On the Jersey City Waterfront: An Update

My current class in Fact Investigation decided not to continue last semester's investigation into public corruption in northern New Jersey, including Jersey City. (The members of my course have decided to look into some possible hanky-panky in Manhattan.) This frees me to comment further on recent developments in the ongoing federal investigation about corruption on the Jersey City waterfront.

Two of the 44 people initially charged with taking bribes from a pretend real estate developer (Mr. Dwek) have pleaded guilty. One of the two -- a certain Mr. Guy Catrillo -- was (but presumably no longer is) an ally and friend of Mayor Jerramiah Healy of Jersey City. After learning of Catrillo's arrest, Mayor Healy suspended this apparently dastardly employee. After Catrillo pleaded guilty, Mayor Healy propmptly fired him. (Technically, most of the 44 people arrested by the FBI on July 23, 2009, were charged with extortion -- extorting bribes from the fake real estate developer. But never mind about that.) But Mayor Healy, being a fervent (if inconsistent) believer in the presumption of innocence, has refused to call for the resignation of the Deputy Mayor of Jersey City, Leona Beldini or the President of the City Council of Jersey City, Mariano Vega, who were also arrested by the FBI on July 23 and charged with extortion. (Mayor Healy's support for Beldini, however, has since grown lukewarm.)

But the story does not end there. First, it appears that the FBI visited Mayor Healy on July 22, 2009, the day before the 44 aforesaid people were arrested by the FBI. Second, it appears that (i) the FBI again visited Mayor Healy in August and searched his beach home and (ii) the FBI perhaps visited with him again, in City Hall, on September 9. Mayor Healy, being an upstanding fellow, refuses to comment on the discussions he has had with the FBI on the ground, he says, that speaking publicly about his intimate encounters with the FBI would interfere with an ongoing investigation.

I'm taking bets. Who is the new cooperating witness? Is it Deputy Mayor Beldini? Is it Guy Catrillo? Is it Jack Shaw? (No, wait; Shaw's dead. [He may have committed suicide.] So it can't be Shaw.) Or perhaps it is Mayor Healy who is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney? It's enough to drive a student of the Prisoner's Dilemma -- and defense counsel -- batty.

In the meantime, it seems that nearly everyone had a lovely time at the recently-finished Liberty National Golf Course in late August. (I say "nearly everyone" because apparently Tiger Woods, who played in the tournament, did not share in the general excitement.) Mr. Paul Fireman, one of the developers of Liberty National, who made generous donations to the Jerramiah T. Healy Charitable Foundation for a Better Jersey City, probably enjoyed himself as well. (Although Liberty National lies within the clutches ... er ... jurisdiction of Jersey City and its various agencies and associated government authorities, it would be unseemly to suggest that either Mr. Fireman or Mayor Healy had any commercial or political considerations in mind in regard to their dealings with Mayor Healy's charity. And I suggest no such thing: may Messieurs Healy and Fireman long live and prosper -- and continue to enjoy golf.)

P.S. I can't help wondering if Mayor Bloomberg -- who works across the river from Mayor Healy -- now regrets helping to raise many thousands of dollars in campaign donations for Mayor Healy. Did Mayor Bloomberg not care that Jersey City Public Official 4 might not be squeaky-clean? (Granted, the fund-raiser took place before the FBI arrests. But did Mayor Bloomberg suspect nothing?)

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New Jersey Corruption Saga and Investigation Continue

You will recall that a few days ago the FBI arrested 44 persons -- most of them New Jersey government officials -- for taking bribes, mostly in exchange for promises of help with real estate developments. The bribe-giver, however, was a "cooperating witness" -- a man called Dwek -- who had himself gotten in legal trouble a few years earlier (by passing a bad $25 million check at a bank drive-through window) and was apparently doing his best, for a very long period of time, to reduce his eventual punishment for his own defalcations. These arrests have put into motion a series of interesting events. See the following headlines (which tell much of the story) and the following linked stories in publications of nj.com:

Augustin Torres, "Solomon Dwek [the copperating witness] must have met every politically connected person in Hudson County," Jersey Journal (July 28, 2009)

A snippet:

Solomon Dwek must have met everyone on the Hudson County political landscape the past two years while on his FBI-motivated mission to entice and corrupt anyone with insider influence. His work resulted in the arrest of 44 individuals Thursday, many of them public officials.

What is interesting is the number of people who are eager to contact members of the media to reveal that they had encounters with the federal government's cooperating witness or Mr. 'CW,' who has been identified as Solomon Dwek.

"200 call for Cammarano [mayor of Hoboken] to quit office" Jersey Journal (July 28, 2009)

A snippet:

In Hoboken, neither rain nor a little hail could deter roughly 200 people who came to City Hall last night to protest Mayor Peter's Cammarano's decision to remain in office even though he has a corruption charge hanging over his head.

Amy Clark, "Jersey City City Council President Mariano Vega to quit abatement panel, but won't resign" Jersey Journal (July 28, 2009)

A snippet:

Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega Jr. said yesterday he was as surprised as anybody else to find himself participating in a perp walk last week and he has no intention of resigning his posts.

"The events from this past Thursday are as shocking to me as everyone else," Vega read from a statement at the council's caucus meeting.

"Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell will resign, but contest federal corruption charge," Star-Ledger (July 28, 2009)

A snippet:

Mayor Dennis Elwell [mayor of Seacaucus, NJ] is the first elected official arrested in last week's corruption sweep in New Jersey to say he'll resign.

Elwell's lawyer said his client is stepping down, but is not admitting guilt and will defend himself against the allegations.

"Jersey City pol basks in limelight of political corruption arrest: video," Jersey Journal (July 28, 2009)

A snippet:

A Jersey City political operative [Joseph Cardwell] exhibited Jersey perp walk technique No. 4 when leaving the federal courthouse on Thursday after being charged in the massive corruption scandal, according to a "Ledger Live" video that also shows former Jersey City council candidate LaVern Webb-Washington covering her head with clothes and replays Mayor Jerramiah Healy singing the "Bradley Beach Prison Blues.''

Joseph Cardwell, accused of agreeing to offer a bribe to a public official, can be heard saying, "Like a rock star, right" as news photographers jump in his path, snapping away like paparazzi.

N.B. The video is well worth watching. It includes a snippet showing Mayor Jerramiah Healy singing a New Jersey variant of the "Folsom Prison Blues." [Did ASCAP get its money?]

Augustin Torres, "Jack Shaw, figure in massive NJ corruption scandal, found dead in Jersey City," Jersey Journal (July 28, 2009)

A snippet:

Jack Shaw of Jersey City, one of the 44 people arrested in Thursday's massive New Jersey corruption scandal, was found dead in his apartment this evening, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio has confirmed.

A relative found the 61-year-old political consultant's body, De Fazio said.

"6 Jersey City employees in sweep are off municipal payroll," Jersey Journal (July 29, 2009)

A snippet:

Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini; John Guarini, a clerk in the Building Department; Maher Khalil, deputy director of the city's Department of Health and Human Services; Joseph Castagna, the city's health officer; Guy Catrillo, a former City Council candidate and planning aide; and Michael Manzo, a firefighter are the six Jersey City employees arrested in last week's corruption sweep, officials confirmed. yesterday.

Paul Takahashi, "100 outside City Hall demand resignations from Healy, Lopez and Vega," Jersey Journal (July 29, 2009)

A snippet:

About 100 people are demonstrating outside City Hall in Jersey City, demanding that Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, City Council President Mariano Vega and Councilwoman Nidia Lopez resign.

[snip, snip]

Vega was charged in a massive FBI sting last week. He is charged with three $10,000 payments for his re-election campaign. Healy has not been charged, but has said he's Jersey City Official 4 in the criminal complaint against Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, Hudson County Affirmative Action Officer Ed Cheatam and political consultant Jack Shaw.

The complaint alleges that Cheatam, Shaw and Beldini accepted bribes as campaign contributions to Healy's campaign; and that Healy met twice with the FBI informant who offered the bribes.

Shaw was found dead Tuesday night in his home.

Lopez was not charged in the sting, but an opponent in the May election, Jimmy King, who was charged in the sting, has filed a lawsuit questioning her residency in Jersey City.

Paul Takahashi, "Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy says he won't resign," Jersey Journal (July 29, 2009)

A snippet:

"I was accused of no wrongdoing," said the mayor, who was alluded to as "JC Official 4" in the federal criminal complaint against Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, Hudson County Affirmative Action Officer Ed Cheatam and political strategist Jack Shaw, who was found dead in his apartment yesterday. "I intend on doing the job that people elected me to do."

More prosecutorial shoes will probably fall. The big question now is whether one of them will fall on Mayor Healy.

Josh Margolin & Mark Mueller, "Feds issue subpoenas in Hoboken, Jersey City, Ridgefield, Secaucus," Star-Ledger (July 29, 2009)

A snippet:

Federal investigators have served subpoenas on government offices in four New Jersey communities where elected officials were swept up last week in a sprawling FBI corruption probe.

Are state and local prosecutors doing anything? It is possible that New Jersey's attorney general, probably with prodding from New Jersey's Governor Corzine (whose re-election prospects have been damaged by the scandal), will do something. But local prosecutors in Hudson County (which encompasses Jersey City [the actual venue for Marlon Brando {"I cudda been somebody"} in "On the Waterfront" {which was a story about the Brooklyn docks}] and Hoboken [Frank Sinatra's birthplace], who cannot be accused of having an excessive amount of courage or imagination, will very probably bring no charges; they don't seem to be much interested in high-level political corruption in New Jersey. And that's an old story.

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What Does the Rule of Law Mean in New Jersey? (It Means that Ms. Lopez Gets to Keep Her Public Office.)

As I understand it, according to New Jersey law, Jersey City Councilwoman Nidia Lopez can be a council member of Jersey City only if she was a resident of Jersey City when she was elected (and was a resident for some time before that). At the time Ms. Lopez was elected she had claimed Florida as her domicile and had thereby avoided paying taxes on her self-declared homestead there. In addition, she had not paid New Jersey income taxes (or business taxes) for some years. (Florida has no income taxes.) On her federal income tax return Ms. Lopez had declared that Florida was her residence. Nonetheless, an esteemed New Jersey trial judge ruled that Ms. Lopez was a resident of New Jersey. I guess the eminent trial judge peered into Ms. Lopez's soul and saw that no matter what Ms. Lopez might have said and done, New Jersey was, in Ms. Lopez's inner heart, her real residence, that that's where she intended to reside. You cynics you! Behold! Here you see a judge with ... er ... uh ... ah ... oh yes ... courage, no?

In the meantime Jersey City is governed by the Hon. Jerramiah Healy, Public Official 1 or 4 (so identified in indictments and criminal complaints), that fervent admirer of the presumption of innocence (for his appointed and indicted deputy mayor and former treasurer of his election campaign, in any event). Mr. Healy of course had utterly no idea that the fake bribes his deputy mayor took from the remarkable Mr. Solomon Dwek for the mayor's election campaign committee were illegal (even though Mr. Mayor was present on two occasions when Mr. Dwek offered the money to the deputy mayor in exchange for some help with a fake real estate development).

Oh yes, the indicted president of the Jersey City council also remains in office -- and votes on real estate tax abatement proposals for major developers and on other such unimportant matters. That's heartening too -- for it shows that he too believes in the presumption of innocence.

Well, let's see. I wonder how many unindicted Jersey City council members are left. One, two, ....

Mr. Putin should come to New Jersey and see how the rule of law works. He would find much to emulate here.

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Is This the Beginning of the End for the Jersey City Machine?

Mayor Jerramiah Healy's deputy mayor -- Leona Beldini -- has been convicted on two criminal counts stemming from the money that a cooperating federal witness -- Mr. Solomon Dwek -- liberally distributed to a variety of politicians in northern New Jersey and Jersey City in exchange for official favors for Mr. Dwek, who they mistakenly believed was a real estate developer who wanted their favors. See "Offcial guilty on 2 counts in NJ corruption trial," Daily Record.com (Feb. 11, 2010).

Let me again trumpet the fact that a team of my students in a course in fact investigation at Cardozo School Law undertook an investigation of Mayor Healy's administration about a year ago and found strong indications of possible corruption.

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Crime, Punishment, and Stupidity in New Jersey

"Jailing Leona Beldini wasn't easy, judge's scolding was minimal," Jersey Journal (June 17, 2010):

"As you from crimes would pardon'd be, Let your indulgence set me free."
Shakespeare, The Tempest
Brian Neary, the Hoboken criminal defense lawyer known for courtroom antics and merciless cross-examinations, tried a different approach the other day to keep his convicted client out of jail. He quoted Shakespeare.
It didn't work.
Former Jersey City deputy mayor Leona Beldini got three years.
Of course, the sentence could have been worse, so maybe his recital did move federal Judge Jose Linares.
Linares, clearly uncomfortable about jailing a 75-year-old with a heart condition, imposed a sentence below federal guidelines that called for 41 months and also spared her the usual harsh criticisms some judges heap on convicted clients.
The worst he said was "any reasonable person" should have seen Solomon Dwek, the corrupt government witness who brought her down, "was a crook." He was right.
If stupidity were a capital crime, the politicians nailed by Dwek would all have been hanged by now.
But Neary does us a favor by citing these lines from Shakespeare because their meaning - from a soliloquy by Prospero, a wronged but forgiving man - has been debated for centuries as among the Bard's most ambiguous.
As ambiguous, really, as this corruption sting that brought Beldini to prison gates for the crime of playing a role - an ambiguous one - in obtaining $20,000 in contributions to the campaign of a mayor, Jerramiah Healy, who was already awash in $3 million in campaign funds and didn't need it. A mayor who was never charged.
[snip, snip]
After he ordered Beldini jailed, Linares, who has said he hates sentencings, walked through a crowd in the lobby on his way to lunch. Someone called out, "How are you feeling, judge?"
"Not good," said Linares. Ambiguously.

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