As U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie criscrosses the state on his anti-corruption crusade - producing confession at nearly every exit along the Garden State Parkway - Hudson County risks falling dangerously behind.
Essex County took the lead in the corruption race last week when its county executive, Jim Treffinger, received his 20-count indictment. Essex County then padded its lead with the guilty plea from the former mayor of Irvington, Sara Bost, for taking a bribe from a vendor.
While Treffinger has not been convicted, Essex County can take pride in stealing the corruption crown from Hudson County. How can North Bergen's scandal in its Municipal Utility Authority hope to compare when people like Joseph Auriemma, Peter Perez and Vincent Zappulla seem more influenced by the Home & Garden cable network than by the Sopranos? (Auriemma, Perez and Zappulla pleaded guilty to having free work done on their homes by a vendor who had city contracts.) Worse still for our collective corruption-minded egos is the fact that federal authorities seem to be charging second-rate alleged offenders: Zappulla was State Senator and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco's driver. Manual "Manny" Mier, a West New York resident who pleaded to extortion, was a gas station owner. At least Rene Abreu, who was indicted for mail fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and other charges, is a Guttenberg developer with political ties.
With the indictment of the 97-year old Monmouth County developer Philip Konvitz along with James Condos, a former Asbury Park councilman, this week, Hudson County can't even boast of having the oldest indicted person. Monmouth County also saw a guilty plea from Terrance Weldon, former mayor to Ocean Township.
Even lowly Passaic County seems to have edged Hudson County out in the race for most corrupt county in the state, with several indictments issued last year, and the pleading guilty of Martin Barnes, former mayor of Paterson, to numerous charges involving taking of cash and gifts from vendors.
Is it any wonder that people spread rumors and outright lies about officials on every level of government in Hudson County? With other counties clearly less endowed with potentially corrupt officials pulling ahead of us, Hudson County gadflies must feel as badly as New York Yankee fans when the baseball team failed to make the World Series this year. Yet most of the more politically astute remain confident Hudson County will still manage to bag a top official and once more come out on top.
No truth to rumors
Rumors that I have resigned from the Hudson Reporter to take a position in the administration of Tom DeGise, the Democratic candidate for county executive, have been grossly exaggerated. For starters, DeGise wouldn't want me (he's still mad at me for reporting an alleged meeting between him and former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler at the VIP restaurant in Jersey City). I am also untrustworthy. I might suddenly find another political point of view more appealing and jump ship with all of DeGise's political secrets. For the same reasons, I would not do well as a spy, priest or real estate agent.
Meanwhile Francisco, "Frank" Armendariz, the independent candidate for the 8th Freeholder District that covers North Bergen and part of Secaucus, has asked for the resignation of his Democratic opponent, Tom Liggio. According to a statement Armendariz made at the Oct. 24 freeholder meeting, Liggio waited too long to remove Zappulla from the town's payroll. Liggio is Zappulla's boss on the North Bergen MUA. Liggio, in a later interview, said he released Zappulla several weeks before Zappulla's sentencing, and flatly refused to withdraw from the freeholder election.
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