Back in 2009, the fed’s sting in New Jersey led to a new book on the case, Operation Bid Rig and included a short blurb on one Hoboken councilman named Mike Russo no one knew anything about.  The series of events led to a raging corruption controversy today leading into the May 10th citywide council elections.  The authors come back to the scene of “the crime” for a return engagement today.

The award winning journalists, authors of “The Jersey Sting,” are back in Hoboken for a two hour discussion with Q&A this afternoon at the Hoboken Public Library from 2-4. The authors Ted Sherman and Josh Margolin last appeared in Hoboken at the scene of an earlier crime, The Malibu Diner where ex-mayor and the now imprisoned Peter Cammarano took thousands of dollars in return for promises of approving developer project commitments. Read More...

In an interview Lenny Luizzi makes some interesting comments surrounding corruption on the specific case of Councilman Mike Russo and the bribery tapes.  Mr. Luizzi the city historian claims he watched the tape and Mike Russo did nothing wrong and did not make any promises just discussed accepting a donation, and there’s nothing wrong with accepting donations.

In the actual tape, Mike Russo provides the name of his campaign committee for $5,000 to be laundered into it with the promise that more is to follow.  The individual contribution limit for campaign donations is actually $2,600 not $10,000 plus.  (Just in case you didn’t know Mr. Luizzi.) Read More...

Commenter mcgato has some keen mathematical insights on local crime although it doesn’t appear too complex regarding the analysis of year over year on crime statistics in town.  The crime commenter buff writes:

I saw that Hate411 put up a misleading story once again about the crime stats just released by Dawn Zimmer on the city website.  As a statistician with a PhD in stats, I want to punch the wifflebrain that “sent” in that letter.  Since the police reorg occurred last October, let’s just compare year over year changes since then:

Month-Year Percent Change from Previous Year of Total Crimes Reported
Oct-10: 4.3% (increase from 94 to 98)
Nov-10: -19.8% (decrease from 86 to 69)
Dec-10: 0% (no change from 100 to 100)
Jan-11: -11.5% (decrease from 96 to 85)
Feb-11: 4.2% (increase from 71 to 74)
Mar-11: -5.0% (decrease from 101 to 96)
Total: -5.0% (decrease from 548 to 522)

If you check out the letter and the data, you can see why they used the numbers that they do.  What month in the data set has the fewest crime? March of 2008 with 57.  What month has the most?  August of 2008 with 166.  I’ll take cherry picking for $400, Alex.


Talking Ed Note: MSV wouldn’t know what’s going on with Hoboken411’s constant diatribe of hate but readers like mcgato keep us laughing from time to time.


MSV is pleased to post submissions from readers and commenters.  If you’d like to submit a story for publication, just send it to smartyjones@me.com.  Please include your name and contact information.  Although you may have an option to post under a pseudonym, there’s also the option of a guest of the stable piece with a photo if you choose. Read More...

Once again Grafix Avenger is dishing deep dare doings of things that go bump in the night from her anonymous source and this time it’s getting into rough waters on the hit job run by Hoboken411, the website in service to all smear jobs for Beth Mason.

In today’s eyeball episode, the anonymous orb reveals the financial information of 2nd ward council candidate Tom Greaney is so ancient, there’s nothing available publicly, not even a smidgen unless someone is motivated enough to go through legal channels and make a request. Read More...

Take a look at a recent chart of Hoboken council candidates and their ELEC report filings:

	Elec Report Update	2011 Ward Races
Ward	Candidate	1/15/11	29 Day	11 day	48  Hours	48  Hours
1	Eric Kurta	N/A	Yes
1	*Theresa Castellano	N/A	Yes
2	*Beth Mason	N/A	NO
2	Tom Greaney	Yes	Yes
2	Franz Paetzold	N/A	Yes
3	*Michael Russo	N/A	Yes
3	Greg Lincoln	N/A	Yes
4	*Tim Occipinti	Yes	Yes
4	Rami Pinchevsky	N/A	Yes
5	*Peter Cunningham	Yes	Yes
5	Perry Belfiore	NO	NO
5	Scott Delea	N/A	Yes
5	Lenny Luizzi	NO	NO
6	*Nino Giacchi	Yes	Yes
6	Jen Giattino	Yes	Yes

* indicated incumbent

The important column for the moment is to see who is complying with the basic reporting requirement in a New Jersey election.  The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission is charged with posting the candidates submitted financial information of their respective campaigns.

The important column here is the second showing the 29 day report due two weeks ago.  As you can see, all the Reform candidates are complying but on the other side of the equation, there’s some problems. Read More...

Councilman Nino Giacchi, the 6th ward councilman came out and issued an email statement regarding the alleged sign theft inside Kayla’s Cleaners as seen here on MSV last Monday.

The statement reflects the tentativeness of the councilman as he faces a strong challenge from council candidate Jen Giattino.  The statement reads: =&0=&

Hey everybody, I’ve got a little brain teaser that I put together for you, or maybe it’s more of a riddle, anyway here goes. Hope you like it. What do these things have in common? …..numerous reports of people claiming they were offered money to vote in the 4th Ward in November  …..a massive anomaly in vote-by-mail in the same 4th Ward special election ……a supporter of the then 4th Ward candidate having her car vandalized with the candidate’s name scrawled on the car …….Ms Mason wheeling over $13,000 to one 4th Ward candidate days before the election ……this same candidate, now a councilperson, in one of their first orders of official business, becomes the deciding vote in Ms Mason becoming the council president ……Ms Mason’s cronies changing the Council rules specifically to make this possible ……Ms Mason being caught rearranging the order of speakers at council meeting ……Mr Russo openly discussing how corruption works in Hoboken on tape ……Mr Russo denying same until the tapes came out, then basically saying he was kidding ……an Old Guard operative ripping down and stealing 6th Ward reform campaign posters, which he denied until he realized he did it on tape ……as a result of the posters being ripped down, the candidate running for the Old Guard in the 6th  Ward (Mr Giacchi) stating almost nothing in response ……another massive statistical anomaly in vote-by-mail in the Board of Education election 5 month later ……and a Reform campaign worker allegedly being assaulted in a polling place by an Old Guard operative, who tell them “I own this place”? Apologies, I’m sure I forgot some things. So what do all these things have in common? They are all “isolated incidents” and, as such nothing to worry about. =&0=&: p1ywood is a frequent commenter once known for mirth and puns.  The four squares has become a regular staple on MSV, one of the four corners of our ‘internets’ universe.  

In what may prove a blockbuster leading into the 2nd ward council race, an anonymous Grafix Avenger source claims an investigation into the resume of Councilwoman Beth Mason shows a decade plus of her experience falsified, accusing her work listed as Founder and President of “Newton Lao Leonard & Locke” as being imaginary.

The firm is listed on Beth Mason’s resume from 1993 to 2005, naming her as both Founder and President.  According to the Grafix Avenger source, the firm has registration in New Jersey filed in 2010, but nothing in the state of New York. Read More...

In the BoE election, Frank Raia’s “independent” slate of Carmelo Garcia, Peter Biancamano and Frances Rhodes-Kearns has swept all three seats.

The low turnout with a spring vacation election timed in the middle of the week combined with new highs of absentee ballots re: Vote by Mail delivered a negative result for Kids First losing all three seats.

Jean Marie Mitchell who held a one year seat will not be returning to the BoE.

The Kids First 6-3 majority will now be narrowed to 5-4 after the election is certified. Read More...

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