HOBOKEN -- At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Councilman Michael Russo again complained about what he perceives to be a conflict of interest because the City Council recently hired local Paul Condon to do legal work. Russo and Councilwoman Beth Mason have said that Condon has a personal relationship with at least two council members.
However, at the same meeting, Russo himself revealed a potential conflict that he said a former city attorney advised him was not one.
Other city conflicts also came to light.
At nearly 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Russo vocalized his displeasure with the meeting running so late because he was not given the chance to hear from the city attorney on matters pertaining to Condin's contract. While Russo was discussing the possible conflicts of interest, Councilman Michael Lenz complained that Russo had participated in police contract negotiation planning meetings in City Hall last November, even though Russo’s brother is a Hoboken police detective.
Russo said after the meeting that a former city attorney had told Russo he could participate in the contract negotiations on behalf of the city with the superior officers union (PSOA), since his brother is a member of the PBA, not the PSOA. But Russo admitted after the meeting that the discussions in November pertained to both the PBA and the PSOA.
Another conflict was discovered last week. Maser Consulting, the engineering firm that was slated two weeks ago to get at least two city contracts, was found to have donated to the election campaign of former Mayor Peter Cammarano, according to city sources. Even though Cammarano is no longer mayor, the firm still donated to a candidate seeking municipal office in the city. One city source accused a Maser official of not disclosing the donation.
Maser already has done pre-contract work on the crumbling piers; they were pulled from the agenda last week pending an investigation, Mayor Dawn Zimmer said in a press release.
Finally, Council President Peter Cunningham was accused by Councilman Beth Mason two weeks ago of having had a conflict with Condon. Mason and others noted that during a previous administration, Cunningham had received $750 in donations from Condon for his campaign.
But nNo violation occurred, according to several officials, because the council was not asked to vote on the contract in question under the former administration.
At the meeting, Cunningham addressed Councilwoman Beth Mason directly and asked for an apology for accusing him and for bringing his wife into the discussion. He said the accusation was “wasting everybody’s time,” and that Mason was “dipping into her repertoire of dirty tricks.”
Mason offered no response to his charge. -- TJC
YESM isn’t it true?
Paul Condon’s law office is located in Suite 4A at 33-41 River Street. Councilman-at-Large Ravi Bhalla’s law office is also located in Suite 4A at 33-41 River Street. Condon and Bhalla share an office, putting them in a business relationship that should have been disclosed to the public. YESM isn’t it true that both individuals share the same desk, receptionist, and other office amenities.
YESM isn’t it true?
Paul Condon’s wife Renee Condon gave Peter Cunningham a $750 contribution for his 2007 campaign for 5th ward Council. It turns out a second, $500 contribution was made for Cunningham’s runoff election. The $1250 given by a family member of an eventual City professional services contractor is $950 more than the $300 limit allowed in Hoboken’s Pay-to-Play contracting reform ordinance. Cunningham took his seat on the council on July 1, 2007.
YESM: you could spin all you want YESM THERE APEARS TO BE A CONFLICT?????
Just not seeing it here. Perhaps another copy-and-paste will clarify.
And thanks for beginning sentences with ma'am. Not gender appropriate, but respectful nonetheless.
yesm you have a conflict?????
ISN THAT RIGHT POG???
Post hoc ergo propter hoc
After this, therefore because of this.
Logical fallacy that suggests - incorrectly - that since that event followed this one, that event must have been caused by this one.
Also, it's who's, as in who is, not whose.
End of lesson.
yesm you have a conflict?????
ISN THAT RIGHT POG???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21A1sSaNpzg
instead of pasting and cutting (and copying) from that site why nojt tell us what you are getting at?
Hoboken411 presents the facts:
Condon’s connections to Bhalla and Cunningham Paul Condon’s law office is located in Suite 4A at 33-41 River Street. Councilman-at-Large Ravi Bhalla’s law office is also located in Suite 4A at 33-41 River Street. Condon and Bhalla share an office, putting them in a business relationship that should have been disclosed to the public before Bhalla voted in favor of awarding the no-bid Special Legal Counsel contract to Condon. Bhalla never mentioned his relationship with Condon during the discussion of the resolution, and voted yes when he should have abstained.
Cunningham’s conflicts: business and campaign cashFifth Ward Councilman Peter Cunningham’s wife Jen works at Hudson Place Realty. Paul Condon’s wife Renee works at Hudson Place Realty. Jen Cunningham and Renee Condon have on occasion jointly offered and marketed Real Estate for sale, creating a business relationship that goes beyond simply working for the same agency. In addition, Renee Condon made a $750 campaign contribution to Peter Cunningham’s election fund in 2007. This contribution is in violation of the contractor Pay-to-Play ordinance advanced by People for Open Government.
What does POG’s ordinance say about this kind of contribution?
You can read the whole ordinance here. It says the law bans contributions to Hoboken candidates from business entities (including individuals, family members, firms of all types and affiliates) prior to receiving professional services contracts with the City of Hoboken. That limit is $300 per year to a candidate like Peter Cunningham, who accepted $750 from Renee Condon, wife of Paul Condon, who was just awarded a no-bid public contract by the Zimmer Administration.
Cunningham’s action also opened the city up to a lawsuit, according to the POG ordinance:
SECTION 7 CITIZENS PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION: Notwithstanding any other common right of law, any Hoboken citizen or citizens group shall have the right to sue any or all entities in violation of this ordinance, including the business entity awarded a contract or agreement to provide “professional services” or “extraordinary unspecified services”, the candidate or committee as specified in subsection 1(a) above, and/or the City Hoboken, in order to compel those entities to comply with this ordinance.
Condon’s political activities Paul Condon is no stranger to Hoboken politics. In 2004 he ran an unsuccessful campaign for Board of Education, and considered a bid – but did not run – for City Council in 2007. Last week he was awarded a no-bid contract to be the Special Legal Counsel handling the matter of suspended police Lieutenant Angelo Andriani’s activities in a Florida airport. Under New Jersey law a “professional services contract” of $29,000 or less does not need to go out for public bidding. The Mayor has the power to recommend an attorney for a council vote. In this case it was Condon, whose relationships with Bhalla and Cunningham go far deeper than they’ve disclosed.
Upon further review, Condon gave $1250 to Cunningham Our initial report indicated Paul Condon’s wife Renee Condon gave Peter Cunningham a $750 contribution for his 2007 campaign for 5th ward Council. It turns out a second, $500 contribution was made for Cunningham’s runoff election. The $1250 given by a family member of an eventual City professional services contractor is $950 more than the $300 limit allowed in Hoboken’s Pay-to-Play contracting reform ordinance. Cunningham took his seat on the council on July 1, 2007.
Paul Condon was initially hired by Mayor David Roberts in February 2008 to prosecute the SWAT-related charges against Police Lieutenant Angelo Andriani. As part of POG’s investigation about the revelations in my report, former POG President Eric Kurta went to City Hall to investigate. Among his initial findings:
“Mr. Condon did enter into an agreement to provide legal services to the city for a one-year period beginning February 28, 2008. The contributions made by Mr. Condon’s spouse, Renee Condon, were dated 3/30/07 ($750) and 5/31/07 ($500) and are within the one-year period prior to entering into an agreement, wherein contributions are limited to $300 or less.
Though the amount of the contract was for less than that of the state’s bidding threshold, it was nonetheless defined as a professional services agreement and thereby bound to comply with the P2P ordinance. This has been brought to the attention of Mr. Kates, Hoboken Corporation Counsel who will report his conclusions to the Mayor and City Council sooner rather than later, I would imagine.”
– Eric Kurta
This means under the Pay-to-Play law, Renee Condon’s $1250 donation to Cunningham legally precluded Paul Condon from accepting the no-bid professional services contract within one calendar year. Condon has been prosecuting the long, drawn out SWAT case against Andriani for over two years, which is believed to be the longest disciplinary hearing in Hoboken history.
2010 case separate from 2008 chargesIt shouldn’t be missed that City Attorney Kates stressed the new, no-bid $29,000 contract awarded to Condon on the recommendation of Mayor Zimmer is legally a new charge against Andriani which is not directly connected to the SWAT charges. Kates stressed the two cases are separate, and will use separate hearing judges. Condon’s familiarity with the SWAT case has no bearing on whether he should prosecute the Florida Airport badge-waving allegations. Kates was clear on this point, and it’s all on the meeting video.
The question now is when, not “if” P2P law was violatedCity Council members are elected for four years, but a convenient quirk in POG’s law only limits contributions to from city contractors for one year after the contribution is made.
The one-year prohibition is buried in the law, and was admittedly missed in our original story, which indicated the Pay-to-Play law would ban a 2010 contract following a 2007 contribution. In fact it does not. Consider that accidental omission corrected and regretted – and realistically an enormous loophole in the ordinance.
However, the law says if a vendor violates the Pay-to-Play law they are banned from contracting with Hoboken for four years. Since the 2007 contribution made the 2008 contract illegal under the Pay-to-Play law, this puts the status of both of Condon’s contracts in question.
A picture of Councilman-at-Large Ravi Bhalla sits under the headline “Conflicts and Campaign Money.” The March 7th Reporter (which was incorrectly stated as the “March 3rd” edition) followed up on the story broken here first on February 26th. As usual, the weekly fish wrap gave Hoboken411 no credit, but I’m used to that. To show we’re bigger than their petty jealousy of 411’s far larger Hoboken readership, we’ll give them credit for holding Bhalla’s feet to the fire and forcing him to answer questions that only strengthened the case against him.
The story of council conflicts that won’t go awayBhalla made it clear he wouldn’t respond to Hoboken411, hoping the story would just go away. Wrong again Councilman. There’s too much to the Condon Conflicts to ignore. You already know Bhalla approved a $29,000 no-bid city contract for friend and officemate Paul Condon without even so much of as a public mention of his relationship. When called on it, Bhalla’s initial public comments might have left some with the impression he has no financial entanglements whatsoever with Condon. It turns out that’s not true. Under repeated questioning, Bhalla was forced to admit the following to reporter Tim Carroll:
Despite an internet damage control campaign to the contrary, Bhalla and Condon signed a JOINT, three-year lease for the suite they share. Bhalla admitted if one were to default on the lease, the other would have to pay.
Bhalla and Condon also share an employee in the form of a receptionist who handles business for both attorneys.
Bhalla and Condon also share office equipment and supplies, which cost money.
Digging the hole deeper and deeperBhalla claims that since technically his and Condon’s law firms are separate entities, “There was no conflict, and in my sound judgment there was no appearance of a conflict.”
Same office. Same lease. Same receptionist. Same office equipment and supplies. Long-standing personal and professional relationship. No conflict in voting to give a no-bid contract? That doesn’t sound like “Change that’s Working” Councilman.
That sounds like same-old, same-old.
On August 8, 2007, the City Council awarded attorney David Corrigan a no-bid contract for up to $125,000 for special legal services.
.
Corrigan had made a $1500 contribution to Michael Russo for City Council on March 14, 2007, followed by another contribution for $1000 on May 1, 2007. Both contributions were returned on June 6, 2007. These would have been caused a violation of Hoboken’s pay-to-play ordinance had they not been returned.
.
On May 8, 2007, Corrigan also contributed $2000 to Hoboken Democrats for Hudson County, (HDHC) which had in turn given Russo $3000 on April 30, 2007 and another $3000 on May 3, 2007.
.
HDHC was a Hoboken political committee chaired by Peter Cammarano with Michael Schaffer serving as treasurer, both of whom would go on to play starring roles in the FBI sting at the Malibu diner two years later.
.
The $2000 contribution to HDHC was also returned to Corrigan on June 7, 2007. This also avoided a violation of the pay-to-play ordinance, as candidates are not supposed to “launder” funds through political committees. So far, so good.
.
Here’s where it gets interesting: On May 7, 2007, Michael Russo received an $8200 contribution from Weehawken & You, a political committee chaired by Richard Turner, Mayor of Weehawken and District Director for U.S. Rep. Albio Sires.
.
Shortly thereafter, Corrigan donated to Weehawken & You: $3000 on May 18,2007 and $2000 on May 25, 2007. Weehawken also received $1000 on May 16,2007 from Murray Law Firm, as in Robert Murray, Corrigan's former law partner.
.
Looks like the funds made it through. Or was it just another remarkable Hoboken coincidence?
.
What was Sarlo's interest in Hoboken politics?
.
Perhaps the answer can be found with his brother, Charles Sarlo. Charles Sarlo serves as VP and General Counsel for DMR Architects of Hasbrouck Heights. Early in 2008, it was announced that DMR had been retained by Hoboken University Medical Center to provide design services in connection with the hospital’s renovation and expansion project, including a new maternity outpatient center.
.
Voice For All Hoboken is a local political committee that endorsed and promoted the candidacies of 1st Ward Councilwoman and candidate Theresa Castellano, 2nd ward candidate Richard Tremitiedi, 3rd Ward Councilman and candidate Michael Russo, 4th Ward Councilman and candidate Chris Campos, and 6th Ward Councilman and candidate Nino Giacchi. Voice For All Hoboken spent $2000 each on behalf of Castellano, Tremitiedi, and Giacchi, while Russo received $7000 and Campos received over $13,000 in total spending and contributions.
.
Voice for All Hoboken was chaired by none other than Peter Cammarano.
.
Without sworn testimony from the individuals involved, it is impossible to prove a direct link between the contributions from Sarlo and the granting of the contract to DMR. Just think of it as just another remarkable Hoboken coincidence.
In 2001, the law firm DeCotiis Fitzpatrick Gluck Hayden & Cole LLP served as bond counsel to the City of Hoboken. In 2002, Michael Gluck left Decotiis to start his own firm. GluckWalrath LLP (formerly Gluck Walrath & Lanciano LLP) has since been awarded a number of professional no-bid contracts to serve as special bond counsel to Hoboken.
.
These firms and their members have routinely made campaign contributions to Hoboken political committees, including those of Anthony Russo, David Roberts, and the Hoboken Democratic Party. Contributions totaling more than $38,000 have been made to local candidates and parties since 2000.
.
In the summer of 2004, People for Open Government introduced a public contracting ordinance that would limit and/or prohibit such contributions by professional entities. The ordinance was overwhelmingly approved by Hoboken voters in the November 2004 election. A revised ordinance was introduced by POG in 2007 and approved by the City Council.
.
Prior to the adoption of these pay-to-pay reform laws, contributions were made by the DeCotiis/Gluck firms and their members with no effort to conceal their identities. These contributions ceased in 2005. Only in 2006 did the mysterious Paul Bontempo begin to make contributions to local candidates. While not technically illegal, this activity suggests an end-run around restrictions set by the ordinances and violates the spirit of the pay-to-play restrictions.
In July of 2006, the City of Hoboken awarded a 12-month, no-bid professional services contract to the Trenton law firm Gluck Walrath LLP to provide special legal services as municipal bond counsel. Two weeks later, a $500 campaign contribution was received by Third Ward Councilman Michael Russo from a Paul Bontempo of Trenton. Bontempo's occupation was described as self.
.
In September of 2007, Gluck Walrath LLP was awarded a contract to serve as special bond counsel to the Hoboken Board of Education. The next day, the firm was again awarded the contract to provide bond counsel to the City of Hoboken. A few weeks later, Bontempo again made a $500 campaign contribution, this time to Hoboken Councilman and State Assembly candidate Ruben Ramos. Bontempo was this time listed as a self-employed consultant.
.
Who is this mysterious Mr. Bontempo and why does he have an interest in contributing to Hoboken politicians?
.
It turns out that Bontempo is not self-employed. Rather, he is Vice-President, Director, and Treasurer of MBI GluckShaw, a Trenton governmental lobbying firm of which Hazel Gluck is a partner. Hazel Gluck was the founder of the Gluck Shaw Group, which in 2003 merged with Martin Bontempo Matacera & Bartlett to create New Jersey’s largest lobbying firm, MBI-GluckShaw. Her son, Michael Gluck, is a partner with Gluck Walrath LLP, the firm that was awarded the city and school contracts.
Russo and Castellano however, wanted to be able to vote on contracts that would directly impact their relatives and spouse respectively, or their superiors. With all of Russo's blather about the avoiding the 'appearance of impropriety', it clearly means nothing to him. Russo is (as Bhalla stated) a complete hypocrite.