Of late, even US Attorney Chris Christie can't help but notice the pay-to-play shenanigans of the BCDO.  Christie is now investigating the Machine's attorney, Dennis Oury. This has brought the big man himself, BCDO Boss Joe Ferriero, under Christie's gaze.  Could this be a transformational moment in County and State politics? 

And, if Christie is leery of going after a Republican, where is Democrat and State Attorney General Anne Milgram?

Is John M. Carbone, the Republican who is the Bergen County Clerk's attorney going to get called in? After all, Carbone has worked arm in arm with Joe Ferriero.  Case in point:   Englewood residents may remember Carbone as the paid attorney/hatchet man charging City taxpayers hefty attorney's fees to read  emails aloud in what The Bergen Record called  "the political assassination" of Violet Cherry, a longtime thorn in Ferriero's side. 

Bergen Record readers may also remember Mr. Carbone as the one who sanctimoniously wrote about government ethics in a New Year's Resolution OpEd piece while he himself appears to have had quite the lucrative pay-to-play, patronage history.  Quoting the NJ Law Journal, which noted Mr. Carbone's nifty law contract award subsequent to an investment of $12,000 in campaign donations:

Carbone was actually paid $395,463 at the end of the day, officials say: almost twice his authorized amount." 
("Hoboken City lawyers' fees under scrutiny,"  Jan. 12, 2004, New Jersey Law Journal)

Why and how do the same political insiders, be they Republican or Democrat, get to keep dipping their beaks so deeply into various public treasuries?

US Attorney Christie and State Attorney General Anne Milgram (do you even know her name?) are the chief law enforcement officers in New Jersey.  Both possess the legal authority and tools to investigate and pursue those who have hijacked and abused the public trust.  And while Christie has made some pretty dodgy decisions (the still mysterious Menendez investigation, the huge $52 million contract to his old boss, John Ashcroft, etc.) he at least appears to be busy working.

Considering how much action Republican Christie has initiated and completed against corruption, the silence (and inaction) from our Democratic Attorney General  is deafening.  Where are you and where is your work product, Ms. Milgram?

As reported by Charles Stile in the June 15 Bergen Record:

Joseph W. Oxley, also a partner in the Lyndhurst-based Scarinci, Hollenbeck, was elected the Monmouth County Republican Party chairman on Tuesday. That means the firm now has two county chairmen on the payroll and one from each party.

Scarinci, Hollenbeck is Bergen County Democratic Party Boss Joe Ferriero's firm.

No one can question our bipartisan reach,'' Scarinci said, which is another way of saying that the firm now has a new GOP go-to contact who can get his phone calls returned when, or if, Republicans ever regain majority control in Trenton. (Record, June 15, 2008)

That's some REACH!

Sorely abused New Jersey taxpayers now know that no matter what happens politically or economically, big donors to Scarinci, Hollenbeck partners can do one stop shopping for influence, no-bid contracts and a favor or three. As we have previously mentioned in The Englewood Report,  that adds up to a lot of your money.  Data released by the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission "...show that 669 firms that gave $15 million in political contributions received $5.17 billion in contracts from all levels of government. That's a return of $345 for every dollar donated."  (Asbury Park Press, April 17. 2008)  Getting 34,500% on investment is not a bad return, even if its side effect is to render our public sector as corrupt as a banana republic.

Councilman Drakeford and Mayor Wildes are part of this pay-to-play crew.

So, who among our politicians are defending us against these predations?

Unfortunately, Mr. Ferriero recently got the support of Congressman Rothman and Governor Corzine when he ran for re-election to the chairmanship of the BCDO.  This, even after Ferriero was alleged to have dissed Rothman after preparing to join with Camden County Boss George Norcross to assist Congressman Rob Andrews' jumping of the Congressional queue to replace Senator Frank Lautenberg in the official Democratic Party column.  Of course, the official column is controlled by the county bosses.

Quoting the April 3, 2008 Bergen Record ("Andrews Takes on Lautenberg for Senate Seat"):

Rep. Steve Rothman of Fair Lawn told Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero that if Ferriero tried to put the county's organization behind Andrews, Rothman would field a slate of candidates in the primary for municipal Democratic committee that could lead to Ferriero's ouster.

It appears that Loretta Weinberg and company are among the very few leaders with the spine to confront the pay-to-play gangs. It also appears that our Governor and Congressman have little stomach for reform unless they themselves feel threatened.

It seems that City Council President Ken Rosenzweig doesn't suffer fools gladly.  Case in point: the Mayor.

Having been exposed on page one of The Record ("Mayor packs board with donors", June 1), The Record now reports the Mayor has adopted the oxymoronic pose of one who is as pure as the driven slush.

Quoting The July 9 Record article ("Record probe prompts ethics change proposal"):

Wildes said at a council meeting Tuesday night that the law should apply to all city boards, not just the Planning and Zoning Boards.  He also suggested that applicants disclose other political connections, like whether they hosted an event for a politician.

"We have to address shades of gray," he said.

 
Granted the exposure given to his own record, the Mayor's avowed concern for ethical "shades of gray" is simply precious.  But City Council President Rosenzweig was having none of Wildes' court jester act, dopeslapping the disingenuous proposal:

We need to not make this ordinance so big that it kills it, and that's what you're trying to do.

Ya suppose?

Supporters of good government in Englewood were gratified by the decisive victories in the recent Democratic Primary election of incumbent Council members Ken Rosenzweig in the First Ward and Scott Reddin in the Third Ward. These victories were achieved despite unprecedented levels of expenditure by the County Democratic machine in an effort to unseat them. It should be recognized, however, that, overall, the machine, reacting strongly to opposition, actually strengthened its position. County boss Joe Ferriero was overwhelmingly reelected to his post as Chair of the Bergen County Democratic Committee, despite opposition from "Real Bergen Democrats" led by District 37 Senator Loretta Weinberg. Even in Englewood, supporters of Ferriero gained four seats on the local Democratic Committee, and missed by one vote gaining its chairmanship.

Federal prosecutor Chris Christie has begun an investigation of Ferriero and his associates for corruption, but this is unlikely to shake their power any time soon. In the meantime, there are four political positions of importance to Englewood likely to be at stake in next year’s June Democratic Primary. These are: 1) Mayor, position currently held by Ferriero ally Michael Wildes, 2) Councilman-at-Large, position currently held by Gordon Johnson, and 3) two District 37 State Assembly seats, positions currently held by Weinberg allies Johnson and Valerie Vainieri Huttle. Ferriero, now riding high, is likely to make a major effort to win all four of these contests, and his opponents should be prepared for a fight.