Damon
dandamon@comcast.net
908.448.7688
PLAINFIELD TODAY
The needler in the haystack
http://ptoday.blogspot.com/
C L I P S
Where Plainfield turns for news
http://pclips.blogspot.com/
Our lives begin to end when we are silent about things that matter.
--- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Freeholder seat: Carter to replace Van Blake as candidate
FREEHOLDERS: Van Blake loses endorsement, Carter as replacement
POLITICKERNJ (Five items: Oldest to newest) plus PLAINFIELD TODAY and JERRY GREEN'S PAGE
Dems dump Van Blake in Union County
By Max Pizarro | March 8th, 2010 - 1:08pm
Union County Democratic Committee Chair Charlotte DeFilippo and Assemblyman Jerry Green Green (D-Plainfield) this morning told Freeholder Rayland Van Blake of Plainfield that he wouldn't be getting the party line to run for a second term.
"As far as I can tell, they're looking to basically flip years in the upcoming election as far as the freeholder seat is concerned, between Linden and Plainfield, and I get bumped out because of that," said Van Blake, a former Plainfield City councilman and television actor who won off the line in 2007 as a member of the New Democrats.
"The assemblyman and the county chairman told me flat out that's what it was," Van Blake added.
There's a mayor's race in Linden this year, and Democrats want a freeholder candidate to help create line strength on the ballot in their bid to upend independent Mayor Richard Gerbounka.
Council President Robert Bunk, the Democratic Party candidate for mayor, has trouble on the ground in Linden owing to the anti-organization mayoral candidacy of Councilman Derek Armstead.
Moreover, the county's lone freeholder from Linden, Nance Ward, moved to Westfield.
Van Blake says the party's dumping him to run a Linden-based freeholder candidate.
"It would appear that way," he say, when asked if he believes the reasoning is to stregthen Bunk's bid against Gerbounka.
But that wasn't part of the meeting the freeholder had today.
"They told me I didn't have the support locally so they weren't going to take the chance," Van Blake said. "I know I didn't have the support of the mayor but I do have the support of the people. The New Democrats are still supportng me."
On his way in to a meeting with Green, Van Blake would not immediately comment on his next move until after he speaks with the veteran assemblyman
http://www.politickernj.com/max/37502/dems-dump-van-blake-union-county
DeFilippo: Van Blake 'disappointed' as freeholder
By Max Pizarro | March 8th, 2010 - 4:39pm
Union County Democratic County Chair Charlotte DeFilippo says Freeholder Rayland Van Blake is a nice guy.
"I like him, he's charming, but he has a tremendous amount of commitments," she said of the Plainfield freeholder she relieved of the party line this morning.
"There's a place for any good Democrat in the party," DeFilippo added. "He's just disappointed. You have to decide, or people will decide for you. People didn't see him at a lot of things - your involvement in county events has to be higher than the average person's - and people are disappointed. Do I like him? Absolutely. I just think he has to focus on one thing."
Van Blake's allies believe they have a Plainfield version of Cory Booker in the making in the television actor with a financial background, a former footfall standout in Plainfield.
But star power potential wasn't enough for DeFilippo, who said Van Blake simply didn't dig substantially enough into the freeholder job during his single term in office.
The county chair denied she intends to fill the seat with a candidate from Linden.
"I fully expect there will be a candidacy out of Plainfield," she said. "There will be somebody else who's high energy. It will be somebody from Plainfield.
"Would I take a Lindenite if no one was available?" DeFilippo added. "Absolutely."
The party will have a candidates' screening on Wednesday night.
http://www.politickernj.com/max/37518/defilippo-van-blake-disappointed-freeholder
[link]
Scutari: new freeholder candidate will be from
Plainfield or Linden - probably Plainfield
By Max Pizarro | March 9th, 2010 - 9:19am
State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden) didn't protest the Democratic County Committee's decision to deny the party line to Union County Freeholder Rayland Van Blake.
"He's a nice guy, but we're going to respect the committee process," Scutari told PolitickerNJ.com.
Union County Democratic Committee Chair Charlotte DeFilippo said yesterday that Plainfield would be her first town of choice in seeking a Van Blake replacement, but didn't rule out Linden, which lacks a freeholder and is the scene this year of a mayoral contest.
"Both of those (Plainfield and Linden) have been considered, and one of those towns will certainly be represented - probably from Plainfield, in the near future," Scutari said.
http://www.politickernj.com/max/37524/scutari-new-freeholder-candidate-wil-be-plainfield-or-linden-probably-plainfield
[link]
Green backs Carter for freeholder seat in Union
By Max Pizarro | March 9th, 2010 - 12:07pm
Although he won't support Union County Freeholder Rayland Van Blake, Assemblyman Jerry Green (D-Plainfield) says his city will have a freeholder candidate on the Democratic Party line this year.
"I am calling on all of the county chairs and asking them to support (Plainfield Councilwoman) Linda Carter," Green told PolitickerNJ.com.
Like Van Blake, Carter comes out of the political fold of the Plainfield New Democrats.
Chair of the Democratic Party in Plainfield, Green said Van Blake - a budding television actor and freshman freeholder trying to juggle government and the demands of his entertainment career - had no support for re-election among local Dems: not among the establishment ranks, and not among the New Democrats.
A rare point of agreement between two feuding camps, and useful considering Union County Democratic Chair Charlotte DeFilippo's warning to Green that if the warring factions in Plainfield couldn't present a candidate they could agree on, she would turn to Linden - where she could use a freeholder candidate to build ballot strength for her mayoral candidate.
"When was the last time Adrian Mapp and I agreed on something?" said Green, referring to his political antagonist, who last year ran against Green's ally, Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson Briggs, and lost.
Mapp is himself a former freeholder and organization Democrat who lost Green's support and the party line in 2007 and subsequently became leader of the New Democrats.
"As the chairman, I wanted to give the county respect in terms of their concerns," added the assemblyman. "I reached out to Adrian Mapp (chair of the New Democrats) and the mayor and all the key players so they all understood what was going on. No disrespect to Rayland but a lot of people were complaining about him not spending enough time on the freeholder board. What we did was come up with is an alternate plan."
Green said he told Van Blake that if other chairs backed him, he would support him, but no one wanted to give the freeholder another shot.
"We all agreed that if there was going to be a problem with Rayland, we would present Lynda Carter, and so right now, I am calling all the county chairs on her behalf," said Green. "The New Democrats are not happy with Rayland's attendance record, and now we have a quality candidate."
The screening committee is scheduled for tomorrow evening.
Green looked at the positive.
"This is the first time we've all come together," he said. "They feel Rayland's a nice guy, but agree that you can't just show up on Thursday and expect that to be the extent of the job. I didn't just make the decision on my own. Lynda Carter is a New Democrat. Everybody understands I work very hard at what I do. If someone wants me to stick his neck out for a losing cause then I wish him luck."
The 31-year old Van Blake went to Green's office yesterday and complained, but the veteran, 71-year old Green said he stood his ground.
"You have to work at this business," Green said. "You can't just expect things are going to be handed to you on a platter. Look, I was 40 years old when I was kicked off the line because I didn't take my freeholder job seriously. I came back and I've never lost an election since. Rayland's been given the opportunity to figure this out ten years earlier than I did. If he wants to blame me, fine - but I know better than anyone, it's a valuable lesson."
http://www.politickernj.com/max/37534/green-backs-carter-freeholder-seat-union
[link]
Armstead picks up petitions to run for mayor of Linden
By Max Pizarro | March 9th, 2010 - 1:43pm
Linden 4th Ward Councilman Derek Armstead on Friday obtained petitions to run for mayor but hasn't yet declared his intentions officially in what at this point amounts to a piece of anti-establishment kabuki aimed at riling the local Democratic Party organization.
Armstead said if he runs he wouldn't be a spoiler in a primary against establishment Democratic Council President Robert Bunk.
"I would beat Bunk if I ran against him," boasted Armstead, who won re-election off the line in 2008. "How do you sell yourself as a vehicle of change when you have been council president for ten years?"
Armstead, a county employee in the IT department, has been on the council for 17 years.
This would be his first run for mayor.
If Bunk had talked to him about succeeding him as council president, "We would be having a totally different discussion right now," admitted Armstead, the lone black on the governing body. "But the Democratic Party of Linden has not been very good at all to my community."
Armstead said Bunk has already fixed his sights on 8th Ward Councilwoman Michelle Yamakaitas as his successor, the council's only woman.
"Discussions with me would have had to happen a long time ago," the councilman said. "In the next couple of months they couldn't make any gestures that would reverse the trend. Right now, people are asking me to run because they really think I have a chance to win, and we're giving it a lot of consideration."
If Armstead gets in the race, he would be fighting Bunk in June for a general election shot in November at Mayor Richard Gerbounka, an independent.
"Gerbounka's an independent, I'm a Democrat and Gov. Christie's a Republican," said Armstead. "It doesn't matter what political party you belong to, people are losing their homes. My belief is people like Bob Bunk are obstructionist and have tried to sabotage Gerbounka in what amounts to a betrayal of the public.
"If Robert Bunk becomes the nominee, I am a Democrat, I've always been a Democrat... that's the way I'll leave it. Sometimes primaries get nasty, and I don't think he's a very strong candidate."
As an off-the-line Democratic candidate in 2008, Armstead won with 63.06% of the vote.
He remembers Freeholder Rayland Van Blake campaigning against him that year. Now the party is dumping the Plainfield-based Van Blake, in part, Armstead believes, because Democrats want to run a freeholder candidate in Linden.
"They used him to try to get rid of me and now they're saying it's my fault that they're getting rid of him," Armstead said. "You can't make this stuff up."
For the record, Union County Democratic Chair Charlotte DeFilippo said she would turn to Linden only if Plainfield couldn't unify behind a Van Blake replacement, and today Assemblyman Jerry Green, chairman of the local Democratic Party, said the city's Democrats have come together around the candidacy of At-Large Councilwoman Linda Carter, a New Democrat.
http://vip.politickernj.com/max/37541/armstead-picks-petitions-run-mayor-linden
[link]
PLAINFIELD TODAY
Friday, 3/5/2010: "County Dems dumping Van Blake from Freeholder slot?"
Monday, 3/8/2010: "Van Blake dumped. Will Green put up with loss of Black Freeholder seat?"
Monday, 3/8/2010: "Freeholder seat: Robinson-Briggs or Carter?"
JERRY GREEN'S PAGE
Monday, 3/8/2010: "Straightening out this Freeholder fiasco"
(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time. Links posted here are from the original online publication of these pieces.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
POLITICKERNJ (Five items: Oldest to newest) plus PLAINFIELD TODAY and JERRY GREEN'S PAGE
Dems dump Van Blake in Union County
By Max Pizarro | March 8th, 2010 - 1:08pm
Union County Democratic Committee Chair Charlotte DeFilippo and Assemblyman Jerry Green Green (D-Plainfield) this morning told Freeholder Rayland Van Blake of Plainfield that he wouldn't be getting the party line to run for a second term.
"As far as I can tell, they're looking to basically flip years in the upcoming election as far as the freeholder seat is concerned, between Linden and Plainfield, and I get bumped out because of that," said Van Blake, a former Plainfield City councilman and television actor who won off the line in 2007 as a member of the New Democrats.
"The assemblyman and the county chairman told me flat out that's what it was," Van Blake added.
There's a mayor's race in Linden this year, and Democrats want a freeholder candidate to help create line strength on the ballot in their bid to upend independent Mayor Richard Gerbounka.
Council President Robert Bunk, the Democratic Party candidate for mayor, has trouble on the ground in Linden owing to the anti-organization mayoral candidacy of Councilman Derek Armstead.
Moreover, the county's lone freeholder from Linden, Nance Ward, moved to Westfield.
Van Blake says the party's dumping him to run a Linden-based freeholder candidate.
"It would appear that way," he say, when asked if he believes the reasoning is to stregthen Bunk's bid against Gerbounka.
But that wasn't part of the meeting the freeholder had today.
"They told me I didn't have the support locally so they weren't going to take the chance," Van Blake said. "I know I didn't have the support of the mayor but I do have the support of the people. The New Democrats are still supportng me."
On his way in to a meeting with Green, Van Blake would not immediately comment on his next move until after he speaks with the veteran assemblyman
http://www.politickernj.com/max/37502/dems-dump-van-blake-union-county
DeFilippo: Van Blake 'disappointed' as freeholder
By Max Pizarro | March 8th, 2010 - 4:39pm
Union County Democratic County Chair Charlotte DeFilippo says Freeholder Rayland Van Blake is a nice guy.
"I like him, he's charming, but he has a tremendous amount of commitments," she said of the Plainfield freeholder she relieved of the party line this morning.
"There's a place for any good Democrat in the party," DeFilippo added. "He's just disappointed. You have to decide, or people will decide for you. People didn't see him at a lot of things - your involvement in county events has to be higher than the average person's - and people are disappointed. Do I like him? Absolutely. I just think he has to focus on one thing."
Van Blake's allies believe they have a Plainfield version of Cory Booker in the making in the television actor with a financial background, a former footfall standout in Plainfield.
But star power potential wasn't enough for DeFilippo, who said Van Blake simply didn't dig substantially enough into the freeholder job during his single term in office.
The county chair denied she intends to fill the seat with a candidate from Linden.
"I fully expect there will be a candidacy out of Plainfield," she said. "There will be somebody else who's high energy. It will be somebody from Plainfield.
"Would I take a Lindenite if no one was available?" DeFilippo added. "Absolutely."
The party will have a candidates' screening on Wednesday night.
http://www.politickernj.com/max/37518/defilippo-van-blake-disappointed-freeholder
[link]
Scutari: new freeholder candidate will be from
Plainfield or Linden - probably Plainfield
By Max Pizarro | March 9th, 2010 - 9:19am
State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden) didn't protest the Democratic County Committee's decision to deny the party line to Union County Freeholder Rayland Van Blake.
"He's a nice guy, but we're going to respect the committee process," Scutari told PolitickerNJ.com.
Union County Democratic Committee Chair Charlotte DeFilippo said yesterday that Plainfield would be her first town of choice in seeking a Van Blake replacement, but didn't rule out Linden, which lacks a freeholder and is the scene this year of a mayoral contest.
"Both of those (Plainfield and Linden) have been considered, and one of those towns will certainly be represented - probably from Plainfield, in the near future," Scutari said.
http://www.politickernj.com/max/37524/scutari-new-freeholder-candidate-wil-be-plainfield-or-linden-probably-plainfield
[link]
Green backs Carter for freeholder seat in Union
By Max Pizarro | March 9th, 2010 - 12:07pm
Although he won't support Union County Freeholder Rayland Van Blake, Assemblyman Jerry Green (D-Plainfield) says his city will have a freeholder candidate on the Democratic Party line this year.
"I am calling on all of the county chairs and asking them to support (Plainfield Councilwoman) Linda Carter," Green told PolitickerNJ.com.
Like Van Blake, Carter comes out of the political fold of the Plainfield New Democrats.
Chair of the Democratic Party in Plainfield, Green said Van Blake - a budding television actor and freshman freeholder trying to juggle government and the demands of his entertainment career - had no support for re-election among local Dems: not among the establishment ranks, and not among the New Democrats.
A rare point of agreement between two feuding camps, and useful considering Union County Democratic Chair Charlotte DeFilippo's warning to Green that if the warring factions in Plainfield couldn't present a candidate they could agree on, she would turn to Linden - where she could use a freeholder candidate to build ballot strength for her mayoral candidate.
"When was the last time Adrian Mapp and I agreed on something?" said Green, referring to his political antagonist, who last year ran against Green's ally, Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson Briggs, and lost.
Mapp is himself a former freeholder and organization Democrat who lost Green's support and the party line in 2007 and subsequently became leader of the New Democrats.
"As the chairman, I wanted to give the county respect in terms of their concerns," added the assemblyman. "I reached out to Adrian Mapp (chair of the New Democrats) and the mayor and all the key players so they all understood what was going on. No disrespect to Rayland but a lot of people were complaining about him not spending enough time on the freeholder board. What we did was come up with is an alternate plan."
Green said he told Van Blake that if other chairs backed him, he would support him, but no one wanted to give the freeholder another shot.
"We all agreed that if there was going to be a problem with Rayland, we would present Lynda Carter, and so right now, I am calling all the county chairs on her behalf," said Green. "The New Democrats are not happy with Rayland's attendance record, and now we have a quality candidate."
The screening committee is scheduled for tomorrow evening.
Green looked at the positive.
"This is the first time we've all come together," he said. "They feel Rayland's a nice guy, but agree that you can't just show up on Thursday and expect that to be the extent of the job. I didn't just make the decision on my own. Lynda Carter is a New Democrat. Everybody understands I work very hard at what I do. If someone wants me to stick his neck out for a losing cause then I wish him luck."
The 31-year old Van Blake went to Green's office yesterday and complained, but the veteran, 71-year old Green said he stood his ground.
"You have to work at this business," Green said. "You can't just expect things are going to be handed to you on a platter. Look, I was 40 years old when I was kicked off the line because I didn't take my freeholder job seriously. I came back and I've never lost an election since. Rayland's been given the opportunity to figure this out ten years earlier than I did. If he wants to blame me, fine - but I know better than anyone, it's a valuable lesson."
http://www.politickernj.com/max/37534/green-backs-carter-freeholder-seat-union
[link]
Armstead picks up petitions to run for mayor of Linden
By Max Pizarro | March 9th, 2010 - 1:43pm
Linden 4th Ward Councilman Derek Armstead on Friday obtained petitions to run for mayor but hasn't yet declared his intentions officially in what at this point amounts to a piece of anti-establishment kabuki aimed at riling the local Democratic Party organization.
Armstead said if he runs he wouldn't be a spoiler in a primary against establishment Democratic Council President Robert Bunk.
"I would beat Bunk if I ran against him," boasted Armstead, who won re-election off the line in 2008. "How do you sell yourself as a vehicle of change when you have been council president for ten years?"
Armstead, a county employee in the IT department, has been on the council for 17 years.
This would be his first run for mayor.
If Bunk had talked to him about succeeding him as council president, "We would be having a totally different discussion right now," admitted Armstead, the lone black on the governing body. "But the Democratic Party of Linden has not been very good at all to my community."
Armstead said Bunk has already fixed his sights on 8th Ward Councilwoman Michelle Yamakaitas as his successor, the council's only woman.
"Discussions with me would have had to happen a long time ago," the councilman said. "In the next couple of months they couldn't make any gestures that would reverse the trend. Right now, people are asking me to run because they really think I have a chance to win, and we're giving it a lot of consideration."
If Armstead gets in the race, he would be fighting Bunk in June for a general election shot in November at Mayor Richard Gerbounka, an independent.
"Gerbounka's an independent, I'm a Democrat and Gov. Christie's a Republican," said Armstead. "It doesn't matter what political party you belong to, people are losing their homes. My belief is people like Bob Bunk are obstructionist and have tried to sabotage Gerbounka in what amounts to a betrayal of the public.
"If Robert Bunk becomes the nominee, I am a Democrat, I've always been a Democrat... that's the way I'll leave it. Sometimes primaries get nasty, and I don't think he's a very strong candidate."
As an off-the-line Democratic candidate in 2008, Armstead won with 63.06% of the vote.
He remembers Freeholder Rayland Van Blake campaigning against him that year. Now the party is dumping the Plainfield-based Van Blake, in part, Armstead believes, because Democrats want to run a freeholder candidate in Linden.
"They used him to try to get rid of me and now they're saying it's my fault that they're getting rid of him," Armstead said. "You can't make this stuff up."
For the record, Union County Democratic Chair Charlotte DeFilippo said she would turn to Linden only if Plainfield couldn't unify behind a Van Blake replacement, and today Assemblyman Jerry Green, chairman of the local Democratic Party, said the city's Democrats have come together around the candidacy of At-Large Councilwoman Linda Carter, a New Democrat.
http://vip.politickernj.com/max/37541/armstead-picks-petitions-run-mayor-linden
[link]
PLAINFIELD TODAY
Friday, 3/5/2010: "County Dems dumping Van Blake from Freeholder slot?"
Monday, 3/8/2010: "Van Blake dumped. Will Green put up with loss of Black Freeholder seat?"
Monday, 3/8/2010: "Freeholder seat: Robinson-Briggs or Carter?"
JERRY GREEN'S PAGE
Monday, 3/8/2010: "Straightening out this Freeholder fiasco"
(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time. Links posted here are from the original online publication of these pieces.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
MLK Events - 2010 (Printable Calendar)
| MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. :: 2010 EVENTS | |
| TUESDAY · January 12 · 7:00 PM Diabetes: Causes, Effects and Treatment At: Mohawk Lodge, 1357 West Third Street Sponsor: Mohawk Lodge #307 & NAACP Contact: George Gore (908) 822-9771 | WEDNESDAY · January 13 · 6:30 PM Family Movie Night At: City Hall Library, 515 Watchung Avenue Sponsor: City of Plainfield Contact: Barbara James (908) 753-3310 |
| FRIDAY · January 15 · 11:00 AM Senior Center MLK Program At: Plainfield Senior Center, 400 East Front Street Sponsor: Plainfield Senior Center Contact: Sharron Brown (908) 753-3506 | SATURDAY · January 16 · 11:00 AM P.O.P. Rally At: Steps of City Hall, 515 Watchung Avenue Sponsor: People's Organization for Progress Contact: Steven Hatcher (908) 731-1518 |
| SATURDAY · January 16 · 1:00 PM Young Gifted & Talented An afternoon of inspiration and fun for youth. At: Hubbard Middle School, 661 West 8th Street Sponsor: Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Contact: Clinton Hall (201) 741-1415 | SATURDAY · January 16 · 7:00 PM New Dems Potluck & Food Drive Celebrate Dr. King's commitment to end hunger. Bring a dish to share and canned food items. At: Councilor & Mrs. Adrian Mapp, 535 West 8th St. Sponsor: New Democrats for Plainfield Contact: Rebecca Williams (908) 447-6268 |
| SUNDAY · January 17 · 5:00 PM MLK Day of Celebration At: Calvary Baptist Church, 324 Monroe Avenue Sponsor: Concerned Urban Clergy Contact: (908) 482-3532 | MONDAY · January 18 · 8:00 AM NAACP Memorial March From: PNC Bank (2nd & Park) to PHS Sponsor: Plainfield Branch, NAACP Contact: George Gore (908) 822-9771 |
| MONDAY · January 18 · 8:30 AM Frontiers MLK Memorial Breakfast Speaker: Michellene Davis, Esq., Chief Policy Counsel to Gov. Corzine and State Treasurer. At: PHS Cafeteria | $16 / $12 Seniors and students. Reservations & Info: 756-4663 or 822-2202 Sponsor: Frontiers International | MONDAY · January 18 · 3:00 PM & 4:00 PM 3:00: Where Do We Go From Here? Conversation Facilitator: Dr. Gerald Lamont Thomas 4:00: MLK Commemorative Service Speaker: Rev. Dr. Vernon Walton At: Shiloh Baptist Church, 515 West 4th Street Sponsor: Shiloh Baptist Church Contact: Geri Agurs (908) 754-3353 x120 |
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
2009 General - Union County Results
Star-Ledger, Wednesday, 11/04/2009
Union County election results
By New Jersey Local News Service
November 04, 2009, 12:07AM
Union County elections
Here are the unofficial results of local elections held Tuesday in Union County. Check marks indicate winners, and stars (*) denote incumbents. Vote totals are not included in uncontested races.
UNION COUNTY FREEHOLDERS
THREE 3-YEAR TERMS
√Deborah P. Scanlon (D)* 57,359
√Alexander Mirabella (D)* 57,193
√Mohamed S. Jalloh (D) 53,866
Nicole D. Cole (R) 49,097
Anthony Sytko (R) 47,842
Hope A. Thompson (I) 3,958
Karen Gielen (I) 3,389
UNION COUNTY SURROGATE
ONE 5-YEAR TERM
√James S. LaCorte (D)* 58,239
Arthur P. Zapolski (R) 46,891
BERKELEY HEIGHTS
TWO 3-YEAR COUNCIL TERMS
√Craig S. Pastore (R) 2,708
√Kevin J. Hall (R) 2,667
Alexandra Chirinos (I) 1,404
Thomas A. Battaglia (D)* 997
Murray Robbins (D) 899
CLARK
No municipal elections this year
CRANFORD
ONE 3-YEAR COMMITTEE TERM
√David W. Robinson (R)* 4,421
Kevin Illing (D) 3,448
ELIZABETH
No municipal elections this year
FANWOOD
TWO 3-YEAR COUNCIL TERMS
√Mike L. Szuch (R) 1,338
√Robert Manduca (R) 1,330
Donna M. Dolce (D)* 1,252
David R. Valian (D)* 1,201
GARWOOD
TWO 3-YEAR COUNCIL TERMS
√Timothy O. Hak (R) 658
√Keith Sluka (D)* 651
Kathleen M. Villaggio (D)* 640
James Matheson (R) 636
HILLSIDE
No municipal elections in November
KENILWORTH
TWO 3-YEAR COUNCIL TERMS
√Fred M. Pugliese (R)* 1,276
√Salvatore Candarella (R)* 1,268
Darrin McMahon (D) 743
Ronald Knecht (D) 726
LINDEN
ONE 3-YEAR WARD 1 COUNCIL TERM
√Christopher Kolibas (D)*
No Republicans filed
ONE 3-YEAR WARD 9 COUNCIL TERM
√Robert Frazier (I)* 736
Bryan Tomko (D) 576
No Republicans filed
MOUNTAINSIDE
TWO 3-YEAR COUNCIL TERMS
√William R. Lane (R)*
√Robert W. Messler (R)*
No Democrats filed
NEW PROVIDENCE
TWO 3-YEAR COUNCIL TERMS
√James Cucco (R)*
√J. Brooke Hern (R)*
No Democrats filed
PLAINFIELD
ONE 4-YEAR MAYORAL TERM
√Sharon Robinson-Briggs (D)* 4,906
James V. Pivnichny (R) 2,103
Deborah Joyce Dowe (I) 391
ONE 3-YEAR WARD 4 COUNCIL TERM
√Bridget B. Rivers (D)
No Republicans filed
RAHWAY
No local elections this year
ROSELLE
ONE 3-YEAR WARD 2 COUNCIL TERM
√Sylvia Turnage (D)*
No Republicans filed
ONE 3-YEAR WARD 5 COUNCIL TERM
√Christine Dansereau (D)*
No Republicans filed
ROSELLE PARK
ONE 3-YEAR WARD 2 COUNCIL TERM
√Joseph Accardi (R) 539
Michael Peterson (D) 287
ONE 3-YEAR WARD 5 COUNCIL TERM
√Michael Yakubov (R)* 519
David Jacobs (D) 193
SCOTCH PLAINS
ONE 1-YEAR COUNCIL TERM
√Dominick Bratti (R)* 3,950
Theresa E. Mullen (D) 3,349
SPRINGFIELD
TWO 3-YEAR COMMITTEE TERMS
√Jerry Fernandez (R) 2,651
√Marc A. Krauss (R) 2,480
Richard Huber (D) 2,062
David Barnett (D) 2,004
PUBLIC QUESTION
Should Springfield spend up to $4.5 million to renovate and upgrade the municipal pool complex?
Yes 1,246
√No 2,083
SUMMIT
ONE 3-YEAR WARD 1 COUNCIL TERM
√Nuris Portuondo (R)
No Democrats filed
ONE 3-YEAR WARD 2 COUNCIL TERM
√Richard J. Madden (R) 1,805
Laura Graff Coburn (D) 1,520
ONE 2-YEAR AT-LARGE COUNCIL TERM
√Stephen P. Murphy (D) 3,473
J. Andrew Lark (R)* 2,878
PUBLIC QUESTION
Should the city of Summit increase the term of the Councilman-at-Large from two years to four years, effective Jan. 1, 2014?
Yes 1,812
√No 2,062
UNION
TWO 3-YEAR COMMITTEE TERMS
√Anthony L. Terrezza (D)* 6,098
√Manuel T. Figueiredo (D) 6,042
Paul M. Verzosa (R) 5,553
Charles T. Donnelly (R) 5,487
WESTFIELD
ONE 4-YEAR MAYORAL TERM
√Andrew K. Skibitsky (R)* 6,714
William L. Brennan (D) 3,927
ONE WARD 1 COUNCIL TERM
√Sam Della Fera Jr. (R) 1,605
Janice Siegel (D) 1,146
ONE WARD 2 COUNCIL TERM
√Vicki Kimmins (R)*
No Democrats filed
ONE WARD 3 COUNCIL TERM
√Dave Haas (D)* 1,357
Tom Delaney (R) 1,088
ONE WARD 4 COUNCIL TERM
√Keith Loughlin (R) 1,412
Thomas Bigosinski (D)* 1,270
WINFIELD
ONE 3-YEAR COMMITTEE TERM
√David P. Wright Sr. (D)* 285
Tracey Welch (R) 184
Union County election results | Local New Jersey News - - NJ.com (4 November 2009)
http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2009/11/union_county_election_results.html
http://snipurl.com/t2aqp
----------------------
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Fraud - Courier - Cop faces insurance fraud charges
Published in the Courier News, Friday, June 12, 2009 (A-1)
Cop faces insurance fraud charges
20-year division veteran suspended
By MARK SPIVEY
STAFF WRITER
PLAINFIELD -- A 20-year veteran with the city's police division has been suspended without pay after being charged with insurance fraud, Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig said Thursday.
Officer David Thomas was charged with second-degree insurance fraud in connection with a homeowner's claim involving a computer, according to Hellwig.
A Union County Prosecutor's Office spokesman confirmed the charge Thursday but said no additional information was immediately available.
Thomas is entitled to a hearing within 30 days, said Hellwig, who added that the division plans to terminate him in the case of a conviction.
Calling Thomas a "good officer," Hellwig said the veteran cop worked in a "very critical area" of the division, helping compile Uniform Crime Reports, gather intelligence and issue daily reports.
The suspension may further strain the division's administrative ranks, Hellwig added, because of the recent retirement of two lieutenants and a captain.
Mark Spivey: 908-243-6607; mspivey@mycentraljersey.com.
This story did not appear online.
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Cop faces insurance fraud charges
20-year division veteran suspended
By MARK SPIVEY
STAFF WRITER
PLAINFIELD -- A 20-year veteran with the city's police division has been suspended without pay after being charged with insurance fraud, Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig said Thursday.
Officer David Thomas was charged with second-degree insurance fraud in connection with a homeowner's claim involving a computer, according to Hellwig.
A Union County Prosecutor's Office spokesman confirmed the charge Thursday but said no additional information was immediately available.
Thomas is entitled to a hearing within 30 days, said Hellwig, who added that the division plans to terminate him in the case of a conviction.
Calling Thomas a "good officer," Hellwig said the veteran cop worked in a "very critical area" of the division, helping compile Uniform Crime Reports, gather intelligence and issue daily reports.
The suspension may further strain the division's administrative ranks, Hellwig added, because of the recent retirement of two lieutenants and a captain.
Mark Spivey: 908-243-6607; mspivey@mycentraljersey.com.
This story did not appear online.
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Friday, May 29, 2009
Jerry Green: Blog post on McWilliams family taken down
Jerry Green's Page
This post was taken down by the Assemblyman sometime before 8 AM, Friday, May 29, 2009.
Why?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Give the late Al McWilliams the Respect He Deserves
I hope that with these remaining 8 days in the primary, we can discuss issues that are of concern to residents. Unfortunately, my opponents and the candidates running against the Mayor have yet to discuss what I and the public consider as solutions and moving ahead in the right directions.
I have not only developed a working relationship with Senator Bob Menendez, who I served with in the Legislature early in my career, but also with just about every Congressman that represents New Jersey. These sorts of relationships are very reassuring when I am able to reach out personally and get answers and solutions for my District.
That is why it is important that I make it very clear that I have the utmost respect for the late Al McWilliams and his family. Even when some people use his name for political reasons, I try very hard not to respond in a manner that would offend or slight the McWilliams name. If these people were true friends of the late mayor, they would make it their business to give the family the same respect and not misuse the McWilliams name. Any response from me to negative attacks from the opposition would be "spun" as an attack on the McWilliams family.
Politics can be a very tough business. As an elected official, I understand being in a position where sometimes you have to accept things being said that are not true, only for the greater good. I always try to remember that i will have a life after politics, so that I can always look people in their faces and know that I have been fair and honest. I hope these principles are adhered to within these final 8 days of the primary, especially in the use of the McWilliams name.
Whether the McWilliams’ decide to get in the campaign or stay out of it, the late Mayor deserves that respect. I for one have no feelings of negativity towards his family, especially since his daughter is an elected official within my District. The only relationship we have is a professional one. All I ask is that those involved in this local campaign give the late Mayor Al McWilliams the respect he deserves by keeping him out of political games within this primary season.
Posted by Assemblyman Jerry Green at 11:34 AM
This post was taken down by the Assemblyman sometime before 8 AM, Friday, May 29, 2009.
Why?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Give the late Al McWilliams the Respect He Deserves
I hope that with these remaining 8 days in the primary, we can discuss issues that are of concern to residents. Unfortunately, my opponents and the candidates running against the Mayor have yet to discuss what I and the public consider as solutions and moving ahead in the right directions.
I have not only developed a working relationship with Senator Bob Menendez, who I served with in the Legislature early in my career, but also with just about every Congressman that represents New Jersey. These sorts of relationships are very reassuring when I am able to reach out personally and get answers and solutions for my District.
That is why it is important that I make it very clear that I have the utmost respect for the late Al McWilliams and his family. Even when some people use his name for political reasons, I try very hard not to respond in a manner that would offend or slight the McWilliams name. If these people were true friends of the late mayor, they would make it their business to give the family the same respect and not misuse the McWilliams name. Any response from me to negative attacks from the opposition would be "spun" as an attack on the McWilliams family.
Politics can be a very tough business. As an elected official, I understand being in a position where sometimes you have to accept things being said that are not true, only for the greater good. I always try to remember that i will have a life after politics, so that I can always look people in their faces and know that I have been fair and honest. I hope these principles are adhered to within these final 8 days of the primary, especially in the use of the McWilliams name.
Whether the McWilliams’ decide to get in the campaign or stay out of it, the late Mayor deserves that respect. I for one have no feelings of negativity towards his family, especially since his daughter is an elected official within my District. The only relationship we have is a professional one. All I ask is that those involved in this local campaign give the late Mayor Al McWilliams the respect he deserves by keeping him out of political games within this primary season.
Posted by Assemblyman Jerry Green at 11:34 AM
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Plainfield Schools - Courier - Guard suspended after strip search
Published in the Courier News, Saturday, May 16, 2009, page A-8
Guard who searched student suspended
By MARK SPIVEY
STAFF WRITER
PLAINFIELD -- A female security guard at the city high school has been suspended after she strip-searched a 15-year-old female student who was falsely accused of stealing a cell phone, school and police officials said.
Police launched an investigation into the incident shortly after it happened on May 8, according to Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig, who said authorities determined no touching or sexual gratification was involved and, therefore, no criminal charges are pending. But Hellwig said he supported the school district's decision to suspend the guard, callin the situation "an overstepping of her bounds."
"Although it's not criminal, it's certainly an intolerable action," Hellwig said.
Schools Superintendent Steve Gallon III said the guard said the guard was suspended with pay immediately after the incident being reported, and added that a final decision on further action will be takend after school officials have an opportunity to review reports from police and the state division of Youth and Family Services, which conducted its own review.
Gallon said that based on preliminary assessments of the matter, he is recommending that the guard, whom he declined to be identified, be terminated.
"This allegation is something we take very seriously," Gallon said. "These alleged actions were taken outside any current appropriate procedures employ in regard to student safety."
Gallon said school officials have offered the student their support.
This item appeared in the print edition ONLY on Friday, May 16. Archived here.
(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Guard who searched student suspended
By MARK SPIVEY
STAFF WRITER
PLAINFIELD -- A female security guard at the city high school has been suspended after she strip-searched a 15-year-old female student who was falsely accused of stealing a cell phone, school and police officials said.
Police launched an investigation into the incident shortly after it happened on May 8, according to Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig, who said authorities determined no touching or sexual gratification was involved and, therefore, no criminal charges are pending. But Hellwig said he supported the school district's decision to suspend the guard, callin the situation "an overstepping of her bounds."
"Although it's not criminal, it's certainly an intolerable action," Hellwig said.
Schools Superintendent Steve Gallon III said the guard said the guard was suspended with pay immediately after the incident being reported, and added that a final decision on further action will be takend after school officials have an opportunity to review reports from police and the state division of Youth and Family Services, which conducted its own review.
Gallon said that based on preliminary assessments of the matter, he is recommending that the guard, whom he declined to be identified, be terminated.
"This allegation is something we take very seriously," Gallon said. "These alleged actions were taken outside any current appropriate procedures employ in regard to student safety."
Gallon said school officials have offered the student their support.
This item appeared in the print edition ONLY on Friday, May 16. Archived here.
(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Hackensack UMC - Record- Sanzari Involvement
Published on NorthJersey.com, Tuesday, April 28,2009
[HUMC, Coniglio, Sanzari, Bergen Dems, PMK, more]
Sanzari got years to pay his dumping bill
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Last updated: Tuesday April 28, 2009, 10:07 AM
BY JEFF PILLETS
NorthJersey.com
STAFF WRITER
Firms owned by Joseph Sanzari, the prominent contractor with deep ties to Bergen County's ruling Democratic Party, dumped fill and construction debris at the Overpeck Park site for two years without being charged, while other haulers paid by the truckload.
The firms dumped well over 100,000 cubic yards of debris at the county-owned site before Bergen County officials even sent a bill, in October 2007.
Sanzari's trucks by that time had been coming to Overpeck since the spring of 2005 and had run up a $609,000 tab, delivering thousands of loads from publicly financed road and redevelopment jobs across North Jersey.
Scores of other haulers, by contrast, paid tipping fees as often as 10 times a month, records show, with most paying two or three times a month.
Even after Sanzari began to make payments, records show he maintained a significant balance. In fact, his companies still owed $320,000 in tipping fees when The Record first started to ask questions about the matter earlier this month. County officials said that Joseph M. Sanzari Inc. made payments of $150,000 and $18,000 the week of April 13. A second firm, Creamer-Sanzari, A Joint Venture, paid $152,000 last Friday.
Bergen County's failure to collect from Sanzari's companies came at a time when officials were struggling to finance skyrocketing expenses associated with the Overpeck project. More than $100 million in bond offerings and open-space tax reserves have already been dedicated to the project site in Leonia, Teaneck and Ridgefield Park, where a former garbage dump is being converted into what officials promise will be "Bergen County's Central Park."
Those officials are now declining to discuss details of their dealings with Sanzari, a leading Democratic contributor who is also the employer of state Sen. Paul A. Sarlo of Wood-Ridge.
The Bergen County Improvement Authority, which has responsibility for the project, said it was not equipped to keep tabs on such a large undertaking. The quasi-governmental agency outsourced oversight for the project to PMK Group, a politically connected project-management firm.
"There's basically a staff of three people over there," Keith Furlong, a BCIA spokesman, said last week. "They rely on hired professionals to do the oversight."
Furlong, in a prepared statement, said Overpeck truckers "occasionally" make late tipping-fee payments. "This is typical during such a large construction project," he said.
He added that the agency has full faith in the work of PMK of Cranford, which has received $6.7 million since being hired as project manager in 2005.
In a brief interview before issuing the statement, Furlong said he could not explain why the agency had waited more than two years to collect payments from one of Overpeck's major fill suppliers. He did not respond to further questions this week.
PMK officials also did not respond to requests for interviews last week. Discussing the issue earlier this month, PMK executive Bashar Assadi said the county, not PMK, made all decisions about the haulers who dumped at Overpeck.
"We aren't bill collectors," said Assadi, PMK's lead man at the Overpeck site. "We tell the county if someone owes, and after that it is up to them."
BCIA records show that all Overpeck documents, including billing invoices, are signed by Executive Director Edward Hynes. In addition to its $140,000-a-year chief, the BCIA has a board of directors that has approved a range of expensive add-ons that have pushed the project's price tag past $70 million, from a $45 million cost estimate just two years ago.
Neither Hynes nor BCIA Chairman Ronald O'Malley returned phone calls for this story.
Sanzari's office also declined to discuss their record at Overpeck. But in a statement released last Friday, a company official said the county sent Sanzari's firms only two tipping-fee bills in the past four years.
"As of today Joseph M. Sanzari Inc. and its affiliated companies does not owe any money to the BCIA," said Jo Ann M. Dellechiaie, the company's vice president. "At all times during the project, [Sanzari companies] followed all protocols regarding testing, sampling and invoicing as established by PMK Engineering."
She said that the Sanzari firms — which have supplied about 15 percent of all Overpeck fill — have paid as much per cubic yard as other haulers who dumped at Overpeck, and sometimes more.
Sanzari, of Ho-Ho-Kus, and his construction firms enjoy a reputation for timely completion of complex public projects, including the successful reconstruction of the once-snarled intersection of Routes 4 and 17.
He also is known as one of New Jersey's most visible pay-to-play contractors, one with deep ties to officials who set state policy and make key spending decisions. State records attribute more than $100,000 in contributions to New Jersey candidates and committees since 2006 to Joseph M. Sanzari Inc. and those associated with the firm.
Between 2006 and 2008, his companies were awarded more than $380 million in public contracts.
As the chief operating officer of Sanzari's construction firm, Sarlo has a direct role overseeing the firm's multimillion-dollar dealings with state and local public agencies. His work includes the endorsement of bid documents and the review of expenses in public projects.
Sarlo also had his Trenton aide, Chris Eilert, sign some Sanzari company documents as a witness. Eilert said he is a notary public and any signature for Sarlo's company was probably done "over dinner" with Sarlo, off government property.
Sarlo says his employment by Sanzari does not conflict with his part-time job in Trenton, where he sits as a majority member of key committees that control state spending on construction projects. He declined to speak about Sanzari's record at Overpeck.
"I'm not really allowed to say anything," Sarlo said.
Sarlo declined to respond when informed of data that show J. Fletcher Creamer of Hackensack, Sanzari's partner in the Joint Venture, made frequent and regular payments to the county for material trucked in by a firm he owns separate from Sanzari.
Overpeck project records show that in the fall of 2007, Sarlo stepped in to stop the county from an attempt to collect some of the money owed by Sanzari's companies.
In a letter to the BCIA, PMK had recommended that the county withhold $200,000 it owed to another Sanzari-related firm, North Bergen Rock Products, for clean rocks used at the Overpeck site.
But in conversations with PMK, the records show, Sarlo successfully argued that the county could not withhold payment because North Bergen Rock, legally, is a separate company.
Asked if the county challenged Sarlo's interpretation or sought any further negotiation on the debt, a PMK official said he was uncertain what happened next, if anything.
"Sarlo told us we couldn't deduct the payment and, as far as I know, that was the end of the matter," said Assadi, the project manager.
North Bergen Rock Products lists its business address as 90 W. Franklin St., Hackensack. It is the same address as Joseph M. Sanzari Inc., and at least two other Sanzari companies.
Overpeck project invoices show that the county does not have records detailing how much material Sanzari's crews trucked in from the Carlstadt project. An Oct. 31, 2007, letter shows that the Overpeck project manager instead estimated the amount once it was already in place, noting that it was spread over 6 acres to a depth of about 4 feet.
E-mail: pillets@northjersey.com
Online story here. Archived here.
(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
[HUMC, Coniglio, Sanzari, Bergen Dems, PMK, more]
Sanzari got years to pay his dumping bill
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Last updated: Tuesday April 28, 2009, 10:07 AM
BY JEFF PILLETS
NorthJersey.com
STAFF WRITER
Firms owned by Joseph Sanzari, the prominent contractor with deep ties to Bergen County's ruling Democratic Party, dumped fill and construction debris at the Overpeck Park site for two years without being charged, while other haulers paid by the truckload.
The firms dumped well over 100,000 cubic yards of debris at the county-owned site before Bergen County officials even sent a bill, in October 2007.
Sanzari's trucks by that time had been coming to Overpeck since the spring of 2005 and had run up a $609,000 tab, delivering thousands of loads from publicly financed road and redevelopment jobs across North Jersey.
Scores of other haulers, by contrast, paid tipping fees as often as 10 times a month, records show, with most paying two or three times a month.
Even after Sanzari began to make payments, records show he maintained a significant balance. In fact, his companies still owed $320,000 in tipping fees when The Record first started to ask questions about the matter earlier this month. County officials said that Joseph M. Sanzari Inc. made payments of $150,000 and $18,000 the week of April 13. A second firm, Creamer-Sanzari, A Joint Venture, paid $152,000 last Friday.
Bergen County's failure to collect from Sanzari's companies came at a time when officials were struggling to finance skyrocketing expenses associated with the Overpeck project. More than $100 million in bond offerings and open-space tax reserves have already been dedicated to the project site in Leonia, Teaneck and Ridgefield Park, where a former garbage dump is being converted into what officials promise will be "Bergen County's Central Park."
Those officials are now declining to discuss details of their dealings with Sanzari, a leading Democratic contributor who is also the employer of state Sen. Paul A. Sarlo of Wood-Ridge.
The Bergen County Improvement Authority, which has responsibility for the project, said it was not equipped to keep tabs on such a large undertaking. The quasi-governmental agency outsourced oversight for the project to PMK Group, a politically connected project-management firm.
"There's basically a staff of three people over there," Keith Furlong, a BCIA spokesman, said last week. "They rely on hired professionals to do the oversight."
Furlong, in a prepared statement, said Overpeck truckers "occasionally" make late tipping-fee payments. "This is typical during such a large construction project," he said.
He added that the agency has full faith in the work of PMK of Cranford, which has received $6.7 million since being hired as project manager in 2005.
In a brief interview before issuing the statement, Furlong said he could not explain why the agency had waited more than two years to collect payments from one of Overpeck's major fill suppliers. He did not respond to further questions this week.
PMK officials also did not respond to requests for interviews last week. Discussing the issue earlier this month, PMK executive Bashar Assadi said the county, not PMK, made all decisions about the haulers who dumped at Overpeck.
"We aren't bill collectors," said Assadi, PMK's lead man at the Overpeck site. "We tell the county if someone owes, and after that it is up to them."
BCIA records show that all Overpeck documents, including billing invoices, are signed by Executive Director Edward Hynes. In addition to its $140,000-a-year chief, the BCIA has a board of directors that has approved a range of expensive add-ons that have pushed the project's price tag past $70 million, from a $45 million cost estimate just two years ago.
Neither Hynes nor BCIA Chairman Ronald O'Malley returned phone calls for this story.
Sanzari's office also declined to discuss their record at Overpeck. But in a statement released last Friday, a company official said the county sent Sanzari's firms only two tipping-fee bills in the past four years.
"As of today Joseph M. Sanzari Inc. and its affiliated companies does not owe any money to the BCIA," said Jo Ann M. Dellechiaie, the company's vice president. "At all times during the project, [Sanzari companies] followed all protocols regarding testing, sampling and invoicing as established by PMK Engineering."
She said that the Sanzari firms — which have supplied about 15 percent of all Overpeck fill — have paid as much per cubic yard as other haulers who dumped at Overpeck, and sometimes more.
Sanzari, of Ho-Ho-Kus, and his construction firms enjoy a reputation for timely completion of complex public projects, including the successful reconstruction of the once-snarled intersection of Routes 4 and 17.
He also is known as one of New Jersey's most visible pay-to-play contractors, one with deep ties to officials who set state policy and make key spending decisions. State records attribute more than $100,000 in contributions to New Jersey candidates and committees since 2006 to Joseph M. Sanzari Inc. and those associated with the firm.
Between 2006 and 2008, his companies were awarded more than $380 million in public contracts.
As the chief operating officer of Sanzari's construction firm, Sarlo has a direct role overseeing the firm's multimillion-dollar dealings with state and local public agencies. His work includes the endorsement of bid documents and the review of expenses in public projects.
Sarlo also had his Trenton aide, Chris Eilert, sign some Sanzari company documents as a witness. Eilert said he is a notary public and any signature for Sarlo's company was probably done "over dinner" with Sarlo, off government property.
Sarlo says his employment by Sanzari does not conflict with his part-time job in Trenton, where he sits as a majority member of key committees that control state spending on construction projects. He declined to speak about Sanzari's record at Overpeck.
"I'm not really allowed to say anything," Sarlo said.
Sarlo declined to respond when informed of data that show J. Fletcher Creamer of Hackensack, Sanzari's partner in the Joint Venture, made frequent and regular payments to the county for material trucked in by a firm he owns separate from Sanzari.
Overpeck project records show that in the fall of 2007, Sarlo stepped in to stop the county from an attempt to collect some of the money owed by Sanzari's companies.
In a letter to the BCIA, PMK had recommended that the county withhold $200,000 it owed to another Sanzari-related firm, North Bergen Rock Products, for clean rocks used at the Overpeck site.
But in conversations with PMK, the records show, Sarlo successfully argued that the county could not withhold payment because North Bergen Rock, legally, is a separate company.
Asked if the county challenged Sarlo's interpretation or sought any further negotiation on the debt, a PMK official said he was uncertain what happened next, if anything.
"Sarlo told us we couldn't deduct the payment and, as far as I know, that was the end of the matter," said Assadi, the project manager.
North Bergen Rock Products lists its business address as 90 W. Franklin St., Hackensack. It is the same address as Joseph M. Sanzari Inc., and at least two other Sanzari companies.
Overpeck project invoices show that the county does not have records detailing how much material Sanzari's crews trucked in from the Carlstadt project. An Oct. 31, 2007, letter shows that the Overpeck project manager instead estimated the amount once it was already in place, noting that it was spread over 6 acres to a depth of about 4 feet.
E-mail: pillets@northjersey.com
Online story here. Archived here.
(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Hackensack UMC - Record - Deep Dem Connections
Published on NorthJersey.com, Sunday, April 26,2009
Tangled web of power: Hospital's influence reaches far
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Last updated: Sunday April 26, 2009, 11:43 AM
BY MARY JO LAYTON
NorthJersey.com
STAFF WRITER
The trial of former state Sen. Joseph Coniglio, convicted in a bribery scandal involving Hackensack University Medical Center, exposed the hospital’s reach into the State House — and put a spotlight on the wealthy, influential men who serve as the hospital’s power brokers.
Hackensack’s board members have connections and political muscle that extend far beyond the hospital. At black-tie fund-raisers and dinners at board member Joseph Sanzari’s Stony Hill Inn, business — hospital and otherwise — is on the agenda.
Various board members help to underwrite Bergen County’s Democratic machine and powerful lawmakers in Trenton. They’re awarded many of the region’s public construction contracts. They have the network — and the money — to smooth over zoning issues for the hospital. Testimony at the trial this month showed they supported the hiring of Coniglio, who was convicted of steering millions in grants to Hackensack while on the hospital’s payroll.
"A political machine" is how Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas R. Calcagni described the hospital as he told jurors about Hackensack’s relationships with former acting governor and Senate President Richard Codey, state Sen. Paul Sarlo, Coniglio and others during the trial.
"There are board members who could pick up the phone and call the governor and say, ‘I need help on this,’ " Coniglio’s defense lawyer, Gerald Krovatin, said at the trial.
The hospital’s most powerful board members include major contractors Sanzari and J. Fletcher Creamer Jr., whose political roots run as deep as their wallets. Joseph Simunovich, who rose up through the Hudson County political arena to become chairman of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and a fund-raiser for Sen. Bob Menendez, is also a key member of the hospital’s inner circle of decision makers. With their help, John P. Ferguson, the hospital’s president and CEO, has taken what was once a community hospital and built it into a $1 billion enterprise — the busiest and, in many ways, the best hospital in the state.
But while Hackensack’s board members are generous donors — and prolific fund-raisers — some are also making money off the hospital. It’s a practice that is frowned upon by health care experts and outright banned at some hospitals in North Jersey, where officials say it crosses an ethical line.
A few examples from the hospital’s federal tax filings for 2007, the latest available:
* Companies owned by Sanzari and Creamer are building a 975-car garage as part of the $135 million cancer center now under construction. Creamer was paid more than $475,000 by the hospital for construction services.
* The hospital paid more than $2 million to Progenitor Cell Therapy, a private stem cell research company owned in part by Ferguson; Dr. Andrew Pecora, director of the cancer center; board members Peter C. Gerhard, George T. Croonquist and Samuel Toscano Jr.; and the hospital’s chief operating officer, Robert C. Garrett.
* The hospital paid $2.5 million to lease space from Sanzari 2001, where board member David Sanzari — Joseph’s cousin — is a managing member with an ownership stake. It also spent $68,000 at the Marriott at Glenpointe hotel, which is owned by David Sanzari’s family.
* The DeCotiis law firm, one of the most influential in the state, made more than $1 million from the hospital. It is representing the hospital in the Coniglio case and guiding its campaign to reopen Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood. During that time, Frank Huttle III, a partner, served on the board. He said Friday that he resigned recently.
* Universal Health, which operates a retail pharmacy at the hospital, received $200,000. At the time, Toscano was the company’s chief executive officer.
‘Squeaky clean’ is the goal
These types of arrangements trouble expert Jamie Orlikoff, who said hospitals nationally are moving away from allowing trustees to serve if they do business with their hospital.
"It doesn’t pass the smell test," said Orlikoff, a national adviser on governance and leadership to the American Hospital Association.
"When you govern a hospital, you’re governing the most important asset in the community," he said. "You should be squeaky clean."
Englewood Hospital and Medical Center had its general counsel step down from the board to avoid any conflict, said Douglas Duchek, the hospital’s president. Other than doctors, no other board members are being paid by the institution, he said.
State Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, is so concerned about the potential for abuse that she introduced a bill in October that requires boards to disclose any potential or perceived conflict of interest. The bill also would require hospitals to solicit bids in awarding any contract for more than $25,000.
"If board members themselves are also making a profit from their association, that information should be fully divulged,’’ she said. "We can actually look at what’s grown up to be cozy relationships and decide whether they’re appropriate."
Assemblywoman Valerie Huttle, D-Englewood, sponsored the bill in the Legislature. Her husband is Frank Huttle, who said he resigned from the board because of time constraints.
Screen of privacy
Despite all the public money that goes to the hospital, it’s considered a private institution. Board meetings are closed and contracts are not disclosed. That makes it difficult to paint a full picture of the business of running the hospital.
The hospital has offered little in the way of comment since the Coniglio trial began. On Friday afternoon, however, it released this statement:
"Community-based institutions throughout the nation rely on the support of local civic and business leaders who serve on their governing boards. Members of the Hackensack University Medical Center board of governors are generous with their time and their financial support, but more importantly have gained the skills to govern a complex institution such as ours. An independent, nationally recognized authority on not-for-profit governance has counseled HUMC for more than five years. The HUMC board’s best practices model includes a rigorous annual disclosure statement and ongoing education. This conflicts of interest policy is enforced by a dedicated committee of the board of governors."
The Record called Creamer, Sanzari, Ferguson, Toscano and other board members for this article, but only one, Simunovich, would speak.
Simunovich said he was "saddened" by the Coniglio verdict, but said board members were not involved in hiring the senator.
"We didn’t sign off on him," he said Thursday. "Board members don’t hire or fire."
He said he had been in Florida and hadn’t paid attention to the trial. "All I got was a phone call that he was found guilty," he said.
There are "no politicians that I know of [on the board]," Simunovich said. "You certainly do have corporate representation, and of course you have people we count on for their advice and guidance."
He did not respond to a question about the possible ethical tightrope walked by board members who do business with the hospital.
Big winners in grant race
The Coniglio trial served as a primer on the backroom politics of New Jersey, where certain grants, known as "Christmas tree items," were doled out based on who has "the juice." By all accounts, Hackensack mastered the game and loomed large in Trenton. From 2004 to 2006, the hospital received $17.4 million for its cancer center, an extra $9 million in charity care above the millions it was already getting and $250,000 for the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital. A $900,000 research grant was awarded to the private stem cell firm at the hospital and $70,000 went for a seat belt study.
Those awards dwarf the grants given to Hackensack’s competitors. The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, for instance, took in less than $1 million a year in both state and federal grants during that time, according to the hospital’s tax filings.
Robert L. Torre, a hospital vice president who was given immunity to serve as the government’s star witness, testified that Ferguson authorized Coniglio’s hiring. Torre, who testified that he didn’t need Coniglio, said that after a conference call with Simunovich, Joseph Sanzari and Ferguson, it was clear Coniglio would be hired.
Coniglio, a former plumber, was paid $103,900 between May 2004 and February 2006 for a low-show "community relations" job at Hackensack. "Hackensack’s personal senator," as he was called at the trial, got a $500-a-month raise after the hospital received checks for state grants, prosecutors said.
But the trial showed the hospital’s reach went further than one legislator. Coniglio’s defense attorney said that Torre had "played Joe Coniglio like a fiddle" to get to Codey. A Dec. 13, 2005, report from Torre to his board of trustees credited Codey, in his role as acting governor, for a $9 million award for the cancer center, and noted $3 million of that grant would be earmarked for The Maureen Fund, established in honor of Codey’s aide, to fight ovarian cancer.
Weight to throw around
The power Hackensack wields comes as no surprise to other hospital executives.
"The trial hasn’t showed us anything we didn’t know. It’s not a level playing field," Duchek said. Englewood and Valley are battling Hackensack’s plan — and its considerable P.R. machine — to open a 128-bed hospital in Westwood, which they say could significantly harm the finances of other hospitals in the region.
Besides its board and its members’ connections, Hackensack has weight to throw around because it is Bergen County’s biggest business and one of the state’s top 10 employers. It boasts marquee physicians providing care that rivals that of the nation’s best hospitals.
Hackensack University Medical Center ranks high in nearly every national and state assessment of patient care. Founded in 1888 with 12 beds and as Bergen County’s first hospital, it now has 775 beds and 7,200 employees.
Its fund raising is the envy of the other hospitals in the region. Benefactors include Don Imus and his wife, Deirdre. Even in these tough times, the Hackensack University Medical Foundation reported a staggering $25.3 million in donations last year.
Hackensack’s president, Ferguson, is ranked 12th — just behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — in Modern Healthcare’s list of the most influential health care leaders in the nation.
The 60-year-old Park Ridge resident’s name came up often at the trial as the omnipotent boss involved in every decision. He was never charged or called to testify.
But the case may not be over for the hospital. When asked why hospital executives weren’t charged, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Brown said the investigation is continuing. "I think heads at HUMC should roll," jury foreman Walter Palkocki said. "Their culpability is significant."
Influential roles
At Hackensack, a few names — Simunovich, Ferguson, Sanzari, Creamer — keep showing up in influential roles on key boards. They serve as trustees of the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation, the hospital’s fund-raising arm, as well as the hospital’s board of governors and Hillcrest Health Service System, the hospital’s parent corporation. Leading contractors and developers — Sanzari, Creamer and John C. Fowler — are on the building committee.
During the trial, a large photo of Simunovich seated next to Codey at a hospital fund-raiser was shown to jurors as an example of his access and influence.
In his closing statement, Coniglio’s attorney credited Simunovich and Sanzari with snaring a $500,000 state grant for the hospital without the help of lobbyists or legislators.
Simunovich is the former chairman of the board of governors and current chairman of the board of trustees for the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation, the hospital’s fund-raising arm.
Simunovich, the former president of United Water Management and Services, was a Hudson County freeholder for 12 years, three as chairman. He served under three governors on the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and is the former chairman of the Bergen County Economic Development Corp., serving along with Ferguson and Creamer. The corporation was later part of a movement to create a bio-tech development area near the hospital.
Governor Corzine did not reappoint Simunovich to the Turnpike Authority in 2007 after he was investigated by the State Ethics Commission; as chairman, he had voted on millions in public contracts that were awarded to Sanzari while he accepted free rides on the contractor’s private jet. Simunovich paid a $50,000 fine, which was not an admission of guilt.
"Mr. Simunovich’s actions do not reflect the standards demanded by the governor for those who serve in his administration," Corzine’s then-spokesman Anthony Coley said.
During that probe, critics pointed out that a company run by Simunovich’s son-in-law landed a contract in 2005 to renovate a thrift shop run by the auxiliary of the hospital’s foundation. Torre said at the time that Simunovich had nothing to do with that decision.
Big contributor
Joseph Sanzari serves as first vice chairman, the No. 2 position on the hospital’s board of governors.
He’s a generous hospital contributor: He and his wife gave $10 million to the children’s and women’s hospital that bears their names. Just days before the trial began, Sanzari contributed an additional $1 million to Hackensack.
Sanzari, who started his business with two trucks and a backhoe, is a leader in highway construction. His companies have taken in more than $380 million in three years through contracts with public agencies, including the Turnpike Authority, Xanadu, and other entities, according to the pay-to-play databank prepared by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. The Ho-Ho-Kus resident is such a prominent contractor that he was once serenaded by Luciano Pavarotti at a builders’ event in his honor.
Sanzari is part owner of both the Stony Hill Inn in Hackensack and the New Bridge Inn in New Milford, popular hangouts for Bergen County’s political elite. Sanzari, his companies and employees have contributed more than $100,000 to political campaigns and political action committees in the past three years, according to data the company provided to state elections regulators.
Among his top employees is state Sen. Paul Sarlo, also the mayor of Wood-Ridge. Sarlo oversees billions in public spending as a lead member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he also controls key appointments to state agencies that have awarded millions in contracts to Sanzari’s firms.
Sarlo, chief operating officer for Sanzari’s construction company, testified at the trial that he was largely responsible for getting the $900,000 grant for the hospital’s cancer center. He said he also lobbied Codey for the $9 million cancer center grant and played a role in the $900,000 grant for stem cell research at the hospital.
Deep connections
J. Fletcher Creamer Jr., the chairman of the hospital’s board of governors and vice chairman of the foundation board, also has deep connections in Bergen County.
J. Fletcher Creamer & Son Inc. received more than $84 million in public contracts in Bergen County and elsewhere in New Jersey from 2006 to 2008. The company contributed $152,185 to candidates or committees last year, according to ELEC’s pay-to-play Web site.
Like the Sanzaris, Creamer family members are significant contributors to the hospital: Hackensack’s trauma center bears the name of Jeffrey M. Creamer, the late brother of the current board chairman.
Frank Huttle — who is running for mayor in Englewood — is a partner in the Teaneck-based DeCotiis law firm, whose senior management includes chief counsels to two former governors and has a client roster that ranges from EnCap Golf and Xanadu to scores of public entities. Two partners in the firm attended the Coniglio trial virtually every day to represent the hospital.
Federal tax filings for 2007 identify several other board members who work for companies that do business with the hospital. For instance, the hospital paid North Jersey Media Group, The Record’s parent company, $371,255 for advertising in 2007. Jennifer Borg, vice president and general counsel, serves on the hospital’s boards.
In tax filings, the hospital notes: "Any goods purchased or services performed are done so at fair market value rates pursuant to arms length negotiations." The hospital’s bylaws require members of the board to tell the hospital of potential conflicts of interest and to abstain from voting on such issues, but that information — and even the votes — are not public.
Power over local decisions
Hackensack’s power, its money and its vast web of connections isn’t just in Trenton. It also reaches into the local level and into Washington:
* When the hospital wanted to build a new cancer center over the objections of residents, it turned to Scarinci & Hollenbeck, the influential firm where then-Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero was a partner. Two of the city’s five council members at the time were members of the county Democratic committee, a third was once a member, and a fourth had a job with the county. A political action committee run by the medical center had once donated thousands to this political team. In addition to those connections, the hospital paid the city $1 million and promised to take over its daytime ambulance services. Ferriero, who is now under federal indictment for conspiracy to commit fraud, notarized the deal, which was witnessed by Sanzari.
* Less than a week after the Bergen freeholders pledged not to take sides in the battle over whether Hackensack should be allowed to reopen Pascack Valley Hospital, they passed a unanimous resolution supporting Hackensack. That meeting was jammed with construction workers led by Richard "Buzzy" Dressel — a board member of Hackensack’s foundation who also is a leader of the county Democratic Party, the business manager of a local union itching for renovation work at Pascack and a partner in Sanzari’s New Bridge Inn. They grabbed all the seats before the session began, so that employees bused in from opposing hospitals were stuck in an overflow room.
* In Washington, Michael Hutton, a lobbyist who had done work for the hospital’s foundation, hosted a swanky reception to celebrate Menendez’s swearing in at the Senate in 2007. Hackensack hospital was among a handful of groups — including Verizon and AT&T — that funded the private celebration, where Simunovich and other partygoers feasted on shrimp and lobster pasta. When questioned later, Torre conceded that non-profit firms are barred from political activity. But this was not a political event, he said. "It was hosted by a third party," Torre said.
Union leader Ann Twomey said the trial "makes it clear there wasn’t enough oversight’’ at Hackensack.
"It’s a matter of making sure the scarce patient-care dollars are going to where they belong and that it’s not being influenced by those who are in the greatest position of power — the board of trustees," said Twomey, president of the Health Professional & Allied Employees, a union that represents employees at several area hospitals.
Twomey said Weinberg’s proposed legislation should outright ban trustees from doing any business with their hospital.
At The Valley Hospital, just one board member — its chairman, the president of a hospital supply company — does business with the hospital, said hospital President Audrey Meyers.
The chairman, Vincent Forlenza, who works at Becton, Dickinson and Co., does not participate in any decisions about purchasing supplies, she said.
The hospital directly bought $83,000 worth of supplies from the company and paid an additional $1.6 million as part of a group purchasing program, Meyers said.
"The Valley Hospital does not allow trustees to do business with the hospital unless a trustee works for a company where the value of our business is insignificant to that company," she said.
Others agree that hospitals need to stay away from mixing business with service on the board.
In the public’s mind, if a contractor who serves on the board is the successful bidder, there may be a perception of insider dealing, Orlikoff said.
"It’s exactly this sticky, one-hand-washes-the-other-hand mess you’re trying to avoid," he said.
Staff Writers Peter J. Sampson, Lindy Washburn, Mike Kelly, Jeff Pillets, Bob Groves and James M. O’Neill contributed to this article. E-mail: layton@northjersey.com
Online story here. Archived here.
(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Tangled web of power: Hospital's influence reaches far
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Last updated: Sunday April 26, 2009, 11:43 AM
BY MARY JO LAYTON
NorthJersey.com
STAFF WRITER
The trial of former state Sen. Joseph Coniglio, convicted in a bribery scandal involving Hackensack University Medical Center, exposed the hospital’s reach into the State House — and put a spotlight on the wealthy, influential men who serve as the hospital’s power brokers.
Hackensack’s board members have connections and political muscle that extend far beyond the hospital. At black-tie fund-raisers and dinners at board member Joseph Sanzari’s Stony Hill Inn, business — hospital and otherwise — is on the agenda.
Various board members help to underwrite Bergen County’s Democratic machine and powerful lawmakers in Trenton. They’re awarded many of the region’s public construction contracts. They have the network — and the money — to smooth over zoning issues for the hospital. Testimony at the trial this month showed they supported the hiring of Coniglio, who was convicted of steering millions in grants to Hackensack while on the hospital’s payroll.
"A political machine" is how Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas R. Calcagni described the hospital as he told jurors about Hackensack’s relationships with former acting governor and Senate President Richard Codey, state Sen. Paul Sarlo, Coniglio and others during the trial.
"There are board members who could pick up the phone and call the governor and say, ‘I need help on this,’ " Coniglio’s defense lawyer, Gerald Krovatin, said at the trial.
The hospital’s most powerful board members include major contractors Sanzari and J. Fletcher Creamer Jr., whose political roots run as deep as their wallets. Joseph Simunovich, who rose up through the Hudson County political arena to become chairman of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and a fund-raiser for Sen. Bob Menendez, is also a key member of the hospital’s inner circle of decision makers. With their help, John P. Ferguson, the hospital’s president and CEO, has taken what was once a community hospital and built it into a $1 billion enterprise — the busiest and, in many ways, the best hospital in the state.
But while Hackensack’s board members are generous donors — and prolific fund-raisers — some are also making money off the hospital. It’s a practice that is frowned upon by health care experts and outright banned at some hospitals in North Jersey, where officials say it crosses an ethical line.
A few examples from the hospital’s federal tax filings for 2007, the latest available:
* Companies owned by Sanzari and Creamer are building a 975-car garage as part of the $135 million cancer center now under construction. Creamer was paid more than $475,000 by the hospital for construction services.
* The hospital paid more than $2 million to Progenitor Cell Therapy, a private stem cell research company owned in part by Ferguson; Dr. Andrew Pecora, director of the cancer center; board members Peter C. Gerhard, George T. Croonquist and Samuel Toscano Jr.; and the hospital’s chief operating officer, Robert C. Garrett.
* The hospital paid $2.5 million to lease space from Sanzari 2001, where board member David Sanzari — Joseph’s cousin — is a managing member with an ownership stake. It also spent $68,000 at the Marriott at Glenpointe hotel, which is owned by David Sanzari’s family.
* The DeCotiis law firm, one of the most influential in the state, made more than $1 million from the hospital. It is representing the hospital in the Coniglio case and guiding its campaign to reopen Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood. During that time, Frank Huttle III, a partner, served on the board. He said Friday that he resigned recently.
* Universal Health, which operates a retail pharmacy at the hospital, received $200,000. At the time, Toscano was the company’s chief executive officer.
‘Squeaky clean’ is the goal
These types of arrangements trouble expert Jamie Orlikoff, who said hospitals nationally are moving away from allowing trustees to serve if they do business with their hospital.
"It doesn’t pass the smell test," said Orlikoff, a national adviser on governance and leadership to the American Hospital Association.
"When you govern a hospital, you’re governing the most important asset in the community," he said. "You should be squeaky clean."
Englewood Hospital and Medical Center had its general counsel step down from the board to avoid any conflict, said Douglas Duchek, the hospital’s president. Other than doctors, no other board members are being paid by the institution, he said.
State Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, is so concerned about the potential for abuse that she introduced a bill in October that requires boards to disclose any potential or perceived conflict of interest. The bill also would require hospitals to solicit bids in awarding any contract for more than $25,000.
"If board members themselves are also making a profit from their association, that information should be fully divulged,’’ she said. "We can actually look at what’s grown up to be cozy relationships and decide whether they’re appropriate."
Assemblywoman Valerie Huttle, D-Englewood, sponsored the bill in the Legislature. Her husband is Frank Huttle, who said he resigned from the board because of time constraints.
Screen of privacy
Despite all the public money that goes to the hospital, it’s considered a private institution. Board meetings are closed and contracts are not disclosed. That makes it difficult to paint a full picture of the business of running the hospital.
The hospital has offered little in the way of comment since the Coniglio trial began. On Friday afternoon, however, it released this statement:
"Community-based institutions throughout the nation rely on the support of local civic and business leaders who serve on their governing boards. Members of the Hackensack University Medical Center board of governors are generous with their time and their financial support, but more importantly have gained the skills to govern a complex institution such as ours. An independent, nationally recognized authority on not-for-profit governance has counseled HUMC for more than five years. The HUMC board’s best practices model includes a rigorous annual disclosure statement and ongoing education. This conflicts of interest policy is enforced by a dedicated committee of the board of governors."
The Record called Creamer, Sanzari, Ferguson, Toscano and other board members for this article, but only one, Simunovich, would speak.
Simunovich said he was "saddened" by the Coniglio verdict, but said board members were not involved in hiring the senator.
"We didn’t sign off on him," he said Thursday. "Board members don’t hire or fire."
He said he had been in Florida and hadn’t paid attention to the trial. "All I got was a phone call that he was found guilty," he said.
There are "no politicians that I know of [on the board]," Simunovich said. "You certainly do have corporate representation, and of course you have people we count on for their advice and guidance."
He did not respond to a question about the possible ethical tightrope walked by board members who do business with the hospital.
Big winners in grant race
The Coniglio trial served as a primer on the backroom politics of New Jersey, where certain grants, known as "Christmas tree items," were doled out based on who has "the juice." By all accounts, Hackensack mastered the game and loomed large in Trenton. From 2004 to 2006, the hospital received $17.4 million for its cancer center, an extra $9 million in charity care above the millions it was already getting and $250,000 for the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital. A $900,000 research grant was awarded to the private stem cell firm at the hospital and $70,000 went for a seat belt study.
Those awards dwarf the grants given to Hackensack’s competitors. The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, for instance, took in less than $1 million a year in both state and federal grants during that time, according to the hospital’s tax filings.
Robert L. Torre, a hospital vice president who was given immunity to serve as the government’s star witness, testified that Ferguson authorized Coniglio’s hiring. Torre, who testified that he didn’t need Coniglio, said that after a conference call with Simunovich, Joseph Sanzari and Ferguson, it was clear Coniglio would be hired.
Coniglio, a former plumber, was paid $103,900 between May 2004 and February 2006 for a low-show "community relations" job at Hackensack. "Hackensack’s personal senator," as he was called at the trial, got a $500-a-month raise after the hospital received checks for state grants, prosecutors said.
But the trial showed the hospital’s reach went further than one legislator. Coniglio’s defense attorney said that Torre had "played Joe Coniglio like a fiddle" to get to Codey. A Dec. 13, 2005, report from Torre to his board of trustees credited Codey, in his role as acting governor, for a $9 million award for the cancer center, and noted $3 million of that grant would be earmarked for The Maureen Fund, established in honor of Codey’s aide, to fight ovarian cancer.
Weight to throw around
The power Hackensack wields comes as no surprise to other hospital executives.
"The trial hasn’t showed us anything we didn’t know. It’s not a level playing field," Duchek said. Englewood and Valley are battling Hackensack’s plan — and its considerable P.R. machine — to open a 128-bed hospital in Westwood, which they say could significantly harm the finances of other hospitals in the region.
Besides its board and its members’ connections, Hackensack has weight to throw around because it is Bergen County’s biggest business and one of the state’s top 10 employers. It boasts marquee physicians providing care that rivals that of the nation’s best hospitals.
Hackensack University Medical Center ranks high in nearly every national and state assessment of patient care. Founded in 1888 with 12 beds and as Bergen County’s first hospital, it now has 775 beds and 7,200 employees.
Its fund raising is the envy of the other hospitals in the region. Benefactors include Don Imus and his wife, Deirdre. Even in these tough times, the Hackensack University Medical Foundation reported a staggering $25.3 million in donations last year.
Hackensack’s president, Ferguson, is ranked 12th — just behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — in Modern Healthcare’s list of the most influential health care leaders in the nation.
The 60-year-old Park Ridge resident’s name came up often at the trial as the omnipotent boss involved in every decision. He was never charged or called to testify.
But the case may not be over for the hospital. When asked why hospital executives weren’t charged, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Brown said the investigation is continuing. "I think heads at HUMC should roll," jury foreman Walter Palkocki said. "Their culpability is significant."
Influential roles
At Hackensack, a few names — Simunovich, Ferguson, Sanzari, Creamer — keep showing up in influential roles on key boards. They serve as trustees of the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation, the hospital’s fund-raising arm, as well as the hospital’s board of governors and Hillcrest Health Service System, the hospital’s parent corporation. Leading contractors and developers — Sanzari, Creamer and John C. Fowler — are on the building committee.
During the trial, a large photo of Simunovich seated next to Codey at a hospital fund-raiser was shown to jurors as an example of his access and influence.
In his closing statement, Coniglio’s attorney credited Simunovich and Sanzari with snaring a $500,000 state grant for the hospital without the help of lobbyists or legislators.
Simunovich is the former chairman of the board of governors and current chairman of the board of trustees for the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation, the hospital’s fund-raising arm.
Simunovich, the former president of United Water Management and Services, was a Hudson County freeholder for 12 years, three as chairman. He served under three governors on the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and is the former chairman of the Bergen County Economic Development Corp., serving along with Ferguson and Creamer. The corporation was later part of a movement to create a bio-tech development area near the hospital.
Governor Corzine did not reappoint Simunovich to the Turnpike Authority in 2007 after he was investigated by the State Ethics Commission; as chairman, he had voted on millions in public contracts that were awarded to Sanzari while he accepted free rides on the contractor’s private jet. Simunovich paid a $50,000 fine, which was not an admission of guilt.
"Mr. Simunovich’s actions do not reflect the standards demanded by the governor for those who serve in his administration," Corzine’s then-spokesman Anthony Coley said.
During that probe, critics pointed out that a company run by Simunovich’s son-in-law landed a contract in 2005 to renovate a thrift shop run by the auxiliary of the hospital’s foundation. Torre said at the time that Simunovich had nothing to do with that decision.
Big contributor
Joseph Sanzari serves as first vice chairman, the No. 2 position on the hospital’s board of governors.
He’s a generous hospital contributor: He and his wife gave $10 million to the children’s and women’s hospital that bears their names. Just days before the trial began, Sanzari contributed an additional $1 million to Hackensack.
Sanzari, who started his business with two trucks and a backhoe, is a leader in highway construction. His companies have taken in more than $380 million in three years through contracts with public agencies, including the Turnpike Authority, Xanadu, and other entities, according to the pay-to-play databank prepared by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. The Ho-Ho-Kus resident is such a prominent contractor that he was once serenaded by Luciano Pavarotti at a builders’ event in his honor.
Sanzari is part owner of both the Stony Hill Inn in Hackensack and the New Bridge Inn in New Milford, popular hangouts for Bergen County’s political elite. Sanzari, his companies and employees have contributed more than $100,000 to political campaigns and political action committees in the past three years, according to data the company provided to state elections regulators.
Among his top employees is state Sen. Paul Sarlo, also the mayor of Wood-Ridge. Sarlo oversees billions in public spending as a lead member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he also controls key appointments to state agencies that have awarded millions in contracts to Sanzari’s firms.
Sarlo, chief operating officer for Sanzari’s construction company, testified at the trial that he was largely responsible for getting the $900,000 grant for the hospital’s cancer center. He said he also lobbied Codey for the $9 million cancer center grant and played a role in the $900,000 grant for stem cell research at the hospital.
Deep connections
J. Fletcher Creamer Jr., the chairman of the hospital’s board of governors and vice chairman of the foundation board, also has deep connections in Bergen County.
J. Fletcher Creamer & Son Inc. received more than $84 million in public contracts in Bergen County and elsewhere in New Jersey from 2006 to 2008. The company contributed $152,185 to candidates or committees last year, according to ELEC’s pay-to-play Web site.
Like the Sanzaris, Creamer family members are significant contributors to the hospital: Hackensack’s trauma center bears the name of Jeffrey M. Creamer, the late brother of the current board chairman.
Frank Huttle — who is running for mayor in Englewood — is a partner in the Teaneck-based DeCotiis law firm, whose senior management includes chief counsels to two former governors and has a client roster that ranges from EnCap Golf and Xanadu to scores of public entities. Two partners in the firm attended the Coniglio trial virtually every day to represent the hospital.
Federal tax filings for 2007 identify several other board members who work for companies that do business with the hospital. For instance, the hospital paid North Jersey Media Group, The Record’s parent company, $371,255 for advertising in 2007. Jennifer Borg, vice president and general counsel, serves on the hospital’s boards.
In tax filings, the hospital notes: "Any goods purchased or services performed are done so at fair market value rates pursuant to arms length negotiations." The hospital’s bylaws require members of the board to tell the hospital of potential conflicts of interest and to abstain from voting on such issues, but that information — and even the votes — are not public.
Power over local decisions
Hackensack’s power, its money and its vast web of connections isn’t just in Trenton. It also reaches into the local level and into Washington:
* When the hospital wanted to build a new cancer center over the objections of residents, it turned to Scarinci & Hollenbeck, the influential firm where then-Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero was a partner. Two of the city’s five council members at the time were members of the county Democratic committee, a third was once a member, and a fourth had a job with the county. A political action committee run by the medical center had once donated thousands to this political team. In addition to those connections, the hospital paid the city $1 million and promised to take over its daytime ambulance services. Ferriero, who is now under federal indictment for conspiracy to commit fraud, notarized the deal, which was witnessed by Sanzari.
* Less than a week after the Bergen freeholders pledged not to take sides in the battle over whether Hackensack should be allowed to reopen Pascack Valley Hospital, they passed a unanimous resolution supporting Hackensack. That meeting was jammed with construction workers led by Richard "Buzzy" Dressel — a board member of Hackensack’s foundation who also is a leader of the county Democratic Party, the business manager of a local union itching for renovation work at Pascack and a partner in Sanzari’s New Bridge Inn. They grabbed all the seats before the session began, so that employees bused in from opposing hospitals were stuck in an overflow room.
* In Washington, Michael Hutton, a lobbyist who had done work for the hospital’s foundation, hosted a swanky reception to celebrate Menendez’s swearing in at the Senate in 2007. Hackensack hospital was among a handful of groups — including Verizon and AT&T — that funded the private celebration, where Simunovich and other partygoers feasted on shrimp and lobster pasta. When questioned later, Torre conceded that non-profit firms are barred from political activity. But this was not a political event, he said. "It was hosted by a third party," Torre said.
Union leader Ann Twomey said the trial "makes it clear there wasn’t enough oversight’’ at Hackensack.
"It’s a matter of making sure the scarce patient-care dollars are going to where they belong and that it’s not being influenced by those who are in the greatest position of power — the board of trustees," said Twomey, president of the Health Professional & Allied Employees, a union that represents employees at several area hospitals.
Twomey said Weinberg’s proposed legislation should outright ban trustees from doing any business with their hospital.
At The Valley Hospital, just one board member — its chairman, the president of a hospital supply company — does business with the hospital, said hospital President Audrey Meyers.
The chairman, Vincent Forlenza, who works at Becton, Dickinson and Co., does not participate in any decisions about purchasing supplies, she said.
The hospital directly bought $83,000 worth of supplies from the company and paid an additional $1.6 million as part of a group purchasing program, Meyers said.
"The Valley Hospital does not allow trustees to do business with the hospital unless a trustee works for a company where the value of our business is insignificant to that company," she said.
Others agree that hospitals need to stay away from mixing business with service on the board.
In the public’s mind, if a contractor who serves on the board is the successful bidder, there may be a perception of insider dealing, Orlikoff said.
"It’s exactly this sticky, one-hand-washes-the-other-hand mess you’re trying to avoid," he said.
Staff Writers Peter J. Sampson, Lindy Washburn, Mike Kelly, Jeff Pillets, Bob Groves and James M. O’Neill contributed to this article. E-mail: layton@northjersey.com
Online story here. Archived here.
(Note: Online stories may be taken down by their publisher after a period of time or made available for a fee. Links posted here is from the original online publication of this piece.)
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff and Clippings have no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor are Plainfield Today, Plainfield Stuff or CLIPS endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
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