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Saturday, November 27, 2010

BULLETIN:

South Amboy Election: 5 More Ballots Found! SEE AMBOY BEACON,


DEC. 31, 2010 FOR MORE DETAILS!

RODECKER RETIRING

Super Announces June 30 End To Career

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Nov. 24, 2010)

PERTH AMBOY — Superintendent of Schools John Rodecker, who will have served

eight years as chief administrator of the Perth Amboy public Schools when

his $216,380 contract expires on June 30, announced at last week’s Board of

Education meeting that he will retire on that day.

His announcement was met with a standing-ovation by Board members, staffers

and residents attending the meeting held at the McGinnis Middle School,

State Street.

“This evening, I’ve presented a letter to each Board member that it’s my

intent to retire, effective June 30, 2011,” Rodecker stated at the end of his

report to the Board. “I’ve been fortunate to work in such a great city and

such a great school district.

“I’ve made a lot of friends that I’ve learned to respect, and a lot of

friends I’ll always cherish and remember,” he continued. “I’ve always felt

that all of us were moving in the same direction. We all wanted to see

progress, to see our students learn and get a quality education.

“I’ve always believed that our students have the potential to go as-far as

they can, and that we just have to make them believe it,” Rodecker stated.

“We only make such a decision once in a lifetime, and everyone has to make

it,” he concluded. “This is the time, and this is the place.”

“I can think of no greater loss than our Superintendent,” Board President

Samuel Lebreault declared after everyone was seated again. “The impact is

going to be felt for many years to come.

“It comes from the heart of each and every one of us that Mr. Rodecker is a

consummate professional,” Lebreault said. “Above-all, he is a

professional.”

“I need to acknowledge and thank Mr. Rodecker for bringing me to Perth

Amboy not once, but twice,” Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Dr. Vivian

Rodriguez said. “It was a privilege to work under him and with him. I just

don’t know how we’re going to do without him.

“Thank you, Mr. Rodecker, for this privilege.”

Acknowledged by his colleagues in the profession as a competent “finance

man” who “kept an eye on every dollar,” Rodecker will be leaving the district

with 35 years of service, 27 of them as its Board Secretary/Business

Administrator, which earned him the title of “Assistant Superintendent for

Business” before he was promoted to the top job about eight years ago.

Rodecker also is leaving at a time when a financial cloud hangs-over the

district after a Bernardsville insurance broker admitted in July that he

bilked the Board out of $2,593,400 over nearly six years for healthcare-related

programs that never existed. Less than 24 hours later, a State Grand Jury

handed-up an indictment charging two other brokers and their companies with

participating in the same alleged scheme.

Insurance brokers Francis Gartland of Baltimore, MD, and Brian Foley of

Summit and two of Gartland’s companies, Gartland & Co. Inc. and

E-Administrative Systems Inc., are charged with Conspiracy, Forgery, Money Laundering and

Theft by Deception.

The plea and that indictment followed the previous arraignment of Gartland,

his son-in-law Derek Johnson of Luthersville, MD, and their business

partner, Thomas Kelleher of Parksville, MD, on charges that they bilked the City

of Perth Amboy out of $216,495 for another healthcare-related program that

never existed. Two other Gartland-related companies, Federal Hill Risk

Management LLC and East Coast Administrative Services Inc., also were indicted in

June with those three defendants.

In July, Frank Cotroneo made a surprise appearance before Superior Court

Judge Bradley Ferencz, sitting in New Brunswick, to enter a guilty plea to

accusations of False Representation for a Government Contract and Theft by

Deception before a Grand Jury review. The maximum sentence for each charge could

be a prison term of up-to 10 years and fines of up-to $5 million.

However, under a plea-agreement struck by Deputy Attorneys General Diane

Deal and Pearl Minato, Cotroneo’s exposure would be limited to a prison term

of eight years, with four years of parole ineligibility. That sentence could

be reduced further to a prison term of six years, with three years of parole

ineligibility, if Cotroneo cooperated with an “ongoing investigation” not

described in court documents.

Cotroneo also agreed to pay restitution of $2.6 million to the Board, along

with a Public Corruption Profiteering Penalty (PCPP) of $2.9 million.

“Basically, Cotroneo is charged with taking funds that were earmarked and

paid-for as part of the Perth Amboy Board of Education’s contract with

Cigna,” state Attorney General’s Office spokesman Paul Loriquet has explained.

In the July indictment, Gartland, Foley, Gartland & Co. Inc. and

E-Administrative Systems Inc., are charged with conspiring with an unnamed male

“Co-Conspirator No. 1,” possibly Cotroneo, in an elaborate scheme to evade

detection by either local school officials or federal tax authorities.

The 36-page indictment alleges that the Board President’s signature was

forged and used on document six times: Nov. 18, 2003, Feb. 23 and Sept. 16,

2004, May 10, 2005, April 1, 2006 and Feb. 12, 2007.

That indictment also alleges that Gartland offered this co-conspirator

“approximately one-half” the proceeds from the massive multi-year theft, but the

co-conspirator’s share was not paid to him directly. Instead, payments were

alleged to have been made to pay the co-conspirator’s personal bills.

According to usually-reliable sources, Rodecker did not recommend the

hiring of Gartland in the Perth Amboy school district, but was overridden by a

majority of Board members.

Both alleged schemes in Perth Amboy are believed to have been uncovered as

the result of a year-long investigation by both federal and state

authorities into contracts between local governments and school boards and the

insurance brokers who manage their policies in about 30 municipalities and school

districts in at-least 10 counties throughout the Garden State.

Since that time, an 18-count federal indictment was handed-up by a U.S.

District Court Grand Jury charging Gartland and Toms River Regional School

District Superintendent of Schools Michael Ritacco with a litany of federal

corruption charges.

The 25-page indictment, a copy of which has been obtained by the Amboy

Beacon, details an elaborate scheme to pad insurance contracts to allegedly

fund a system of kickbacks in which Ritacco is accused of taking between $1

million and $2 million in bribes from Gartland and Cotroneo between 2002 and

June 2010.

Recount: Not Over

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Nov. 21, 2010)

SOUTH AMBOY — Despite a recount held late last week, the election of a new

Mayor is not over yet.

A request by Independent candidate Mary O’Connor for a recount of the Nov.

2 city election’s votes in her contest with Democratic City Council

President Fred Henry and two others — with only one vote separating her and Henry —

was approved last week by Superior Court Judge Philip Paley, sitting in New

Brunswick.

Two days later, the recount — which cost O’Connor $248 — was conducted by

the Middlesex County Board of Elections at its Edison voting-machine

warehouse, resulting in an identical outcome.

Henry again received 1,075 votes to 1,061 for O’Connor on the city’s nine

voting-machines, based in various public buildings throughout the one-squa

re-mile municipality, for a slender 14-vote lead. This was shaven to three

votes after O’Connor received 59 Mail-In Ballots (MIBs), formerly known as

“absentee votes,” to 48 for Henry.

O’Connor also received seven of the 12 provisional (challenged) ballots

counted by the Board to five for Henry, further reducing his margin to one

vote. As Board member Donald Katz read-off the names, staffers with count-sheets

called-out “Five” each time five votes were tallied.

On Election Night, the 2010 campaign for two at-large Council seats and one

Ward Council seat resulted in the Democratic Council nominees easily

defeating their opponents, newcomer Gross leading with 1,135 unofficial votes,

followed by incumbent Councilman Joseph Connors with 1,014, Republican nominee

Saverio Sagliocco with 982, Independent Eugene “Gene” Reagan with 751 and

GOP nominee David Longenhagen with 680. Recently-appointed First Ward

Councilman Donald Applegate, running unopposed, received 463 unofficial votes.

There were 22 provisional ballots cast, but only 12 of them were counted by

the Board. Eight ballots were voided by the staff, and the Board voted

unanimously to accept seven of the ballots challenged by O’Connor, rejecting

only one of them. Those seven went back into the mix with five unchallenged

ballots, and were pumped-through a counting machine, after the rest of the

county’s provisionals.

That left a mysterious 10th uncounted provisional ballot — cast by a woman

who voted for O’Connor, but which was not examined by the Board —

unaccounted-for.

That ballot — discovered by the Independent’s researchers before she filed

her request for a recount — was voided reportedly because no records were

found to show that the voter had registered in-time to vote on Nov. 2.

If that ballot had been counted, there would have been a tie between

O’Connor and Henry with 1,128 votes each, thereby forcing a special election on

Tuesday, Jan. 18, with the city’s voters asked to choose between the two tied

candidates to succeed Mayor John O’Leary, who decided in March not to seek

an unprecedented seventh four-year term as Chief Executive of the “Pleasant

Little City.”

Another MIB, also for O’Connor, was found in the Board’s office one week

after the election, and this was rejected unanimously by the four-member

Board because the voter did not comply with proper procedure.

At that emergency meeting, Administrator James Vokral explained that the

ballot was “put in the wrong pile” because the outer envelope in which it

was supposed-to be mailed was not used, but was replaced with a regular brown

envelope.

The voter placed his MIB inside the proper inner envelope and sealed it,

but failed to attach his signed certificate to the inner envelope.

“This ballot would have been voided even if it had been put in the proper

pile,” Vokral said.

O’Connor’s request to go further, if it is approved by Paley, would

include an examination of any heretofore uncounted MIBs and provisional ballots,

as well as challenges of specific individual ballots.

At-least one business-owner who lives in neighboring Sayreville and as many

as three police officers who live out-of-town may have participated in

South Amboy’s 2010 election, following a contentious campaign which was branded

by many observers as the city’s “dirtiest.”

In addition to the usual rash of reports of campaign-signs being torn-down

or put-up without authorization, this year’s local contest saw the

resurrection on a weekly basis of a bimonthly community newspaper which was defunct

for about 10 years, now unabashedly promoting the Democratic ticket; the

anonymous distribution of one flier depicting an O’Connor supporter in a Nazi

uniform, and another flier attacking O’Connor as a “terrorist,” and an alleged

“endorsement” of Mackiel’s candidacy by a non-existent “South Amboy Tea

Party.”

During Election Day itself, numerous complaints reportedly were made to the

Police Department, the Board of Elections and the state Attorney General’s

Office, which is believed to have sent an observer to the city to monitor

the voting.

One Council candidate was accused of “electioneering” at the Senior

Resource Center, S. Stevens Avenue, and was asked to leave; a photographer from an

out-of-county daily newspaper allegedly took random photos at a

polling-place and was escorted out, and eggs were said to have been thrown at an

O’Connor supporter’s car by Henry supporters, leading to a heated confrontation

involving the driver’s brother which police officers broke-up. There were

unconfirmed reports that off-duty police were called-out by Police Chief Darren

LaVigne to maintain order.

Because of suspected irregularities, FBI agents who raided the Board’s New

Brunswick headquarters and the County Clerk’s Office to investigate the June

8 Democratic primary election in the county seat may have expanded the scope

of their probe to other elections, including South Amboy.

The local race followed back-to-back municipal tax-increases of 38 percent

last year and 12 percent this year, plus an increase of over five percent in

school taxes approved in-between by the incumbent Council.

An Amendment to the Calendar Year 2010 Budget adopted by the Council is

expected to increase local taxes by another $722,576, on top of the $39 hike

previously-announced by the Administration and the Council, on a home assessed

at $266,000, the average in South Amboy, from the unamended spending plan.

Using the numbers provided with the CY 2010 Budget as introduced, the

amended Budget is expected to increase the municipal portion of taxes on the

average home by $268.

During the campaign, the challengers criticized the tax-hikes, pledging to

encourage more commercial tax-ratables to replace revenues now drawn from

residential property taxes, while the Democratic incumbents blamed the

tax-hikes on Republican Gov. Christopher Christie.

Vas Hesitates On Plea

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Nov. 24, 2010)

FREEHOLD — A patient Monmouth County Superior Court Judge finally convinced

the wavering former Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas last week to take a

plea-deal offered by the state Attorney General’s Office that could

drastically-reduce his prison time.

Vas hesitated several times throughout the afternoon, apparently not

wanting to admit that he committed several crimes — a requirement when you enter a

guilty-plea — but did eventually agree to accept the deal.

As a result of the delays by Vas, the Monmouth County Courthouse had to be

kept-open after-hours, and the Judge, Court personnel and Sheriff’s officers

assigned to the courtroom had to stay late. Even Assignment Judge Lawrence

Lawson stopped-by.

Vas and his longtime Mayor’s Aide Melvin Ramos quietly entered Monmouth

County Superior Court, Freehold, Thursday for their scheduled date with Judge

Anthony Mellaci Jr.

Under terms outlined by Deputy Attorney General Diane Deal, Vas would plead

guilty to two counts of Pattern of Official Misconduct and one count each

of Theft and Money-Laundering in exchange for an eight-year prison sentence,

of which he must serve five years before becoming eligible for parole.

The sentence for the state charges would run concurrently with any prison

term Vas receives for his Oct. 8 conviction in U.S. District Court, Newark,

when he is sentenced by Judge Susan Wigenton in March.

Vas was convicted for using his influence as Mayor to make a $290,000

profit from the sale of an apartment building by promising the buyer $350,000 in

state affordable housing funds and accepting illegal campaign contributions

for his 2006 campaign for the Democratic nomination in the 13th

Congressional District.

The remaining 24 counts against the former Mayor in the two state

indictments would be dismissed under the plea-deal.

In a similar deal, Ramos would plead guilty to one count each of

Money-Laundering and Conspiracy in exchange for a seven-year prison sentence, of which

he must serve about a year and four months before becoming eligible for

parole.

The sentence for the state charges would run concurrently with any prison

term Ramos receives for his Oct. 8 federal conviction for accepting illegal

campaign contributions for the Vas 2006 Congressional campaign when he is

sentenced by Wigenton in March.

The remaining 10 counts against Ramos in the two state indictments would be

dismissed under the plea-deal.

Two weeks earlier, Mellaci had explained all of this — plus the

alternatives should they decide to reject the state’s offer and go to trial instead —

to Vas, Ramos and Vas’s “workout partner” Anthony Jones, a city employee

who was not charged under the federal indictment. Jones, who did not appear

because his attorney is involved with another case, will return on another

date to be set.

Ramos quickly accepted the plea-deal in the morning, but Vas got-up and

left Mellaci’s courtroom after the Judge would not allow another two-week delay

for Vas to make-up his mind.

Mellaci outlined the consequences Vas could face by not accepting the

state’s offer and going to trial.

“If you agree to a trial and are found guilty, I may not sentence you to

concurrent terms,” he told Vas. “I’m talking substantial time.”

After learning that Vas had left the Courthouse in the middle of the day,

Mellaci threatened to set a $1 million bail. Both Vas and Ramos had been

released without bail after they were indicted.

The former Mayor returned to the courtroom at 3:35 p.m., when he told the

Judge that he would not take the plea-deal but needed more time.

Mellaci seemed ready to order that the deadline for the plea had passed

when Vas defense attorney Alan Zegas informed the Judge that his client was

once-again ready to accept the plea-deal.

In his elocution (statement describing the crimes he committed), Vas did

not simply outline what it was that he did that formed a basis for pleading

guilty, but had to be questioned by Deal — and sometimes by Zegas —

point-by-point.

With that process, the former Mayor admitted to a string of criminal

offenses, but balked at admitting he had used $289 in city funds to pay-for

refreshments at his father’s funeral, blaming others.

“In memory of my father, I cannot accept responsibility for doing that,”

Vas declared.

Mellaci was satisfied that the former Assemblyman had testified to enough

to sustain his plea to a Pattern of Official Misconduct, a law Vas had

sponsored in the Assembly.

Friday, November 19, 2010

RECOUNT HEARING SET

Challenge To Voided O’Connor Tie-Vote Expected

 (Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Nov. 17, 2010) SOUTH AMBOY — A hearing on Independent candidate for Mayor Mary O’Connor’s request for a recount of the Nov. 2 city election’s votes in her contest with Democratic City Council President Fred Henry and two others is scheduled to be conducted this morning before Superior Court Judge Philip Paley, sitting in New Brunswick.

Henry was declared the winner of a four-way race for Mayor after an earlier counting of 12 of the city’s 21 provisional election-ballots by the Middlesex County Board of Elections at its New Brunswick headquarters, putting him over the top with one vote more than O’Connor.

But one of nine uncounted provisional ballots, cast by a woman who voted for O’Connor but which was not examined by the Board, was discovered by the Independent’s researchers before she filed her request for a recount late last week, thereby reopening the question of the counting of votes in the election of a successor to Mayor John O’Leary, who decided in March not to seek an unprecedented seventh four-year term as Chief Executive of the “Pleasant Little City.”

O’Connor was joined by former Assemblywoman Arline Friscia, former Councilwoman Beverly Samuelson, Lori Papernik and attorney Sean Connelly. Henry, who left early, was accompanied by O’Leary, his brother, Housing Authority Executive Director Thomas O’Leary, and attorney Michael Baker.

If the disputed ballot had been counted, there would have been a tie between O’Connor and Henry with 1,128 votes each, thereby forcing a special election on Tuesday, Jan. 18, with the city’s voters asked to choose between the two tied candidates.

That ballot, which was among eight ballots disqualified by the staff, was voided because no records were found to show that the voter had registered in-time to vote on Nov. 2.

Also, a Mail-In Ballot (MIB), formerly known as an “absentee vote,” which was found in the Board’s office one week after the election, was rejected unanimously by the four-member Board in an emergency meeting held last Friday because the voter did not comply with proper procedure.

According to Administrator James Vokral, that ballot was “put in the wrong pile” because the outer envelope in which it was supposed-to be mailed was not used, replaced with a regular brown envelope.

The voter placed his MIB inside the proper inner envelope, but failed to attach his signed certificate to the inner envelope.

“This ballot would have been voided even if it had been put in the proper pile,” Vokral said.

O’Connor’s request, if it is approved by Paley, would encompass a review of the tapes from the voting-machines, including any discrepancies between the number of Authorities To Vote (ATVs) and the number of recorded votes, and a recount of both the MIBs and the provisional ballots.

“Any comments that I make about individual ballots will be made directly to the Judge,” O’Connor said in a prepared statement issued after her researchers completed their examination of the paper ballots.“This election is not over. A recount is being requested.”

Henry said that he was “happy with the way things have gone to this point.”.

With 2,568 votes cast, the unofficial balloting ended with Henry receiving

1,075 votes on the machines based in various public buildings throughout the one-square-mile municipality, following a contentious campaign which was branded by many observers as the city’s “dirtiest,” to 1,061 for O’Connor, who lost to O’Leary in 2006 by about 200 votes — a 14-vote lead for the 18-year incumbent Councilman. Two other Independents for Mayor, Vincent Mackiel with 192 and John Dragotta with 93, trailed.

The counting of mail-in ballots increased Henry’s unofficial vote-total to

1,106 to 1,098 for O’Connor on Election Night — a spread of just eight.

That difference was shaved to just three the following day, when a bag containing more mail-in ballots was discovered in the First Ward and immediately

transported to New Brunswick.

That set the stage for the counting of 13 of the 21 provisional ballots, overseen by Vokral, after eight ballots were voided by the staff after meticulous research of voting records.

At that time, O’Connor was accompanied by Samuelson, Papernik and Connelly, while Henry was accompanied by Councilman-elect Michael “Mickey” Gross, Thomas O’Leary and Baker. The provisional ballots, still sealed in special bags, were split between the two groups, seated at a distance from each-other, who proceeded to examine the names-and-addresses for about two hours.

During the next stage of the counting, the Board — two Democrats and two Republicans — convened at 4 p.m. to go-over eight ballots which were challenged by O’Connor. Henry did not challenge any of the provisional ballots.

The Board voted unanimously to accept seven of the challenged ballots and to reject one of them. Those seven went back into the mix with the five unchallenged ballots, and were pumped-through a counting machine, after the rest of the county’s provisionals.

After the South Amboy results were read aloud by County Clerk Elaine Flynn, Henry was hugged by Gross and O’Leary, and the three men left quickly.

On Election Night, the 2010 campaign for two at-large Council seats and one Ward Council seat resulted in the Democratic Council nominees easily defeating their opponents, newcomer Gross leading with 1,135 unofficial votes, followed by incumbent Councilman Joseph Connors with 1,014, Republican nominee Saverio Sagliocco with 982, Independent Eugene “Gene” Reagan with 751 and GOP nominee David Longenhagen with 680. Recently-appointed First Ward Councilman Donald Applegate, running unopposed, received 463 unofficial votes.

In addition to the usual rash of reports of campaign-signs being torn-down or put-up without authorization, this year’s local contest saw the resurrection on a weekly basis of a bimonthly community newspaper which was defunct for about 10 years, now unabashedly promoting the Democratic ticket; the anonymous distribution of one flier depicting an O’Connor supporter in a Nazi uniform, and another flier attacking O’Connor as a “terrorist,” and the mysterious “endorsement” of Mackiel’s candidacy by a non-existent “South Amboy Tea Party.”

During Election Day itself, numerous complaints reportedly were made to the Police Department, the Board of Elections and the state Attornet General’s Office, which is believed to have sent an observer to the city to monitor the voting.

One Council candidate was accused of “electioneering” at the Senior Resour ce Center, S. Stevens Avenue, and was asked to leave; a photographer from an out-of-county daily newspaper allegedly took random photos at a polling-place and was escorted out, and eggs were said to have been thrown at an O’Connor supporter’s car by Henry supporters, leading to a heated confrontation involving the driver’s brother which police officers broke-up. There were unconfirmed reports that off-duty police were called-out by Police Chief Darren LaVigne to maintain order.

The local race followed back-to-back municipal tax-increases of 38 percent last year and 12 percent this year, plus an increase of over five percent in school taxes approved in-between by the incumbent Council.

Apparently with much reluctance, Council members voted to adopt an Amendment to the Calendar Year 2010 Budget and the Budget itself without including $800,000 as anticipated revenue, after the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) “would not allow us to put that money in our Budget for this year as anticipated revenue,” Henry explained after the vote.

That Amendment to the CY 2010 Budget is expected to increase local taxes by another $722,576, on top of the $39 hike previously-announced by the Adminis tration and the Council on a home assessed at $266,000, the average in South Amboy, from the unamended spending plan. Using the numbers provided with the CY 2010 Budget as introduced, the amended Budget is expected to increase the municipal portion of taxes on the average home by $268.

During the campaign, the challengers criticized the tax-hikes, pledging to be more-frugal than the incumbents with spending and to encourage more commercial tax-ratables to relocate to South Amboy to replace revenues now nee ded to be drawn from taxing residential properties.

Perth Getting Activists’ Help In Pipeline Fight

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Nov. 17, 2010)

PERTH AMBOY — The City of Perth Amboy will not have to “go it alone”


after-all in its fight to stop construction of a massive natural gas pipeline through densely-populated residential areas.

In June, the Council adopted a Resolution declaring that “it is not in the best interest or welfare of the citizens of Perth Amboy to have these pipelines run through the city.”

Until now, however, governing bodies of neighboring municipalities have not seen-fit to adopt similar measures, even those communities which would be directly-impacted by the proposal. Only the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders had adopted a Resolution opposing Liberty’s plan.

However, environmental activists from Monmouth County who have fought successfully against similar proposals attended last week’s City Council meeting to offer their support to Perth Amboy to block an application filed by Dela ware-based Liberty Natural Gas LLC, which includes building a liquified natural gas (LNG) regasification facility near Asbury Park — 16.2 miles off the swimming-beaches of Monmouth County — to turn the product brought-in by huge tankers in its most-dangerous liquid form into a gaseous state.

Karina Wilkinson of Food & Water Watch, who commended the Council for adopting its Resolution in June, said the first step is for the city to file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to become a “party- of-interest.”

She said thaat this would put the city on a mailing-list to receive all notices of hearings and other documents pertaining to the application submitted by Liberty recently to FERC.

“Before they can do anything, the state has to approve 19 different permits,” Sean Dixon of Clean Ocean Action noted. “There’s a lot of room for you guys to get-involved.”

Resident Alan Silber suggested that because of its “lack-of-expertise,”

the Mayor and Council should “hire comeone to represent the city” in this matter.

The proposal calls-for an underwater pipeline from the regasification facility to turn northward, rounding Sandy Hook and dropping to the bottom of Raritan Bay before surfacing in Perth Amboy at the foot of Second Street, where the 36-inch pipe would travel under only three feet of soil — with virtually no security — along the NJTransit right-of-way through heavily-populated residential sections of the historic “City by the Bay” and parts of Woodbridge Township, Carteret and Rahway before eventually ending-up at a terminal in Linden.

The pipeline would be used by Liberty to transport “from sources around the world” up-to 2.4 billion cu.ft. of natural gas every day. Under the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, approvals must be issued by the U.S. Maritime Administration and the Coast Guard to operate the regasification facility and the underwater pipeline.

According to Wilkinson, Gov. Christopher Christie, who has announced his intention to oppose such plans, would have a 15-day window-of-opportunity to veto Liberty’s proposal.

“Obviously, it’s an issue we’re concerned-about,” Councilman Kenneth Gonzalez said.

“As a volunteer firefighter, I can tell you that being buried under three feet (of soil) makes no difference at-all,” Councilman William Petrick said.

As originally-proposed, the pipeline would follow a route that would pass near the Wilentz School on its way to the Perth Amboy train station, travel through Hidden Village, past the Patten School, run along Harbortown and under the Outerbridge Crossing, and continue past Kinder-Morgan, Chevron, Hess and the Northeast Redevelopment Area.

However, a spokesman for Liberty said the plan as submitted to FERC has been revised to bypass the School and instead go-by the now-vacant Gerdau Ameristeel plant.

A Resolution opposing the pipeline which was adopted by the Council in June identifies the route proposed for this pipeline — passing tank farms containing petroleum products and other dangerous chemicals — as “one of the highest-potentially-hazardous routes along the East Coast.”

Recognizing the need for a united front by city officials, organizations and residents to do whatever they can to block construction of the pipeline, Council members have acknowledged that mounting a successful effort also will require alliances with officials and residents of neighboring communities as well as elected state and federal lawmakers.

A similar alliance was successful in defeating a proposal several years ago to construct a huge LNG holding-tank on neighboring Staten Island.

Then-Community Development Director Michael Keller said in June that in addition to the negative impacts, Perth Amboy has nothing to gain financially from hosting such a pipeline.

“To my knowledge, there is no compensation to the city for having this pipeline,” Keller stated at that time.

“Why wouldn’t we get paid for it?” Council President Kenneth Balut asked.

“Because they’re mostly using the NJTransit easement,” Keller replied.

At last week’s meeting, resident Orlando Perez told the Council, “I uderstand you’re concerned, but the petroleum industry is very-powerful, and they’ll put-up a battle.

“These guys are vultures,” he continued. “You’re going to have a tough battle here.”

“I attended the press conference, and there’s a lack of any real need for this,” resident Daniel Dellapietro said. “It’s going to hold-back our redevelopment.”

Resident Stanley Surokowski called Liberty’s plan “a done-deal” where the city “has no power,” so “the best thing you could do is ask them to give us

$5 million-a-year — that’s peanuts to these guys — because they're going to do it anyway."

In 1994, an 11-inch Texas Eastern natural gas pipeline in Edison was struck accidentally by a backhoe, exploded and destroyed eight apartment buildings in the Durham Woods complex. One woman died there from a heart-attack.

The pipeline being proposed by Liberty is much-larger, and there could be a railroad accident or even sabotage. By continuing it underwater, there would be less-chance of ignition in the water, and the natural gas could safely dissipate.

When the LNG tank was proposed for Staten Island, a study-group put-together a worst-case-scenario of a ship accident that would have resulted in New York City and a sizable area of New Jersey being virtually wiped-off the map.

Inaction Continues On Shelter Proposal

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Nov. 17, 2010)

PERTH AMBOY — Despite repeated requests by local businesswoman Wilma Matey for the City Council to vote to accept her proposal to provide animal-control services to the city, the Council again took no action last week.

At the previous meeting, Councilman Kenneth Gonzalez asked for the matter to be put on last week’s meeting-agenda, but it appeared only on a list of items to be discussed during a closed-door executive session.

A Resolution authorizing that session — which lasted an hour and 36 minutes — was moved by Councilman William Petrick, seconded by Councilman Josel Pabon Sr. and adopted 5-0.

But the governing body returned from the closed session and took no action.

Licensed Animal Control Officers (ACOs) Richard and Michal Cielesz, a husband-and-wife team who are now running the Perth Amboy Animal Shelter, foot of Fayette Street, under Police Department supervision, have agreed to partner with the volunteers headed by Matey, who formed Perth Amboy Happy Home Animal Shelter LLC.

After meeting at City Hall, High Street, with Matey, Mayor Wilda Diaz, Gonzalez and Petrick to see if an arrangement could be worked-out incorporating both proposals submitted to city officials, Richard Cielesz posed with the group for photographs in the Council Chamber, where an announcement was made that a tentative agreement had been reached.

That agreement was expected to be finalized at a yet-to-happen Council meeting with a vote by the full governing body.

A three-year lease with Matey’s group has been withdrawn from the Council’s meeting-agenda at-least four times after Council members had earlier voted to table a proposed agreement with neighboring Woodbridge Township.

During last week’s meeting, Matey urged the Council to “do the right thing to help the animals, whether you decline to approve it (her proposal) or go-forward. Just do it already.”

Shelter volunteer Virginia Morales encouraged Council members to “ride-around and look at the dead cats on the streets.”

Saturday, November 13, 2010

RECOUNT LIKELY

Henry Leads O’Connor By Single Vote

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Nov. 10, 2010)

SOUTH AMBOY — Democratic City Council President Fred Henry was declared the

winner of a four-way race for Mayor late last week after 12 of the city’s

21 provisional election-ballots were counted by the Middlesex County Board of

Elections at its New Brunswick headquarters, putting him over the top with

one vote more than Independent challenger Mary O’Connor.

But O’Connor was expected to file her request for a recount sometime before

Friday, the deadline for her to do so, which would reopen the question of

validity of the votes which were counted in the Nov. 2 election of a

successor to Mayor John O’Leary, who decided in March not to seek an unprecedented

seventh four-year term as Chief Executive of the “Pleasant Little City.”

A recount would encompass a review of the tapes from the voting-machines,

including any discrepancies between the number of voting-authorities and the

number of recorded votes; the mail-in ballots, formerly “absentee votes,”

and the provisional ballots.

“I thank all of my supporters who seek a better future for South Amboy,”

O’Connor said in a prepared statement issued after the results were announced

in New Brunswick. “They brought us this far, and I will not allow their

votes to be improperly-overpowered.

“Fred Henry ran his campaign using lies, distortions and trickery,” she

continued. “We want to make sure that he did not run the polls the same way.

This election is not over. A recount is being requested.”

Henry did not respond to a request for comment.

With 2,568 votes cast, last week’s balloting ended with Henry receiving

1,075 unofficial votes on the machines based in various public buildings

throughout the one-square-mile municipality, following a contentious campaign

which was branded by many observers as the city’s “dirtiest,” to 1,061 for

O’Connor, who lost to O’Leary in 2006 by about 200 votes — a 14-vote lead for

the 18-year incumbent Councilman. Two other Independents for Mayor, Vincent

Mackiel with 192 and John Dragotta with 93, trailed.

The counting of mail-in ballots increased Henry’s unofficial vote-total to

1,106 to 1,098 for O’Connor on Election Night — a spread of just eight.

That difference was shaved to just three the following day, when a bag

containing more mail-in ballots was discovered in the First Ward and immediately

transported to New Brunswick.

That set the stage for the counting of 13 of the 21 provisional ballots,

overseen by Administrator James Vokral. Eight ballots were voided by the staff

because of obvious deficiencies, such as an admitted Sayreville resident

who voted in South Amboy.

O’Connor was accompanied by former Councilwoman Beverly Samuelson, Lori

Papernik and attorney Sean Connelly, while Henry was accompanied by

Councilman-elect Michael “Mickey” Gross, Housing Authority Executive Director Thomas

O’Leary, the Mayor’s brother, and an attorney representing Middlesex County

Democrats. The provisional ballots, still sealed in special bags, were split

between the two groups, seated at a distance from each-other. The

names-and-addresses were examined for about two hours.

During the next stage of the counting, the Board — two Democrats and two

Republicans — convened at 4 p.m. to go-over eight ballots which were

challenged by O’Connor. Henry did not challenge any of the provisional ballots.

The Board voted unanimously to accept seven of the challenged ballots and

to reject one of them. Those seven went back into the mix with the five

unchallenged ballots, and were pumped-through a counting machine, after the rest

of the county’s provisionals.

After the South Amboy results were read aloud by County Clerk Elaine Flynn,

Henry was hugged by Gross and O’Leary, and the three men left quickly.

On Election Night, the 2010 campaign for two at-large Council seats and one

Ward Council seat resulted in the Democratic Council nominees easily

defeating their opponents, newcomer Gross leading with 1,135 unofficial votes,

followed by incumbent Councilman Joseph Connors with 1,014, Republican nominee

Saverio Sagliocco with 982, Independent Eugene “Gene” Reagan with 751 and

GOP nominee David Longenhagen with 680. Recently-appointed First Ward

Councilman Donald Applegate, running unopposed, received 463 unofficial votes.

In addition to the usual rash of reports of campaign-signs being torn-down

or put-up without authorization, this year’s local contest saw the

resurrection on a weekly basis of a bimonthly community newspaper which was defunct

for about 10 years, now unabashedly promoting the Democratic ticket; the

anonymous distribution of one flier depicting an O’Connor supporter in a Nazi

uniform, and another flier attacking O’Connor as a “terrorist,” and the

mysterious “endorsement” of Mackiel’s candidacy by a non-existent “South Amboy

Tea Party.”

During Election Day itself, numerous complaints reportedly were made to the

Police Department, the Board of Elections and the state Attornet General’s

Office, which is believed to have sent an observer to the city to monitor

the voting.

One Council candidate was accused of “electioneering” at the Senior

Resource Center, S. Stevens Avenue, and was asked to leave; a photographer from an

out-of-county daily newspaper allegedly took random photos at a

polling-place and was escorted out, and eggs were said to have been thrown at an

O’Connor supporter’s car by Henry supporters, leading to a heated confrontation

involving the driver’s brother which police officers broke-up. There were

unconfirmed reports that off-duty police were called-out by Police Chief Darren

LaVigne to maintain order.

The local race followed back-to-back municipal tax-increases of 38 percent

last year and 12 percent this year, plus an increase of over five percent in

school taxes approved in-between by the incumbent Council.

Apparently with much reluctance, Council members voted to adopt an

Amendment to the Calendar Year 2010 Budget and the Budget itself without including

$800,000 as anticipated revenue, after the state Department of Community

Affairs (DCA) “would not allow us to put that money in our Budget for this year

as anticipated revenue,” Henry explained after the vote.

That Amendment to the CY 2010 Budget is expected to increase local taxes by

another $722,576, on top of the $39 hike previously-announced by the

Administration and the Council on a home assessed at $266,000, the average in

South Amboy, from the unamended spending plan. Using the numbers provided with

the CY 2010 Budget as introduced, the amended Budget is expected to increase

the municipal portion of taxes on the average home by $268.

During the campaign, the challengers criticized the tax-hikes, pledging to

be more-frugal than the incumbents with spending and to encourage more

commercial tax-ratables to relocate to South Amboy to replace revenues now

needed to be drawn from taxing residential properties.

State Offers Plea-Deals To Vas, Ramos, Jones

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Nov. 10, 2010)

By Jim Shea

FREEHOLD — Former Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas, his longtime Mayor’s Aide

Melvin Ramos and his former driver and running companion Anthony Jones last

week were given until mid-November to decide whether to accept plea-deals

offered by the state Attorney General’s Office that could drastically-reduce

their prison time.

Vas and Ramos quietly entered Monmouth County Superior Court, Freehold,

Thursday at 8:45 a.m., for their status conference date with Judge Anthony

Mellaci Jr., prior to the defendants’ previously-scheduled trial in September

and October.

Outside the courtroom, the two met Jones, a former city employee. The three

sat with Vas defense attorneys Alan Zegas and Edward Byrne and Ramos

defense attorney Jerome Ballarotto.

At 9 a.m., the attorneys and Deputy Attorney General Diane Deal met with

Mellaci in his chamber. They soon emerged, and all in the courtroom were

asked to rise.

Mellaci opened the conference by announcing that this matter had been held

in abeyance until now, pending the outcome of the federal trial. He further

stated that the Attorney General’s Office had offered a plea-agreement on

the state corruption charges.

Under terms outlined by Deal, Vas would plead guilty to two counts of

Official Misconduct and one count each of Theft and Money-Laundering in exchange

for an eight-year prison sentence, of which he must serve five years before

becoming eligible for parole.

The sentence for the state charges would run concurrently with any prison

term Vas receives for his Oct. 8 conviction in U.S. District Court, Newark,

when he is sentenced by Judge Susan Wigenton on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

Vas was convicted for using his influence as Mayor to make a $290,000

profit from the sale of an apartment building by promising the buyer $350,000 in

state affordable housing funds and accepting illegal campaign contributions

for his 2006 campaign for the Democratic nomination in the 13th

Congressional District.

The remaining 24 counts against the former Mayor in the two state

indictments would be dismissed under the plea-deal.

Ramos would plead guilty to one count each of Money-Laundering and

Conspiracy in exchange for a seven-year prison sentence, of which he must serve

about a year and four months before becoming eligible for parole.

The sentence for the state charges would run concurrently with any prison

term Ramos receives for his Oct. 8 federal conviction for accepting illegal

campaign contributions for the Vas 2006 Congressional campaign when he is

sentenced by Wigenton on Wednesday, Jan. 26.

The remaining 10 counts against Ramos in the two state indictments would be

dismissed under the plea-deal.

After saying, “I will not let Vas decide today,” Mellaci told his

attorneys that the former Mayor had until Thursday, Nov. 18, at 9 a.m. to make a

decision.

The Judge further said, “If you agree to a trial and are found guilty, I

may not sentence you to concurrent terms. I’m talking substantial time.”

Turning to Byrne, Mellaci said, “If you plan to accept, please let us know

beforehand. Any motions must be made on that date. If you choose a trial,

it would be held in early May. Regarding the trial, if any of the attorneys

wish this trial to be held in Middlesex County, please let me know.”

Looking directly at Vas, the Judge said, “I’ll see you on Nov. 18.”

Mellaci then told Ballarotto that Ramos is “only here on Count One, seven

years for Money Laundering, concurrent with federal charges; a plea to a flat

seven years.

“Your attorney can also argue to less,” the Judge told Ramos. “As with Mr.

Vas, I’m not going to order you to make a decision today.”

Mellaci then stated that if both defendants turned-down the Attorney

General’s offer and agreed to proceed to trials, the first trial will be held on

May 1, and the second trial after that.

“Vas has a mandatory minimum, but Mr. Ramos has no mandatory minimum,” the

Judge said. “Ramos is a first-time offender, which could bring one

year-plus, but he can’t expect this with a trial.”

Mellaci then addressed the matter of Jones, who was not charged under the

federal indictment. Deal noted that Jones did not appear with an attorney

because his attorney is involved with another case.

She explained that “the state wants Mr. Jones to be admitted as a

third-degree offender.”

Mellaci told Jones that “a conviction could bring a three- to five-year

term in a New Jersey state prison, but you can serve half that time” under the

state’s offer.

“The presumption is that you will go to jail for some time,” the Judge

told Jones.

As for the requirement that Vas and Jones are responsible for paying

$92,000 in restitution, Mellaci asked, “How is it going to be paid? Mr. Vas should

also be made-aware of this.

“Before I go-forward, how would you pay that?” Mellaci asked Jones. “I’d

ask for a restitution hearing. I can consider future earnings ability. They

want to sentence you to a second (degree crime) to be treated as a third.

I’ll ask if you wish to plead. You’re exposed to much-more at a May 1st trial.

“Let’s set Nov. 19 for you, Mr. Jones, since we know your attorney can’t

be here on Nov. 18,” the Judge said. “You can plead guilty, and I can

hold-off on a sentencing-date.”

Apparently surprised, Jones responded by asking Mellaci, “The plea-offer is

I go to jail?”

The first state indictment charges that between June 2003 and September

2007, Vas fraudulently obtained payment from the Perth Amboy Office of

Recreation for $6,234.97 in personal expenses. These included $1,400 in fees for a

private basketball training camp, $1,000 of that amount in fees for his son,

as well as fees for a co-conspirator’s son; $450 for a second basketball

camp for his son, $289.37 for refreshments for his father’s funeral, $153.22

for beachwear for himself, $142.38 for sneakers and a duffle-bag for himself,

and $3,800 for various expenses, including personal clothing and other

unidentified items.

That indictment also charges Vas with one count of Conspiracy, six counts

of Official Misconduct, one count of Pattern of Official Misconduct, one

count of Theft by Unlawful Taking, one count of Misapplication of Government

Property and one count of Tampering with Public Records or Information, for a

total of 11 counts. Vas also was charged with rigging an affordable housing

lottery to benefit Jones, charged by the indictment with one count of

Conspiracy and one count of Official Misconduct, for a total of two counts.

The charges in the 50-page second state indictment fall-into five

categories, the first two counts center-around $25,000 in work allegedly performed at

the Vas home on High Street by Jenicar Builders Contractors Co. Inc., and

the next two counts pertain to an alleged $5,322 medical bill fraudulently

charged to the city’s Insurance Fund.

The next three counts deal with the alleged misappropriation of funds for

use by the “Vas for Congress” campaign, and the next nine counts concern the

alleged falsification of financial records to disguise a $58,006 catering

bill for Imperial Construction Group Inc., with charges against the firm’s

principals as well.

The last two counts charge Ramos and Vas with a Pattern of Official

Misconduct for their alleged acts. Each of those charges carries a mandatory

minimum sentence of five years in prison without parole because they involve

conduct that occurred on or after April 14, 2007 under a new law signed by G

overnor Jon Corzine which was sponsored by Vas in the Assembly.

Zegas and Byrne met with reporters following the status conference.

“No comment as to what the client will do,” Zegas said. “We’re going to

discuss the matter first.”

“Ramos has appellate rights,” Ballarotto said. “This Judge has no

authority if a federal conviction is reversed. Ramos is facing time in state court,

but he’s still a couple of points behind the Mayor.”

Public Attendance Down

At First Monday Caucus

PERTH AMBOY — Suppose they scheduled a meeting and nobody came?

That almost happened on Monday, Oct. 25, the City Council’s first Monday

Caucus session at 4:30 p.m.

Besides Department heads and other city officials, and newspaper reporters,

the only “member of the public” in the audience was resident Alan Silber,

a frequent attendee at Council and Board of Education meetings, who asked,

“What makes this a public meeting? Where’s the public?”

Silber complained that the meeting-agenda for the Council’s first Monday

Caucus session was not posted on the City of Perth Amboy Website until Friday,

but City Clerk Elaine Jasko disagreed.

“The agenda was posted on Thursday, not Friday,” she said.

However, Silber took-note of the fact that new items which were not on the

posted agenda were added by Council members at the Monday session.

“There’s no cut-off, that’s my point,” he said.

“Having a public meeting at 4:30 isn’t encouraging the public to attend,”

Silber declared, pointing out that he is retired and able to make-it to the

meetings, but far-more residents are working and most of them get-off their

jobs at 5 p.m. or later.

“What part of the public’s going to come?” he asked.

“We’re trying something different,” Council President Kenneth Balut said.

“If it doesn’t work, we can always try something-else.”

Interim Business Administrator Gregory Fehrenbach listed “potential

Resolutions for consideration” on the meeting-agenda under the heading of “Topics

For Discussion,” which was formerly used to list in-depth policy matters.

Fehrenbach also outlined a proposed format for “placing items on the agenda

for discussion,” in which he would encourage “more details by the

Department heads.”

He announced that the long-awaited completion of the Public

Safety/Municipal Court/Community Center Complex, New Brunswick Avenue, which started-out at

$30 million and ballooned to almost $90 million, is expected “during the

month of April” in 2011.

Fehrenbach had no new figures on the actual cost of the Complex at this

point, adding that there is “a need for better accounting of his (consultant

Joseph Nigro’s) time.

“We need somebody to inspect and see that it’s completed, and I’m

recommending that we continue with Mr. Nigro,” he said.

Balut began citing some of the problems he found with the workmanship at

the Complex, but the Business Administrator stopped him.

“Please write them out for us,” Fehrenbach told Balut. “No two people have

the same sensitivity.”

“We’re trying to keep cost-control here,” City Law Director Mark Blunda s

aid. “We’ve paid for things we didn’t expect to pay for.”

Thursday, November 11, 2010

MAY ELECTION DAY SCRAPPED

New Councilmen OK Vote Change, Term Extensions

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Nov. 3, 2010)

PERTH AMBOY — Three of the five City Council members — all of whom were elected to the Council in May — voted last week to enact an Ordinance establishing the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November as the date for the City of Perth Amboy’s non-partisan Municipal Elections, presently conducted in May, beginning in 2012.

The measure extends the terms-of-office for Mayor Wilda Diaz and all five current Council members by six months, moving the seating of any successive members from July 1 to Jan. 1.

The Ordinance was moved by Councilman William Petrick, seconded by Councilman Kenneth Gonzalez and adopted 3-1, with one abstention.

Joining Petrick and Gonzalez in voting for the measure was Councilman Joel Pabon Sr. Councilman Fernando Gonzalez voted against it, and Council President Kenneth Balut abstained from voting.

Describing how the Uniform Nonpartisan Elections Law “came-into-existence,” Fernando Gonzalez said that Gov. Jon Corzine, “a lame-duck Governor,” had opposed the law earlier in his term but now was in a position to rush-through “many laws without thinking.”

In the process, “a Governor who had gone-over-the-cliff in the election was now taking the City of Perth Amboy over the cliff” with that measure, he said. “I’m sure that it would have been a much-better law if he had thought-it-out.”

As an alternative,Fernando Gonzalez said, “putting the Perth Amboy city election and Board of Education election together would maintain local discussion of issues while preserving non-partisanship.”

Instead, changing non-partisan Municipal Elections from May to November “encourages the political parties to get-involved very-strongly,” he said. “If we move our local elections to November, we can never be non-partisan

again.”

City Clerk Elaine Jasko pointed out that, “between poll-workers, printing, mailing and advertising,” Perth Amboy spends about $50,000 to conduct each non-partisan Municipal Election in May every even-numbered year.

“For spending $25,000-a-year, we benefit tremendously,” Fernando Gonzalez declared. “Besides its historic value, it allows for anyone to run without undue pressure from one political party or the other.”

He said that by combining it in 2012 with that year’s Presidential Election, “local issues will not be discussed and would get lost.

“We gain $25,000-a-year and, hopefully, a slight increase in the number of people who vote for city candidates,” Fernando Gonzalez said. “But what do we lose? We lose the issues of a local nature, and also lose our independence.”

By contrast, he said that last year’s Council submitted lists of “over $2 million” in proposed spending cuts” without “playing with the essence of what this town is.”

When Perth Amboy’s voters selected the present form of government, they believed it would remain separate and non-partisan, Fernando Gonzalez said.

“Fred Richards, a Republican, was elected to the City Council in 1972, and became its first Council President. Without this, a Republican cannot win in the City of Perth Amboy.”

Local gadfly Peter Book, a semi-retired lawyer, commended Fernando Gonzalez for “his well-spoken thoughts.

“We’d be below the end of the totem-pole” with a change in local elections from May to November, he declared. “The amount of money saved is trivial compared to what we gain by voting in May.

“We’d also be surrendering a lot of prestige,” Book said. “This Ordinance should be scuttled and sunk.”

“What would moving the election to November cost?” resident Lisa Nanton asked.

“Zero,” Jasko replied. “The county would pick-up the cost, and we’d still have a separate non-partisan listing on the ballot.”

“This city shouldn’t spend one penny extra,” Nanton declared. “Our uniqueness and independence should be generating money for us, not costing us money.”

“Can Council members vote to extend their own terms and give themselves a financial gain?” resident Stanley Surokowski asked. “This would be self-serving and self-dealing, and the (state) Election Law Enforcement Commission

(ELEC) and Attorney General’s Office should be notified.

“I voted for a four-year term, not four-and-a-half,” he said. “Extending this without an election is unconstitutional. This law helps the Democratic Party and incumbents; everybody-else loses.”

Surokowski, a Democrat, cautioned his fellow Democrats that the possibility of “a weakened party” after yesterday’s election could backfire, thereby weakening the city’s ability to deal with a GOP-controlled Congress.

“I’m a registered Democrat, and I’m tired of apologizing for it,”

resident Alan Silber said. “In the November 2006 General Election, we had 6,652 voters; in the May 2008 Municipal Election, we had 7,570 voters. There were more voters in May than in November.

“You should have researched this before you voted-on it,” he told Council members. “Why are we letting Spotswood, with a population of 8,000, determine what we do?”

At the previous Council meeting, Fernando Gonzalez had urged his colleagues to “take this time to dialogue” and consider “all of the ramifications of this new (state) law,” which was adopted by the State Legislature to preclude New Brunswick residents from launching another referendum to change that city’s form of government to allow election of Council members by wards, rather than at-large, for 10 years.

That provision also would block Perth Amboy residents from changing their city’s form of government for a decade, he said.

The Council voted unanimously at its previous meeting to introduce the Ordinance, which was moved by Petrick, seconded by Kenneth Gonzalez and adopted 5-0 on first reading.

Fernando Gonzalez, who had voted against the measure when it was considered on March 24, indicated that his “yes” vote was only “for first reading.”

During discussion at the Council Caucus before the previous regular meeting, Fernando Gonzalez suggested appointing a “citizens’ committee” to analyze the full impact of the proposed change and report back to the Council before taking any further action on changing Perth Amboy’s non-partisan Municipal Elections from May to November.

“I see no need to rush this,” he said at that time. “There’s been no pressure from the public for this. I think community-input is important, and we’re talking-about two years from now. We have plenty of time.”

As part of the citizens’ committee’s charge, “it should look-into changing Perth Amboy’s form of government from Faulkner Act Plan B,” Fernando Gonzalez said. “I say we should give them two months to have them come-back with a recommendation rather than have the City Council make this 10-year commitment unilaterally.”

“I don’t think anyone here doesn’t want community-participation,” Pabon said.

“I was part of the process that established Faulkner Part B,” Fernando Gonzalez noted. “There was a lot of activity, Rutgers came-down, and we had an ongoing dialogue before taking-action.”

“You could still do that (discuss changing the form of government) while moving on the Ordinance,” Interim Business Administrator Gregory Fahrenbach said. “Keep-in-mind that this is an Ordinance, not a Resolution, so there must be a public hearing for citizen-input.”

Jasko also confirmed that Perth Amboy’s candidates would be listed separately on the General Election ballot, and “would not be put-into the same place as the partisan candidates.”

At last week’s meeting, the Clerk pledged to “work with (Middlesex) County Clerk (Elaine) Flynn to preserve Perth Amboy’s separation on the election-ballot.”

Billy Delgado, who unsuccessfully ran for Mayor in 2004, spoke in-favor of keeping the May election during the public hearing.

“What you’re doing here is legislating by hope,” he told the Council.

“You HOPE it works. Why is the turnout lower? I know you don’t know because you haven’t done the research.

“If you’re not getting-enough turnout, maybe you guys aren’t inspiring people to vote,” “From 1992 to 1996, we were pretty-much under a dictatorship.

THAT impacted the turnout.”

Delgado, who also ran for Assembly as a Republican, insisted that “the parties are going-to come-in and take-over our elections” with the change.

The change to November elections was endorsed by former Council members Geri Bolanowski, Robert Sottilaro and David Szilagyi, while former Councilwoman Karen Kubulak asked for more research before a vote.

In March, the Council voted 3-2 to reject an identical Ordinance, following a public hearing. At that time, Fernando Gonzalez was joined by then-Council President Peter Jimenez and then-Councilman Balut, now the Council President.

At that time, Diaz — one of the strongest proponents of November voting — argued vehemently with Fernando Gonzalez, emphasizing that the change would save money for the financially-strapped city.

Although Spotswood, which had been Middlesex County’s only other municipality with May local elections, voted to make the change, Montclair voted to keep its election in May. There are 86 municipalities — including Long Branch and Newark — which have been holding non-partisan elections in May.

“I respect and appreciate Councilman Gonzalez’s comments, but I’d like to see us take-action,” Kenneth Gonzalez said.

“I’d like to see this taken-care-of so we’re not sitting here with a $50,000 albatross around our necks,” Petrick added.

O’Leary Firm Named In Ritacco Indictment

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Nov. 3, 2010)

SOUTH AMBOY — Dynamic Claims Management Inc. (DCM), a corporation which was formed by Mayor John O’Leary, his brother, Housing Authority Executive Director Thomas O’Leary, previously-indicted insurance broker Francis Gartland of Baltimore, MD, and two others, was identified in an 18-count indictment handed-down recently by a U.S. District Court Grand Jury charging Gartland and Toms River Regional School District Superintendent of Schools Michael Ritacco with a litany of federal corruption charges.


The O’Leary brothers were not named in the indictment, and have not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Attempts to contact the Mayor for comment on three different cellphone numbers were unsuccessful.

The 25-page indictment, a copy of which has been obtained by the Amboy Beacon, details an elaborate scheme to pad insurance contracts to allegedly fund a system of kickbacks in which Ritacco is accused of taking between $1 million and $2 million in bribes from Gartland and his associate, Frank Cotroneo, between 2002 and June 2010.

Cotroneo previously pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to an unnamed “executive employee”

of the school district.

Also identified in the indictment as Gartland’s companies in addition to DCM are Alliance Benefits Strategists, E-Administrative Systems Inc., Federal Hill Risk Management LLC, Gartland & Co. Inc., Insurance Dynamics Consulting Services LLC, 1000 Washington Street LLC and Sunset Management Consultants Inc.

According to the indictment, Ritacco recommended to the Toms River Regional School District Board of Education that DCM be appointed “as an insurance consultant for the district from, on or about July 1, 2002 to, on or about June 30, 2005.

“In this regard, in or about July 2002, defendant Ritacco signed a contract on behalf of the district hiring DCM to manage the district’s worker’s compensation services from July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2005 for a yearly fee of $1,200,000, plus an additional yearly administration fee of $130,000, payable to DCM,” the indictment charges.

In return for this and other contracts, the indictment alleges that bribes were paid to Ritacco and his associates in the form of appliances, cash and jewelry items, including a $30,000 watch, among other things.

According to corporate papers obtained by the Beacon, the first meeting of DCM’s shareholders was held on April 24, 1996, at which “subscription agreements from John T. O’Leary, Peter Doheny, Frank Gartland, Howard Horvath and Thomas O’Leary were approved, and the issuance of stock in the corporation to them and was authorized.”

The Beacon has obtained photocopies of five stock certificates for 20 shares each which were issued for the five individuals, each of whom “was elected as Director to serve until such time as her (sic) successor is elected or appointed.”

The minutes of the first meeting of DCM’s shareholders were signed by Thomas O’Leary as Secretary.

The first meeting of DCM’s Board of Directors also was held on April 24, 1996, at which Doheny was elected as President, Thomas O’Leary was elected as Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer; and Gartland, Horvath and John O’Leary were elected as Vice Presidents.

The minutes of the first meeting of DCM’s Board of Directors were signed by Thomas O’Leary as Secretary.

In a prepared statement, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman called the alleged scheme “staggering in its magnitude and scope.

“No-matter what one’s position or title, every corrupt official has real victims,” Fishman continued. “In this case, the defendants’ alleged conduct cost the citizens of Toms River more than a million dollars.”

Ritacco reportedly received an annual salary of about $234,000 as Superintendent of the state’s fourth-largest school district, with over 2,000 employees, about 18,000 students, and an annual budget of about $195 million.

Some Toms River residents reportedly plan to file a class-action lawsuit against Ritacco, Gartland and members of that community’s Board of Education to seek return of the money taxpayers lost to bribery and fraud.

Gartland, who owns Federal Hill Risk Management, the school district’s former insurance broker, and several other companies which have represented school districts and municipalities since 1978, faces state charges for his alleged role in a conspiracy to bilk the City of Perth Amboy out of $216,495 and the Perth Amboy Public Schools out of $2,593,400.

Impact Statement Mulled

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Nov. 3, 2020)

PERTH AMBOY — At the suggestion of City Council President Kenneth Balut, the Council last week voted to have City Law Director Mark Blunda draw-up an impact statement to be submitted to U.S. District Court Judge Susan Wigenton before she sentences former Mayor Joseph Vas on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

The motion was made by Balut, seconded by Councilman William Petrick and adopted 4-0. Councilman Joel Pabon Jr., who ran for Council with Vas in 2008, abstained from voting.

Councilman Kenneth Gonzalez, an attorney, insisted that Blunda “circulate a draft of that letter” among Council members before it is submitted to the Judge.

“The political pressure that had been put on the workers of the City of Perth Amboy is clear here: the people were intimidated and abused at-work,”

said Balut, who attended part of the former Mayor’s federal corruption trial in Room 5C of the King Building and U.S. District Courthouse, Newark. “The defendants clearly weren’t working on-behalf-of the taxpayers. The city had been under a cloud because Vas used his power to run for political office, not for the taxpayer.”

Balut, a retired former Perth Amboy police officer, said he believes the city should be allowed to submit an impact statement to Wigenton “just-like any other victim” because “this City of Perth Amboy was a victim.”

The jury found Vas and longtime Mayor’s Aide Melvin Ramos guilty of eight of the 12 counts in the superseding indictment of their federal corruption trial. Ramos is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday, Jan. 26.

Both defendants were acquitted on four counts of mail fraud, but were convicted on two other counts of mail fraud, with each count of mail fraud carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Vas was convicted of fraud and misapplication of funds involving a local government receiving federal funds, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, and of making false statements to federal agents, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $100,000.

Ramos was convicted of one count making contributions to a federal candidate in the names of others, which carries a maximum statutory penalty of one year in prison and a fine of $100,000, and of two counts of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), with each count carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

Vas also was convicted of one count of making contributions to a federal candidate in the names of others, which carries a maximum statutory penalty of one year in prison and a fine of $100,000.

“The city now has to get back the funds owed it,” Balut said. “We never got our $90,000 (in Regional Contribution Agreement money) back.”

“With the conviction on-the-record showing financial harm to the city, you can seek restitution of the money involved,” Blunda stated.

Resident Alan Silber, who also attended much of the trial, said, “To use (Ramos attorney Jerome) Ballarotto’s words, (former Vas political advisor

Raymond) ‘Geneske made a career out of straw-donors,’ and he had sat on the Board of Education.

“How many of the city’s elections have been tainted?” Silber asked.

Garbage Changes OKd

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Nov. 3, 2010)

 PERTH AMBOY — The most-far-reaching changes to the city’s Garbage Ordinance since it was adopted in 1975 were adopted by a unanimous City Council last week following a lively public hearing.

The Amendments, which were proposed in reaction to a system which has been costly and inefficient, were moved by Councilman William Petrick, seconded by Councilman Kenneth Gonzalez and adopted 5-0.

However, Council President Kenneth Balut indicated that the list of changes is not complete. “I think we’re going to have to sit-down and discuss some stuff so we have a meeting of the minds,” he said.

A provision requiring that all garbage-cans have fitted lids remains in the measure even-though Gonzalez noted his own personal experience that lids seem to “evaporate to parts-unknown,” which drew laughter from the audience.

“Let’s try to get-through this without the ‘lid police,’” Balut, a retired Perth Amboy police officer, remarked.

“We’re not going to immediately issue summonses,” Interim Business Administrator Gregory Fahrenbach said. “We’re going to have to be certain that everyone understands what’s in-place.”

Resident Anna Daily complained that garbage-collectors “just throw the cans any way they want to, and the tops are broken.” She asked if the city would provide garbage-cans to residents.

But resident Stanley Surokowski disagreed, saying, “A garbage-can costs $15, and they (residents) should be forced to buy them. We’re not Big Mommy or Big Daddy.”

“For a town this size, I can’t believe the amount of garbage,” resident Orlando Perez said. “You have a money-crisis because of garbage.”

Lisa Nanton, who has been active for years with the Royal Garden Club by the Bay, suggested that household waste be picked-up separately and taken to a “city compost-pile.”

“We’ll look-into that,” Fahrenbach said.

“The worst thing that ever happened was Glad black-plastic bags,” resident Alan Silber declared.

At a Special Meeting of the Council which was held at the Training Room at Fire Department Headquarters, New Brunswick Avenue, in late July, Public Works Director Paul Wnek joked about Perth Amboy’s garbage-trucks arriving at the Edgeboro Landfill, East Brunswick, and their drivers being asked, “How-many cities are you collecting?”

Wnek showed officials photographs of massive apartment-complex collections, many of the city’s 300 street-baskets overflowing less than one hour after they were emptied, various bulk-item collections, and opened bags displaying construction-material being thrown-out as trash.

“We have around 58 full-time employees daily out of a total of 72, and we’re getting a lot of work done,” he said. “But one of the changes we really-need is to require a list of what’s on a ‘special pickup’ so we don’t get the neighbors piling their stuff on-top-of that.”

Wnek said he believes that “some absentee-landlords with properties in other cities are bringing-in stuff at-night from properties they own in other cities where they’d have to pay.”

Some pickups involve “a half-a-block of plastic bags piled six- to eight-feet-tall,” he said. “It’s just-not-normal what’s out-there.”

Wnek said the average Perth Amboy home generates “2,000 pounds of garbage and 750 pounds of recyclables” when it should be in reverse-order.

Among the Amendments are changes in definitions and placement, a new requirement to containerize sweepings, a mandatory 10-day deadline for removal of rubbish and refuse, and return of garbage-cans to storage-areas by 8 p.m. of the pickup day.

Also, the collection of bulk-items through a fee system that imposes a flat fee for four items in any one pickup, using color-coded stickers to identify different types of items, with charges depending-upon collection-costs involved.

Also, limits of the number of “special collections” per year per address, with one yearly citywide amnesty or FREE day, to be called “Citizens Cleanup Day.”

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

DECISION DAY

S. Amboy Voters Choosing A New Mayor, Council

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Oct. 27, 2010) SOUTH AMBOY — For the first time in over two decades, the name “John O’Leary” will not be on the election-ballot when this city’s registered voters go to the polls next Tuesday.

After serving as South Amboy’s Chief Executive since 1986, O’Leary announced in March that he would not seek a seventh four-year term as Mayor of the one-square-mile “Pleasant Little City” in this year’s election, choosing instead to retire after 24 years of service.

“Twenty-four years is a long time, and I think that after all that time, I’ve earned the right to retire,’’ O’Leary declared at that time. “This is not something that just came-about recently, but something that I’ve been thinking-about for eight years, regarding my tenure as Mayor.’’

O’Leary, also Chairman of the South Amboy Democratic Organization (SADO), released a one-page prepared statement with more information about the Councilman chosen to succeed him than about his decision to step-aside.

He has insisted that his decision not to run for Mayor again had nothing whatsoever to do with subpoenas the city received last year, emphasizing that he has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

“The City of South Amboy turned-over all the documents it was asked-for,’’

O’Leary said. “The city feels that everything was done forthright in regards to all of our actions.’’

SADO voted unanimously to select Council President Fred Henry Jr. — who replaced current 19th District Assemblyman Craig Coughlin on South Amboy’s five-member Council — to run for Mayor (8B), along with incumbent Councilman Joseph Connors (9B) and newcomer Michael “Mickey’’ Gross (10B) to run for the two At-Large Council seats available in this November’s election.

“In these tumultuous and ever-changing economic times, the experience and knowledge I’ve obtained during my tenure on the Council and the South Amboy Redevelopment Agency, and my 35 years as an educator in the South Amboy school system, gives me a unique perspective and knowledge to lead the city over the next four years as Mayor,’’ Henry said in a prepared statement.

Henry — a former History teacher and Athletic Director at South Amboy High School, Hoffman Plaza, and currently Dean of Students there — continues his family’s tradition of public service. His father, Fred Henry Sr., also served as South Amboy City Council President.

Connors — Supervisor of Laboratory services Research & Development at F.I.

DuPont de Nemours, Parlin, a former member of the South Amboy Board of Education and a member of the city Planning Board for 23 years — has been a City Council member for the past eight years.

Gross — the head of the Middlesex County Environmental Health Division since February 2009 — said in a prepared statement that “I’m looking-forward to working as hard as I can for the people of South Amboy.

“Even in these hard economic times, South Amboy is moving forward, and it has done some great things in the past 20 years,” he said. “I want to be part of the team that helps keep the city moving-forward.’’

Gross started-out as a Sanitary Inspector in June 1982 and rose steadily through the ranks as he acquired more experience and credentials.

Following the death of First Ward Councilman Russell Stillwagon, Donald Appl egate was chosen to fill that seat and is running unopposed.

While no Republican filed petitions to run for that party’s nomination for Mayor, GOP challengers Saverio Sagliocco (9A) and David Longenhagen(10A) were nominated in the June 8 Primary Election as Republican candidates for the two available Council seats.

Meanwhile, Independents filed their nominating petitions to run in November, with the deadline also falling-on June 8.

Three-time Council candidate Vincent Mackiel (8C, “Independent-Clean Air”) , Board of Education member John Dragotta (8D, “Independent For Change”) and 2006 mayoral candidate Mary O’Connor (8E, “United South Amboy”) filed petitions to run for Mayor, while 2002 mayoral candidate and former Board of Education member Eugene “Gene” Reagan (9F, “Better South Amboy”) filed petitions to run for Council.

Harry Gelder (“Save Our South Amboy”) dropped-out of the race, while Dragotta has done little visible campaigning.

O’Connor announced her candidacy in a prepared statement issued when she filed her petitions, calling her agenda simple and clear: she will “rein-in taxes, promote business development, provide accountability to residents, and prioritize safety.’

O’Connor promised to “provide fiscal responsibility to residents who were hammered with a 38-percent tax increase in the city budget last year, and an over-five-percent increase in school taxes approved by the current Administration.

“There’s yet another tax increase coming in the new 2010 City Budget,” she predicted back then. “The current Administration has not only raised taxes significantly, but also has increased our debt by millions of dollars while at the same time considering to cut-back our basic services such as garbage-collection.”

O’Connor said that she will promote business development in South Amboy “to enliven the cityscape and offset residential taxes.

“There are too-many vacant storefronts and unutilized lots,” she said.

“The establishment of offices and services will bring employers, employees and customers to town. Those people will, in turn. patronize supporting businesses such as restaurants and shops. I will establish a business-friendly environment and a fast-track path to speed the opening of prospective businesses.”

O’Connor pledged to “provide accountability for the state of the city by providing frequent status-reports.” O’Leary has not delivered a “State Of The City” Address in three years.

“Today’s technology enables current information to be available to those who seek it,” she said. “Status-reports will create a transparent and inclusive government.”

O’Connor called Henry “part of the problem in South Amboy” because he “takes his lead from the now-six-term Mayor O’Leary, and has voted in accord with O’Leary for many years.

“Residents are disappointed and angered by news of subpoenas and suspicions linked to our current Mayor,” she said. “To elect Henry is to continue the present problems.”

O’Connor pointed out that “South Amboy has such great potential: easy access by major highways, convenient to train, with stunning waterfront acreage.

“It’s time for the great town of South Amboy to take its place alongside other beautiful shore communities, and I’m ready to make that happen,” she declared.

O’Connor was raised around the country as the daughter of an army officer (along with her seven siblings) before settling in Freehold, where she attended public school and later graduated from Rutgers University. In her most-recent corporate position at the software company Oracle, she managed the implementation of financial business systems for global corporations.

Dragotta said that he is running “to make some changes.”

Mackiel, a community activist who has taken-on Amboy Aggregates’

sand-mining operation, said that he will “continue speaking-out for a cleaner South Amboy waterfront.”

Perth Amboy Hearing Tonight On Ending May Elections

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Oct. 27, 2010)

 PERTH AMBOY — The City Council has scheduled a public hearing for 7 p.m. t oday at City Hall, High Street, on a proposed Ordinance to establish the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November as the date for the City of Perth Amboy’s non-partisan Municipal Elections, presently conducted in May, beginning in 2012.

The proposal would extend the terms-of-office for the current Mayor and Council members by six months.

The Council voted unanimously at its last meeting to introduce the Ordinance, which was moved by Councilman William Petrick, seconded by Councilman Kenneth Gonzalez and adopted 5-0 on first reading.

Councilman Fernando Gonzalez, who voted against the measure when it was considered on March 24, indicated that his “yes” vote was only “for first reading.”

During discussion at the Council Caucus before the regular meeting, Fernando Gonzalez urged his Council collagues to appoint a “citizens’

committee”

to analyze the full ramifications of the proposed change and report back to the Council before any further action is taken.

“I see no need to rush this,” he said. “There’s been no pressure from the public for this. I think community-input is important, and we’re talking-about two years from now. We have plenty of time.”

As part of the citizens’ committee’s charge, “it should look-into changing Perth Amboy’s form of government from Faulkner Act Plan B,” Fernando Gonzalez said.

“I say we should give them two months to have them come-back with a recommendation rather than have the City Council make this 10-year commitment unilaterally,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone here doesn’t want community-participation,”

Councilman Joel Pabon Sr. said.

“I was part of the process that established Faulkner Part B,” Fernando Gonzalez noted. “There was a lot of activity, Rutgers came-down, and we had an ongoing dialogue before taking-action.”

“You could still do that (discuss changing the form of government) while moving on the Ordinance,” Interim Business Administrator Gregory Fahrenbach said. “Keep-in-mind that this is an Ordinance, not a Resolution, so there must be a public hearing for citizen-input.”

City Clerk Elaine Jasko also confirmed that Perth Amboy’s candidates would be listed separately on the General Election ballot, and “would not be put-into the same place as the partisan candidates.”

“I respect and appreciate Councilman Gonzalez’s comments, but I’d like to see us take-action,” Kenneth Gonzalez said.

“I have full-faith in having you sit here an extra six months,” Petrick told Fernando Gonzalez. “I’d like to see this taken-care-of so we’re not sitting here with a $50,000 albatross around our necks.”

Billy Delgado, who unsuccessfully ran for Mayor in 2004, spoke-up in-favor of keeping the May election because “saving money is not an important-enough reason to tamper-with this.

“If you’re not getting-enough turnout, maybe yo’re not inspiring people to vote,” he said.

In March, the Council voted 3-2 to reject an identical Ordinance, following a public hearing. At that time, Fernando Gonzalez was joined by then-Council President Peter Jimenez and Councilman Kenneth Balut, who is now Council President.

Mayor Wilda Diaz, one of the measure’s strongest proponents, argued vehemently with Fernando Gonzalez over the measure at that time.

Diaz promoted the change as a means of saving election funding, estimated at $50,000, but Gonzalez pointed out that unlike Spotswood, then Middlesex County’s only other municipality with non-partisan elections in May, Perth Amboy would not achieve any savings until 2012, when Diaz, Balut and Fernando Gonzalez are up for re-election.

Spotswood’s governing body voted to change its non-partisan elections to November, leaving Perth Amboy with no other municipality with which to share some election expenses.

“I’m happy to save $50,000, but it’s not going to affect this year’s Budget,” Fernando Gonzalez said. “Why are we rushing-into it when we don’t save anything until 2012?

“We should take this time to dialogue,” he continued. “We’re not analyzing all of the ramifications of this new (state) law.”

Fernando Gonzalez pointed out that another part of the law, if the Ordinance is adopted locally, would block city residents from changing Perth Amboy’s form of government for 10 years.

He said that provision was adopted in January at the state level to preclude New Brunswick residents from launching another referendum to change that city’s form of government to allow election of Council members by wards, rather than at-large.

‘Nazi’ Flier Repudiated

(Analysis, Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Oct. 27, 2010) SOUTH AMBOY — A full-color flier depicting local Irish activist Peter “Pete” Kenny as Adolf Hitler with the heading, “The man pictured below is publically (sic) supporting Mary O’Connor for mayor” and “Enough said,”

was repudiated at the beginning of last week’s City Council meeting by Council President Fred Henry, the Democratic nominee for Mayor in next Tuesday’s election.

Henry was chosen to run for Mayor after Mayor John O’Leary, who served as South Amboy’s Chief Executive since 1986, announced in March that he would not seek a seventh four-year term but instead would retire.

Before the Council meeting got-underway, Henry stated that “the flier having to do with Pete Kenny” was “a very-despicable thing to do” and that “nobody from my campaign had anything to do with it.

“I would not do something like this,” he continued. “This flier is lower than low, and I want to condemn that flier, just like the anonymous letter that circulated last year against Mayor O’Leary.”

Henry’s reference was to two letters of unknown origin circulated last summer allegations of wrongdoing by O’Leary, members of his family and his political allies.

One of them, an 87-page document which was circulated anonymously to media outlets covering the county, was entitled “Make The Right Decision, Assembly 2009.” Another, a nine-page letter entitled “O’Leary Crime Family Syndicate,” disparages O’Leary and members of his family and the city Administration and accuses them of abusing the public trust for personal gain.

O’Leary has reacted to those reports by repeatedly denying any wrongdoing, although state and federal investigators examining political corruption in the county may have visited City Hall, N. Broadway, and Perth Amboy with subpoenas seeking additional documents.

O’Leary has not been charged with committing any criminal acts.

Henry said that such anonymous materials “don’t belong in South Amboy.”

He said the flier on Kenny, a former close political ally of O’Leary who is supporting the Independent O’Connor for Mayor, “was sent to me at my house.”

The back of the flier reprints a campaign advertisement containing Kenny’s endorsement of O’Connor which appeared in another newspaper, with Kenny’s signature emphasized.

The Kenny flier is just the latest in a series of unusual events that have taken-place during this year’s rough-and-tumble election campaign in the “Pleasant Little City.”

A highly-politicized version of the biweekly South Amboy Citizen, which ceased publication about a decade ago after being purchased by Devine Media, be gan appearing in stores around town.

The new weekly publication, containing articles and advertising promoting the local Democratic ticket and attacking O’Connor, appeared to be a campaign missive and not a journalistic enterprise.

“It sounds like the rights to publish under the old name have been legally obtained, but from an ethical standpoint, this sounds downright fishy and wrong,” Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Communications Director Scott Leadingham said.

Leadingham said that he would forward information about the new “Citizen”

to SPJ’s Ethics Committee for further comment.

Former Councilman Stanley Jankowski, now a member of the Board of Education, brought-up the matter during the public portion of the Council meeting.

Calling the new “Citizen” paper “a disgrace,” Jankowski said, “I knew (former Citizen Publisher) Joe Wojechowski when he was alive, and everything in this so-called ‘newspaper’ goes-against what he stood-for.”

“It’s a newspaper, and it has nothing to do with this Council,” Henry responded. “I have no control over what’s printed in the newspapers. We have a free press.”

“Who’s paying for it?” Jankowski asked.

“If anyone-else comes-up and talks politics, I’m going to close the public portion,” Henry declared.

Then, an anonymous organization calling itself “South Amboy Tea Party”

surfaced with its endorsement of Independent mayoral candidate Vincent Mackiel.

Contacted for comment, Middlesex County Tea Party Chairman Steven Maness denied that there are any local Tea Party endorsements in the county.

As for Kenny, he acknowledged “dressing-up as Hitler at a Halloween Party in 1983 at the old Lion’s Den,” but denied that this had anything to do with his political leanings.

He said that others, including some current city officials, also wore Nazi gear in the photo, but were cropped-out.

“That’s funny; I wasn’t a ‘Nazi’ when I was working for Jack,” Kenny said. “I was alright until I started asking some questions.”

10 S. Amboy Candidates Face-Off At SRO Beacon-Sponsored Debate

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Oct. 27, 2010) SOUTH AMBOY — A standing-room-only crowd packed Sacred Heart Church’s Memorial Hall, Washington Avenue, late last week to see and hear four candidates for Mayor, five candidates for City Councilman-at-Large and one candidate for First Ward Councilman address the issues facing the “Pleasant Little City” in what has become the liveliest local election campaign here in decades.

Candidates’ Debate Night, hosted by the South Amboy Women’s Club, a new organization headed by former Councilwoman Beverly Samuelson, was moderated by Zena Gurman of the N.J. League of Women Voters. Sponsors include Amboy Bank and the Amboy Beacon.

All of the candidates showed-up, including Fred Henry (8B), Vincent Mackiel (8C), John Dragotta (8D) and Mary O’Connor (8E) for Mayor; Saverio Sagliocco (9A), David Longenhagen (10A), John Connors (9B), Michael “Mickey” Gross

(10B) and Eugene “Gene” Reagan (9F) for Councilman-at-Large, and Donald Applegate (11B), running unopposed for First Ward Councilman.

The only no-show of the evening was South Amboy resident Alicia Vitarelli of News12 New Jersey, who was scheduled to introduce the candidates.

Dragotta

arrived unannounced, and was seated at the Council candidates’ table.

The question of whether the event would go-on as planned was raised after Mayor John O’Leary, Chairman of the South Amboy Democratic Organization (SADO), e-mailed a letter on city stationery dated Oct. 18 to the League, with copies to the Debate’s sponsors, citing “numerous complaints” received from senior citizens about the facility being “non-barrier-free” and “not handicap (sic) accessible due to the wide winding staircase too wide for the use of both handrail (sic) simultaneously,” and “no elevator to enable a wheelc hair to enter the debate,” thereby presenting “a dangerous scenario for the handicap (sic), and does not afford them the ability to attend this debate.”

In the letter, O’Leary goes-on to offer as an alternative “the South Amboy Community Theater” at the Community School, Hoffman Plaza.

However, Samuelson said that Memorial Hall was selected because the theater at the Community School was unavailable and the Women’s Club was told by school officials that, as an alternative, the gymnasium could be used for a $500 fee plus $100 for insurance. She said that after the money was secured from Amboy Bank, the Club was informed that the $500 fee was incorrect, and the fee was actually $1,000.

“We then contacted Sacred Heart because they have a hall to rent,”

Samuelson said. “They gave us the rate of $500 for the hall and $100 for the insurance.”

As for the issue of handicapped-accessibility, the Sacred Heart facility has been used for many years to hold monthly meetings of the Sacred Heart Seniors.

But that fact did not deter Applegate — in his only remarks for the night, other than opening and closing statements — from raising that issue again at the event.

Interrupting Gross, who was about to make his opening-statement, Applegate declared, “I’d just like to put-on-the-record that the South Amboy Democrats didn’t have anything to do with scheduling this event here. This is not ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, and this is not a public building.”

The first announcement was a missing breast-cancer-awareness bracelet in the parking-lot, and Reagan was introduced by Gurman as one of the Democrats.

Then, someone called-out, “How-about the Pledge of Allegiance?” That was quickly-accomplished, and the Council candidates’ opening-statements got-underway.

The format used kept the four mayoral candidates sitting patiently until the Council candidates completed all of their answers, when they got to speak.

Each Council candidate started-out with his qualifications.

Sagliocco spoke-about his MBA and “banking and financial background.”

“I don’t have a degree,” Longenhaven said. “I’m a regular guy. I fix things. That’s what I do.”

Reagan spoke of how he brought the moribund South Amboy Youth Athletic Association (SAYAA) back-to-life in four years as its President.

Speaking on running the Frog Hollow 5K Run for the past five years, Gross, who is overweight, drew laughs when he said, “Yeah, I was last.” Turning more-serious, he stated, “I’m concerned that the amazing progress we’ve made will be reversed” if the Independent candidates won.

Connors, the only incumbent running for re-election, cited his non-Council experiences before he ticked-off a list of accomplishments listed in a recent campaign advertisement. He left-off with a swipe at his opponents as being “more-concerned with power than progress.”

“I’m a little nervous,” Applegate said. “Everyone looks-good in their underwear out-there.” Then, he started reading from a list of his “many youth-oriented activities” until he ran-out-of-time. “Sorry, the best part was coming,” Applegate said.

A question on the Council’s duties and the city’s form of government drew a variety of responses.

Connors described “the Faulkner Act” favorably as “a system of checks-and-balances,” while Reagan suggested that it “should be changed”

to “a

stronger Council rather than a stronger Mayor.”

“Most towns in Middlesex County are Faulkner Act communities,” Gross stated. “It’s a very-effective way of doing-business because the Mayor and Council work-together as a team.”

“The Council is supposed-to safeguard what you own, not go-along with what the Mayor wants,” Longenhagen said.

“I agree with Mr. Connors that we have the Faulkner Act, but let’s be realistic,” Sagliocco said. “We don’t have any ‘checks-and-balances.’

There

was not one ‘no’ vote when it comes-to increasing taxes.” That remark drew loud applause, which prompted Gurman to admonish the audience.

Reagan took the microphone to answer a question on “keeping municipal taxes in-check,” proposing “bringing-in commercial ratables” and “cutting-down fees we’re paying to professionals.

“We need to think-through projects better,” he added. “You can’t put bricks in the street, rip them up and pave, and then put more bricks down.”

That

remark, referring to Broadway, drew loud applause.

“There isn’t a municipality that’s not burdened,” Gross said. “We need to look-at getting a part-time grant-writer.”

“Warehouses are a bad ratable,” Connors declared. “Do we want tractor-trailers riding through town?”

“We have them already,” someone called-out.

The mayoral candidates started-out by speaking about themselves, starting with Dragotta, “a volunteer with the South Amboy, Sayreville and Old Bridge Fire Departments” whose father retired after over 20 years as a South Amboy police officer.

“I was voted-in to the Board of Education on a write-in,” he said. “The tax-base has to be equalized with no-more residential development.”

“There are vacant stores downtown, and the redevelopment properties have been at-a-standstill for the past 10 years,” O’Connor said. “South Amboy needs a plan based-on marketing principles.”

The turnout at the debate “demonstrates that we have a democracy in this town,” Mackiel declared. “I will stabilize the 2009 tax-increase because it was too-much to bear.”

“We’ve been accused about things that didn’t happen and misconstrued about things that did happen,” Henry said. “The key word is ‘spending,’ and that’s been caused because of decisions made in Trenton.”

Asked by Gurman whether “the sale of land should be used to balance the budget,” he replied, “The state took it away from us, $450,000 for one acre of land, and there isn’t Any reason why it shouldn’t be taking-place.”

“That’s not an acceptable practice,” O’Connor declared. “We should use our assets to the city’s interest. We could lease those lands, but there are other ways to fill budget-holes.”

“My chief concern is that the City of South Amboy receive the market value,” Mackiel stated. “There must be sacrifice in terms of each department. We all have to pitch-in to save a little.”

“What happens when we run-out of land to sell?” Dragotta said. “It has to end.”

“It was not of our doing that we had to do this,” Henry said. “We sold-off the land at a fair-market price.”

“What will you do to rein-in taxes and spending?” Gurman asked the candidates, adding, “Please do not blame the state or the economy,”

drawing

laughter.

“We’ve pretty-well stabilized our spending policy,” Henry said. “We’ll continue to look-into shared-services. We had 125 city workers, and it’s cut-back to 65 now.”

“I don’t believe City Hall has done enough about arbitrary litigation,”

O’Connor said. “We’re spending thousands of dollars with litigating when we can’t pick-up the garbage.”

“I suggest our citizens attend MCUA (Middlesex County Utilities Authority) meetings,” Mackiel said. “The paving of various streets is the key to out-of-control spending.”

“Contracts can be cut further if the contractors aren’t forced to kick-back hundreds or thousands of dollars,” O’Connor said. “We must have a ‘pay-to-play’ Ordinance in South Amboy.”

“We use the Fair & Open Process,” Henry said. “We don’t pass our own (“pay-to-play” restrictions) because they’d be totally-unenforceable.”

“There’s no place in South Amboy for it (“pay-to-play”),” Dragotta declared. “Let the contractors do the talking, and keep the politicians out of it.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with getting money from anyone,” Henry responded. “We are not doing anything illegal. If we are, prove it.”

“There’s a fine line between illegal and unethical,” O’Connor said.

“Giving our money to out-of-town contractors is unethical.”

Asked by Gurman about “rental units not being maintained by absentee-landlords,” Henry responded, “It’s up-to you to watch-out for your neighbors.

There will be a warning first, and eventually, they’ll be getting-fined.”

“We have to make-certain absentee-landlords should maintain their properties and provide enough-parking-spaces,” O’Connor stated, drawing applause.

“We all fight for a spot out-there,” Dragotta acknowledged. “Maintenance keeps everyone’s property looking-good.”

O’Connor and Dragotta agreed that the permitting process in South Amboy discourages new businesses, but Henry countered that “we’ve just formed a new organization in town to expedite things.”