True Friendship?

Leona Beldini, the deputy mayor of Jersey City, was among the New Jersey public officials arrested by federal authorities for taking bribes from a person who Beldini and other public officials thought was a real estate developer but was in fact acting as an undercover agent. Mayor Jerramiah Healy later suspended the Jersey City officials [including, presumably, Beldini] who were charged with such misdeeds. Mayor Healy said that the charges were shocking. But he also said:

"I have full faith in Leona [Beldini]," Healy said. "She’s a good friends of mine — was and will be."

Now why do you suppose Healy said that? Was it out of friendship? Or did his profession of perpetual friendship for Beldini have something to with the allegation that he and Beldini met twice with the person who was pretending to be a developer and who made the payment to Beldini?

Note: On July 24 the AP reported:

The complaint targets Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, who is charged with taking 20-thousand dollars in bribes.

Beldini served as Healy's treasurer for his 2009 mayoral campaign, and she is accused of collecting cash on Healy's behalf, in exchange for promising to fast-track the cooperating witness -- or c-w's -- development projects.

Throughout the complaint, Healy is referred to as 'J-C Official 4.'

In one recorded exchange, "Beldini responded that she could say one thing about J-C Official 4. J-C Official 4 remembered J-C Official 4's friends, and J-C Official 4's word was gold."

Later the complaint describes how, "at a diner in Jersey City, defendant Cheatam and defendant Shaw accepted $10,000 in cash each from the c-w, including $5,000 a piece to "convert" into contributions for J-C Official 4."

Edward Cheatem [sic], a city official, and Jack Shaw, a political consultant, have also been charged with taking bribes.

Healy has suspended all of the Jersey City workers charged in the corruption investigation without pay.

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Paul Mulshine: "Guns don't cause crime; diners cause crime"

Truth is relative. The truth in New Jersey: "Guns don't cause crime; diners cause crime"

Go here.

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Jerramiah Healy, Mayor of Jersey City

Jerramiah Healy, currently the mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, admits he is a target of the federal investigation that has thus far led, this July, to the arrest of 44 persons, including the deputy mayor of Jersey City and the president of the New Jersey City council. A July 24 AP article states in part:

NEWARK -- There is a significant development involving another politician in this case.

Jersey City Mayor Jeremiah [sic] Healy is acknowledging that he is also under investigation.

We want to be clear that he has not been charged.

Healy released a statement on Friday saying that he did nothing wrong.

But based on the criminal complaint, it is clear that Healy met with the key government witness in March of this year about development projects in Jersey City.

The complaint targets Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, who is charged with taking 20-thousand dollars in bribes.

Beldini served as Healy's treasurer for his 2009 mayoral campaign, and she is accused of collecting cash on Healy's behalf, in exchange for promising to fast-track the cooperating witness -- or c-w's -- development projects.

Throughout the complaint, Healy is referred to as 'J-C Official 4.'

In one recorded exchange, "Beldini responded that she could say one thing about J-C Official 4. J-C Official 4 remembered J-C Official 4's friends, and J-C Official 4's word was gold."

Later the complaint describes how, "at a diner in Jersey City, defendant Cheatam and defendant Shaw accepted $10,000 in cash each from the c-w, including $5,000 apiece to "convert" into contributions for J-C Official 4."

Edward Cheatem, a city official, and Jack Shaw, a political consultant, have also been charged with taking bribes.

Healy has suspended all of the Jersey City workers charged in the corruption investigation without pay.

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A Tutorial on Witness Credibilty

If you have a Windows machine and use the Firefox browser, you may be able to look at the stack Witness Credibility. (Alternatively, you can follow the instructions provided here.)

N.B. Much of what I know about credibility -- almost but not quite everything I know about the logic of credibility -- I learned from David Schum.

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Coming soon: the law of evidence on Spindle Law