Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member florgal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    3,386

    11 N.J. officials arrested on corruption

    11 N.J. officials arrested on corruption By TOM HESTER Jr., Associated Press Writer
    46 minutes ago



    TRENTON, N.J. - FBI agents arrested 11 public officials in towns across New Jersey Thursday on charges of taking bribes in exchange for influencing the awarding of public contracts, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Two of those arrested are state lawmakers, two are mayors, three are city councilmen, and several served on the school board in Pleasantville, where the scandal began.

    All 11, plus a private individual, are accused of taking cash payments of $1,500 to $17,500 to influence who received public contracts, according to criminal complaints, said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie.

    "This is another sad day for the people of New Jersey," said Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce. "Once again, New Jersey's culture of corruption is national news."

    Initial court appearances were scheduled Thursday afternoon in Trenton, and Christie and FBI Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun planned an afternoon news conference.

    A federal complaint charges each of the 12 with accepting payments from companies that offered insurance and roofing services to cities and school districts, Drewniak said.

    The investigation began last year with Pleasantville schools, near Atlantic City, Drewniak said. The FBI established an undercover insurance brokerage company purporting to employ the government's two cooperating witnesses and undercover agents.

    The probe widened when Pleasantville school board members referred the cooperating witnesses to public officials in northern New Jersey, Drewniak said.

    Democratic state Assemblymen Mims Hackett Jr. and Alfred E. Steele were arrested, as was Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera. Also arrested were Keith Reid, the chief of staff to Newark's City Council president; Passaic councilmen Jonathan Soto and Marcellus Jackson; two current Pleasantville school board members, three former board members and a private citizen. One of the former school board members is now a Pleasantville city councilman.

    Rivera is a former police officer and professional wrestler.

    Hackett, 65, is both a legislator and mayor of Orange, a city of about 33,000 residents 15 miles west of New York City. He was convicted of kidnapping in 1975 and sentenced to 30 years in prison, but was pardoned a year later when the victim recanted and Hackett's cousin confessed.

    A phone message left at Hackett's office wasn't immediately returned Thursday. Neither were messages left at Reid's and Rivera's offices.

    Newark City Council President Mildred Crump said she just found about Reid's arrest and had no comment. She said he has worked for her since she became the council president in 2006.

    Steele, an assemblyman since 1996 and deputy speaker since 2002, also serves as a Baptist minister in Paterson. He had been Passaic County undersheriff but resigned from the $89,900-per-year post on Thursday, said sheriff's spokesman Bill Maer.

    Jenna Pollard, who answered the phone at Steele's office and identified herself as his chief of staff, said she had no comment and didn't know if Steele had a lawyer.

    One of the former school board members, Maurice "Pete" Callaway, is now a Pleasantville city councilman and the brother of former Atlantic City Council President Craig Callaway, who is serving time in federal prison from stemming from an unrelated corruption scheme.

    "It's just a horrible day in Pleasantville," said John Deserable, a monitor sent by the state Department of Education to oversee the district's finances. "It's another black eye to the district that we don't need. The children deserve better than this."

    Thursday's arrests were the latest in an anti-corruption campaign waged by Christie's office.

    More than 100 public officials in the state have been convicted on federal corruption charges in the last five years. Two other Democratic state senators, Wayne Bryant of Lawnside and Sharpe James of Newark, are among others facing pending corruption charges.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070906/ap_ ... on_arrests

  2. #2
    Senior Member zeezil's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    16,593
    x 11
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  3. #3
    Senior Member zeezil's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    16,593
    First Latino Mayor Of Passaic Arrested On Charges Of Corruption

    Posted By James Fulford On 6 September 2007 @ 1:15 pm In General | http://blog.vdare.com/archives/2007/09/ ... ion/print/

    Here are two stories about Samuel Rivera, Mayor of Passaic, New Jersey. The first is about his decision to build a day labor center for illegal aliens in 2006:

    By February, as many as 200 laborers workers were soliciting work in the Home Depot parking lot, and spreading out along nearby Dayton Avenue. Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera said he was receiving daily calls about workers littering, urinating in public and whistling at women. Police cracked down on day laborers with a ticketing blitz for loitering and blocking sidewalks.

    What happened next surprised everyone.

    On the morning of March 21, about 50 day laborers, organized by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, marched from the Home Depot to City Hall several blocks away. They held protest signs and chanted, “United Day Laborers of Home Depot will never be defeated!â€
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    150

    Mayor

    New Jersey officials corrupt....and a Latino Mayor corrupt- tell me it's not true.
    This is shocking
    Deport Now - Get your useless invading rearend out of my country!

  5. #5
    Senior Member Cliffdid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    N.J.
    Posts
    1,094
    Welcome to New Jersey where corruption breeds!

  6. #6
    working4change
    Guest
    you got that right!

  7. #7
    Senior Member butterbean's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Posts
    11,181
    WOW, THE MAFIA. A REAL LIFE VERSON OF THE SOPRANOS.
    RIP Butterbean! We miss you and hope you are well in heaven.-- Your ALIPAC friends

    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Central Texas
    Posts
    233
    And guess what they are all DEMS....
    "We are being destroyed from within"

  9. #9
    Senior Member tinybobidaho's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Idaho
    Posts
    10,184
    And I'll guarentee you this practice is happening all across this country.
    RIP TinybobIdaho -- May God smile upon you in his domain forevermore.

    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  10. #10
    Senior Member CCUSA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    7,675
    They had them in handcuffs and leg shackles. I guess they are really considered flight risks!
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •