Tag: corruption

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When Is A Scandal Not A Scandal? When There’s A Democrat Involved

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Corruption: A sitting U.S. Senator is currently on trial for bribery, and if he’s found guilty it could have major political ramifications. Haven’t heard about this case? That’s because the Senator in question is a Democrat.

A CNN story this week about the opening of the trial against New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez noted that “Democrats are eager to avoid the subject of Menendez’s bribery trial.”

That headline would have been just as accurate if it said “Reporters” instead of “Democrats.”

Menendez in on trial for allegedly having sold his office in exchange for luxury vacations, private flights, and piles of campaign cash. In his opening remarks, Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Koski said “this case is about a corrupt politician who sold his Senate office for a life of luxury he couldn’t afford and a greedy doctor who put that senator on his payroll. … The defendants didn’t just trade money for power, they also tried to cover it up.”

It’s the first time in 36 years that a sitting U.S. senator has been on trial for bribery, which you’d think would make it front page news.

https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/when-is-a-scandal-not-a-scandal-when-theres-a-democrat-involved/

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Federal Prosecutors Allege Menendez Took Bribes Since 2006

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file photo by Boyd Loving

August 31,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, according to federal prosecutors and court documents filed, Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez allegedly starting taking bribes from a wealthy donor Salomon Melgen shortly after he entered the Senate in 2006!

“The Government’s evidence at trial will demonstrate that, over time, the defendants’ bribery scheme grew in magnitude and breadth.  The jury will hear testimony from a variety of individuals who witnessed the scheme unfold, including guests and pilots who were present for the lavish vacations Melgen furnished for Menendez, public officials that Menendez pressured on Melgen’s behalf, and Menendez staffers who helped carry out Menendez’s advocacy.  In addition, the jury will see evidence of the defendants’ corrupt bargain in scores of contemporaneous communications between the defendants, their agents, and the officials they endeavored to influence, as well as records spanning everything from flight manifests and hotel bills to credit ”

Menendez’s bribery and corruption trial is set to begin next week. Justice Department prosecutors filed a new document Wednesday laying out their case against the New Jersey senator, as well as Dr. Salomon Melgen, his alleged co-conspirator. Melgen has already been convicted in a separate case of bilking Medicare but has not been sentenced yet.

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Judge rules no conflict for ex-Ridgewood councilman

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Nicholas Katzban, Staff Writer, @NicholasKatzban Published 7:38 p.m. ET Aug. 29, 2017 | Updated 8:41 p.m. ET Aug. 29, 2017

A Superior Court judge in Bergen County ruled Tuesday that a former Ridgewood councilman was not in conflict when he voted to rezone areas of downtown for multifamily homes, a council move that caught the ire of some residents who decried the push toward higher densities in their sleepy bedroom community.

Following four major amendments to the village’s master plan in 2015 that nearly tripled the allowable density in certain municipal zones, a group calling itself Ridgewood Citizens for Reasonable Development sued the Village Council, looking to block the ordinances that codified those amendments.

The group alleged that then-Mayor Paul Aronsohn and Councilman Albert Pucciarelli had discussed and approved the ordinances despite two separate conflicts of interest.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/ridgewood/2017/08/29/judge-rules-no-conflict-ex-ridgewood-councilman/612683001

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How soft corruption works in New Jersey

How soft corruption works in New Jersey,

NJ Spotlight is continuing its annual summer reading series. Every day the news website features an excerpt from a recent book — from nonfiction to novels to poetry – with a New Jersey connection.

Soft corruption is the type of influence peddling that’s perfectly legal – but unethical. And New Jersey politicians are masters of it. Former state Sen. Bill Schluter, well-known as an ethics crusader, explains what every New Jersey politician knows but you probably don’t: how to have money change hands for political benefit without breaking laws. Schluter even offers a solution for it, for those that want to take up the crusade. In this excerpt, Schluter gets into the details of the many ways New Jerseyans have bought influence while skirting the law.

Excerpt from Soft Corruption: How Unethical Conduct Undermines Good Government and What To Do About It, published February 24, 2017 by Rutgers University Press.

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A wealthy sculptor with family problems makes generous campaign contributions in the hope of influencing legislators to enact a law that will help him stop his daughter from receiving a share of the family inheritance. He nearly succeeds. A state legislator dips into his publicly funded office budget to pay the assistant editor of his district’s largest newspaper $2,000 for unspecified general services. The speaker of the state assembly invites lobbyists to contribute $1,500 to her reelection campaign in exchange for the opportunity to talk with her about “your concerns and those of your clients.” Employing an unwritten but tradition-honored practice, a senator single-handedly blocks the governor’s highly qualified nominee for commissioner of education from even coming up for a confirmation vote. A longtime legislator, defeated on Election Day, is handed a position at the state’s parole board, at more than double his legislative salary. He leaves the job a year later, as soon as the resulting 78 percent bump to his state pension takes effect. His response to critics: “If anybody don’t like it, that’s too bad. Let them go spend thirty-three years in office.”

https://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/106683-book-highlights-how-easy-it-is-for-politicians-to-steal-money-legally-

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WTF MSM!? Where’s coverage of Dem. senator’s corruption trial?

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Posted August 22, 2017 03:58 PM by Rob Eno

QUESTIONABLE COVERAGE …

Government spending essential to eclipse viewing … Never let a crisis, or, seemingly, an astronomical observance, go to waste. That’s the message of Emily Atkin, who wrote in the New Republic, “Trump’s budget cuts could mess up your next solar eclipse viewing.” Apparently if the government doesn’t spend money it doesn’t have on satellites, you won’t be able to see an eclipse. This is absurd, unless her audience was astrophysicists who use the equipment.

Coverage gap … As I mentioned last week, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., is scheduled for trial on corruption charges on September 6, 2017. The jury selection in that trial starts today. While local newspapers like the NY Times and local television stations have covered jury selection, cable networks have been eerily silent. American Commitment president Phil Kerpen asks an important question on Twitter: “Any networks doing stand ups outside Menendez’s jury selection this morning?” I wouldn’t hold my breath, Phil.

What bombing plot? … Yesterday, a man was arrested for allegedly trying to blow up a confederate statue in Houston. According to NewsBusters, none of the broadcast networks covered the case. If this was someone they could pin to the Right, you know it would have been covered.

https://www.conservativereview.com/articles/wtf-msm-wheres-coverage-of-dem-senators-corruption-trial?utm_source=freebeacon&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=082317&utm_campaign=crlinking

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Menendez bullish as jury selection begins in federal corruption trial

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file photo by Boyd Loving

NEWARK, N.J. – Sen. Bob Menendez said Tuesday that he expects to be exonerated of federal bribery charges, as lawyers began picking the jurors who will decide his fate in a trial set to begin next month.

“Looking forward to picking a good jury,” the New Jersey Democrat told reporters as he arrived at the federal courthouse here, flanked by his lawyers.

His arrival just before 9:30 a.m. set off a day in which U.S. District Judge William H. Walls, prosecutors, and Menendez’s defense team worked to winnow the pool of about 200 prospective jurors to the 12 men and women and four alternates who will hear the case.

Whatever verdict the panel reaches – after a trial expected to last one to two months — has the potential to reverberate far beyond the courtroom. Should Menendez be convicted, it almost certainly would mean the end of his four-decade political career in New Jersey and could dramatically shift the makeup of the Senate.

https://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/menendez-bullish-as-jury-selection-begins-in-federal-corruption-trial-20170822.html

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Judge Denies Trial Delay Request From Menendez Co-Defendant

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file photo by Boyd Loving

A federal judge in New Jersey has denied a request by Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s co-defendant to delay their upcoming trial on corruption charges.

July 6, 2017, at 8:21 a.m.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A federal judge in New Jersey has denied a request by Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s co-defendant to delay their upcoming trial on corruption charges.

Judge William Walls ruled against eye doctor Salomon Melgen’s request Wednesday to delay the September trial.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-jersey/articles/2017-07-06/judge-denies-trial-delay-request-from-menendez-co-defendant

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Senate Democrats Block Vote on Beck’s Pension Forfeiture Bill for 3rd Time

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June 20, 2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, An effort by Senator Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth) to force a vote on legislation she sponsors to forfeit the pensions of corrupt public officials (S-1557) was immediately blocked by Senate Democrats at today’s session of the New Jersey Senate.

A third attempt by Sen. Jennifer Beck to force a vote on legislation she sponsors to forfeit the pensions of corrupt public officials was immediately blocked by Senate Democrats today. (SenateNJ.com)

This marks the third time Democrats have voted to block the consideration of the pension forfeiture legislation. Previous motions by Beck to move the bill were immediately tabled by the majority on February 6 and February 13.

“Time and again, Senate Democrats have voted to protect the pensions of corrupt public officials,” said Beck. “It’s inexplicable that they would continue to choose convicted officials over the taxpayers they represent.”

An investigation by the Asbury Park Press last year found at least 40 convicted criminals collecting state pension checks of up to $83,000 per year.

“The APP found a million dollars of taxpayer money going to corrupt public employees, including some found guilty on federal corruption charges,” added Beck. “Those are just the people they found, there are probably dozens more. If you violate the public trust, you don’t deserve a cushy retirement at taxpayer expense. Why is that so hard for Democrats to understand?”

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Trenton to lose $3.3M over misspent federal block grant funds

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Updated on June 18, 2017 at 8:19 AMPosted on June 18, 2017 at 8:15 AM

BY CRISTINA ROJAS

For NJ.com

TRENTON — Trenton will lose out on $3.3 million in federal block grant funding over a three-year span — the result of years of mismanagement and sloppy recordkeeping under the city’s previous two administrations.

The funding cut approved earlier this month represents the city’s only recourse to repay Community Development Block Grant money that officials say was improperly used between 2007 and 2013.

A series of audits by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development found that $3,322,313 in costs for the block grant program were unsupported, unallowable or unreasonable and required repayment. But because the city can’t afford to reimburse HUD with non-federal funds, the amount it owes will be deducted from future block grants, beginning with the 2016 funds that have not yet been released.

https://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2017/06/trenton_to_lose_33m_over_misspent_federal_block_gr.html#incart_river_home

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Ask Away: Why Are New Jersey Property Taxes So High?

ridgewood real-estate

3-30-17

By Michael Aron
Chief Political Correspondent

New Jersey is famous for saddling its homeowners with high tax bills. That prompted Paul Waters from Brigantine to ask, “Why are New Jersey property taxes some of the highest in the nation?”

There is not one answer.

Most obvious is that New Jersey has 565 municipalities, down from 567 — that’s 565 mayors, councils, town governments.

New Jersey also has more than 600 school districts, 586 of which are operational, each with its own superintendent and administrative structure.

Then there are the 21 county governments and their bureaucracies.

Public worker salaries and benefits are relatively high in New Jersey thanks to aggressive public sector unions.

Throw in the generally high cost of goods and services in the New York-Philadelphia region and you begin to see why our property taxes have been the highest in the nation for years.

https://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/ask-away-new-jersey-property-taxes-high/

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Only One Vote of approval will select New Jersey’s next Governor

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By GUS PENARANDA

In the era of Trump, not much attention is being paid to the NJ Gubernatorial race right now, but for those who understand what happened last November with the Presidential election, where thousands of New Jersians who rarely voted and democrats who were tired of back-room deals and politics as usual, came out and voted for Donald Trump. This should give New Jersey residents some pause when considering options for the Democratic primary race. When Gov. Christie ran for his second term, he took NJ 60.3% to 38.2%.  One of the arguments from the Democratic candidate was that the power boss/es did not come out for her for whatever reasons.

In this year’s Democratic primary, we have several candidates but some corrupt party bosses are crowning their favorite, even before a single “public” vote has been cast. If the residents of New Jersey do not stand up and fight for their right to select the candidate they want to represent them, then the only vote that counts and that has already been cast, is that of the Democratic Chairman for Passaic County.  To better understand how control is maintained, we must understand that this chairman controls all the County agencies including the Board of Elections and Freeholders, Passaic County Technical Institute, Sheriff’s Department and Passaic County Community College just off the top of my head.  Now to be fair, the departments are run by different staff and professionals but the key elected positions and in some cases executive jobs are mostly the result of political deals made by the Democratic chair.  This was not done overnight. It took years for such a process to work, but now that all county and state elected officials are controlled by the Passaic County Democratic Chair, with the exception of Congressman Bill Pascrell who is focused influencing Trenton, have selected a candidate with no governing experience at all but with deep pockets to fund other candidates the chairman has in mind.

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/paterson/articles/only-one-vote-of-approval-will-select-new-jersey

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Why an FBI raid of this small N.J. city has been a long time coming

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By Jessica Mazzola | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on January 17, 2017 at 7:05 AM, updated January 17, 2017 at 5:49 PM

ORANGE — When about two-dozen federal agents rolled up in their black-tinted SUVs to Orange City Hall this past week, forcing the government to shut down for the day as they combed through its files, few people gave much notice – and none seemed all that surprised.

There were no flashing lights or police lines. Passersby shrugged and continued to their cars with their shopping bags. A make-shift sign on the front door said city hall would reopen the next day, and a janitor politely turned people away.

“It’s going to be a long day,” he said.

But records show it’s a day that’s been a long time coming.

An NJ Advance Media review shows that, for at least five years, a tightly knit web of political operators has left behind a trail of financial problems in Orange, a city of about 30,000 where playing fast and loose with taxpayer funds appears to be the norm.

The three-month review – including hundreds of pages of city and court records, as well as interviews with current and former city officials – found nearly every city department has been cited since 2011 for violating some of the most basic spending rules.

https://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2017/01/why_an_fbi_raid_of_this_small_nj_city_has_been_a_l.html?utm_campaign=Observer_NJ_Politics&utm_content=New%20Campaign&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=New%20Jersey%20Politics#incart_most-read_

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N.J.’s economy may weaken over next decade, report says

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By Brent Johnson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on November 23, 2016 at 6:30 AM, updated November 24, 2016 at 12:19 AM

TRENTON — After seeing the state’s unemployment rate shrink significantly last year, New Jersey’s economy is expected to slow down over the next decade, according to predictions in the latest economic forecast from Rutgers University.

Meanwhile, the United States as a whole faces economic uncertainty as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, the report from the Rutgers Economic Advisory Service says.

The report predicts the Garden State will experience a “weaker-looking” economy through 2026, one that includes a leveling off of its unemployment rate. Meanwhile, the state’s real domestic product is likely to suffer and its population growth to sputter.

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/11/njs_economy_may_weaken_over_next_decade_report_say.html

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Voting With Their Feet : 227K residents moved out of N.J. last year — and 62K immigrants moved in

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By Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on November 17, 2016 at 1:16 PM, updated November 17, 2016 at 3:25 PM

More than 200,000 residents left New Jersey last year, new Census data shows.

The state lost 17,000 more people than it gained back, as residents left for other states and overseas, according to the 2015 American Community Survey. The loss could signal potential future issues with its population and economy.

New Jersey residents — 227,000 of them — abandoned the state ranked dead last in income growth last year, and with the highest property taxes.

Most of what the state gained back came from foreign immigration, which netted the state 62,000 new residents last year. Earlier data suggests that many of those immigrants come from Asia, as the region accounted for 45 percent of new foreign migrants in 2014.

Some data has indicated that source of the population is falling as well, since better job growth in other states has led immigrants to choose more welcoming areas.

Births in New Jersey, though declining, are still high enough to replace the loss of migrants. But the coming decades could see an era of shrinking population and the economic problems that come with it.

Poor population growth is closely tied with economic issues. New Jersey relies on an influx of residents to grow its industries and contribute to government services.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2016/11/227k_people_moved_out_of_nj_last_year_and_62k_immigrants_moved_in.html?utm_campaign=Observer_NJ_Politics&utm_content=New%20Campaign&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=New%20Jersey%20Politics#incart_most-comments

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Rigging the Election – Video III: Creamer Confirms Hillary Clinton Was PERSONALLY Involved

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Project Veritas Action has released the third video in a multi-part series that is sending shockwaves through the DNC and the Clinton campaign. The first video explained the dark secrets and the hidden connections and organizations the Clinton campaign uses to incite violence at Trump rallies. The second video exposed a diabolical step-by-step voter fraud strategy discussed by top Democratic operatives and showed one key operative admitting that the Democrats have been rigging elections for fifty years. This latest video takes this investigation even further.

Part III of the undercover Project Veritas Action investigation dives further into the back room dealings of Democratic politics. It exposes prohibited communications between Hillary Clinton’s campaign, the DNC and the non-profit organization Americans United for Change. And, it’s all disguised as a duck. In this video, several Project Veritas Action undercover journalists catch Democracy Partners founder directly.