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Greg Lincoln for 3rd Ward Council announces:
GREG LINCOLN TO COUNCILMAN RUSSO: EXPLAIN THE BRIBE FROM SOLOMON DWEK
Two investigative reporters from the New Jersey Star-Ledger revealed that in 2009, Councilman Michael Russo agreed to accept a $5,000 bribe in a meeting with Solomon Dwek, an FBI informant. Dwek’s role was pivotal in the FBI sting that brought down former Hoboken Mayor and now convicted felon, Peter Cammarano.
3rd ward Councilman Mike Russo who just submitted a questionable letter of achievements printed in the weekend’s Hudson Reporter predicting there would be lies about him is named in a new book – the Jersey Sting. The book details reveal Mike Russo’s meeting with FBI informant and star witness Solomon Dwek in Jersey City’s White Horse Tavern where bribes were discussed.
In the meeting Solomon Dwek who was working for the FBI and wired for sound, a discussion on $5,000 in bribe money is agreed upon:
Here is a letter published in the weekend Hudson Reporter from 3rd ward Councilman Mike Russo:
Dear Editor:
I hope you’ll allow me an opportunity to discuss the upcoming City Council race in the 3rd Ward. As this campaign begins, it is clear that my opponent will be pulling out the same old playbook of lies and innuendo that has been used against me in the past with no success.
Here are a few facts. My surname is Russo. I am the son of a former mayor who went to prison for corruption. His last year in office was 2001. This is old news, but that won’t stop my opponent from bringing it up every chance he gets. I’m used to it by now, and the residents of the 3rd Ward have heard it all before.
Here are a few more facts my opponent has either forgotten or simply chooses to ignore.
I am the councilman who initiated the investigation that removed several individuals who were receiving city health benefits incorrectly. Mayor Zimmer, then a councilwoman, did nothing on this issue.
I am the councilman who first asked questions about close to a million dollars in missing income at the Parking Utility. It was the mayor’s office at the time that called the discrepancy “a mistake.” It was my questions that ultimately uncovered the missing funds.
I am the councilman who raised the alarm when the administration was considering moving the municipal garage to Jackson Street. The only reason the municipal garage wasn’t moved to Jackson Street is because we joined with 3rd Ward residents to stop it. These residents will be surprised to learn that my opponent calls their efforts “a lie.”
I am the councilman who took the political heat and held out for a promise of a 3rd Ward park to be included as part of the recent $20 million bond issue.
I am the councilman who has forced this administration to spend tax dollars conservatively, forcing municipal budget cuts that trim fat from the budget and focus spending on needed services. I chair the council committee that will present amendments to the municipal budget that will result in real tax relief for Hoboken.
I’m confident that the voters of the 3rd Ward will see through the lies my opponent will tell during this campaign. It’s one thing to attend a few City Council meetings for a few minutes and call yourself a concerned citizen. It’s quite another to actually do the important work that affects the lives of Hoboken residents. I challenge my opponent to tell 3rd Ward residents what exactly he has ever done for them.
City of Hoboken announces:
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Kurta for Council announces:
1st WARD COUNCIL CANDIDATE ERIC KURTA HOSTS FIRST CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISER
The alleged assault of a city director has produced much drama over the past few days and a fine mix of political attacks from the well heeled and consulted. Did those statements clear the legal hurdle on defamation is the question now stirring with some pointing to the less than professional words coming from Councilwoman Beth Mason directed at Director Ian Sacs.
| Beth Mason went uncorked on a city personnel issue under investigation. Did she just add defamation to her resume? |
As Ian Sacs has made a personal account of the incident public to media outlets, questions now center on why Beth Mason even thought it smart to politicize a personnel matter under investigation where witnesses were still being interviewed at week’s end.
At a City Council meeting earlier this year, MSV noted two councilmen voiced concern an employee “was taken away in handcuffs,” earlier that day. The two councilmen were actually referencing an erroneous report briefly mentioned here on MSV linked to another local website. That concern surrounded the now departed Al Arezzo and the two councilman rising to his unnamed defense were Mike Russo and Nino Giacchi.
Beth Mason however decided to take a quite different path implying guilt and actions she did not and could not possibly verify. Of course Beth Mason can’t help herself. She’s running a permanent mayoralty-in-exile campaign and holding the voters of the 2nd ward hostage to that unfulfilled ambition.
Here’s her less than careful legal remarks pointedly clawing into Director Ian Sacs:
“The actions taken yesterday by Mayor Dawn Zimmer and the City Administration in response to an altercation between a city employee and City Parking Authority Director Ian Sacs are very troubling.
To have a city director engage in a physical altercation with one of his subordinates in front of passengers and City Police is unacceptable, and Mr. Sacs physically commandeering a city vehicle and driving it without a proper commercial license is worse, but the Administration’s response was outrageous.
Police led Mr. Sacs away in handcuffs, along with the city employee, and then Mr. Sacs received legal counsel in a jail cell from two lawyers, including the City’s Corporation Counsel, while the city employee received no legal counsel.
The Corporation Counsel’s responsibility is to represent the City, not serve as Mr. Sacs’ personal attorney.
The Mayor’s decision to suspend the employee without pay, while keeping her friend, Mr. Sacs, on the payroll with free legal advice from the Corporation Counsel, goes beyond any reasonable bounds of fairness. Apparently, the Mayor has already decided that Mr. Sacs is absolutely right and the city employee is absolutely wrong. That is the role we have entrusted to our legal system for more than 200 years and I am shocked that Mayor Zimmer would so easily trounce anyone’s civil liberties.
Lastly, the Mayor has called for a “third-party investigation” into this matter. Before she spends any more tax dollars to defend Mr. Sacs, she should let the Hoboken Police conduct a thorough and objective investigation and let our courts decide where to affix responsibility for this ugly incident.”
Ian Sacs, Director Transportation and Parking released this letter to the media asking for it be printed in it’s entirety unedited directed at Perry Klaussen at Hoboken411. As always MSV is pleased to provide uncensored, uncontrolled views throughout the mile square.
Mr. Klaussen,
I am writing in a personal capacity in response to your account of events involving me that were posted on your blog page yesterday, March 24, 2011. My purpose is to clear the record, not so much for my sake, but for the sake of your readers who may be angered, incited, or enraged by information that inaccurately depicts my actions in such an unprofessional manner. When taking this job, I knew that the intense politics of Hoboken would drag my efforts through the mud, and I accepted that reality willingly. But I did not sign on to anyone deliberately distorting my work and efforts as a way to encourage hate and violence among innocent an unsuspecting residents.