Jeremy W. Peters, "Ex-Offficial Pleads Guilty in Corruption Scandal," in The New York Times, October 20, 2007, at p. B2.
David W. Chen, "Attorney General Charges Four Jersey City Judges in Ticket Fixing," in The New York Times, October 23, 2007, at p. B5.
I am experiencing new difficulties in using my computer October 24, 2007 at 11:38 A.M. I will continue to struggle. October 22, 2007 at 9:39 A.M. I was shocked to discover that someone hacked into my computer and inserted "errors" in a draft of a short story that I am working on. I have now corrected them. I am blocking:
http://view.atdmt.com/iview/msnnkhac001300x250...
http://view.atdmt.com/iview/msnnkhac001160x600...
http://view.atdmt.com/iview/msnnkhac001728x90...
http://view.atdmt.com/NYC/iview/spcfaccs/03400...
It doesn't do any good to complain to the police because these hackers either are the police or have permission to indulge in cybercrimes. I will do my best to struggle against these censorship efforts. Spacing may be affected in this essay. On October 21, 2007 at 2:21 P.M. attempts to print items from my MSN group left me with a blank piece of paper bearing this address:
http://ad.doubleclick.net/adi/N2998.MSN/B2491482.9;sz=72890;ord=34816780?
"TRENTON, Oct. 19 -- A former New Jersey assemblyman and Passaic County undersheriff who was arrested last month in a federal corruption sting pleaded guilty on Friday to attempted extortion."
"In doing so, the former official the Rev. Alfred E. Steele of Paterson, a Baptist minister, became the first of 11 state and local officials who were charged to admit involvement in a scheme to accept bribes for arranging public contracts."
"Mr. Steele, who resigned from public office after his arrest, admitted in court on Friday that he had accepted $15,500 to help steer government insurance business to a company that was a front for the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
"... The lawyer, George P. Hannigan, said he expected that Mr. Steele would receive a reduced sentence of 37 to 46 months because of the guilty plea."
Think about it, Senator Bob. Anne Milgram appeared on television news shows to proclaim an on-going investigation of Jersey City Municipal Court judges for "fixing" cases. What a shock. There are several responses to this development and to Stuart Rabner's decision to investigate all municipal courts in the state. First, Superior Court judges are just as corrupt, and often worse than their municipal court brethren; second, none of this will detract from the achievements of federal prosecutors who have shamed New Jersey, at last, into finally taking this token action. Big indictments are coming down soon, I suspect, as New Jersey's political scene is drastically altered by "surprises."
"The United States attorney for New Jersey, Christopher J. Christie, however, declined to say how long a sentence he would recommend."
The crimes committed by this ex-official are part of ROUTINE tainted government business in New Jersey, where theft takes place on a daily basis. Promiment elected officials are caught on tape -- through henchmen -- extorting payoffs and favors, regularly, and nothing ever happens to politicians doing the extorting. Nice work if you can get it, huh?
Right, Senator Bob? How's your favorite psychiatrist doing in Hudson County? Did you get to "wet your beak a little"?
The OAE and other ethics enforcement mechanisms are coopted, judges are intimidated or stupid -- but enough about Stuart Rabner -- and the public is apathetic and numb to corruption, mostly because it is a daily reality in their New Jersey lives, so that they cannot conceive of interactions with government agencies in any other terms. Politicians and elected officials steal. That's just how it is. The only question people ask is: "How much do we have to pay under the table?"
"The corruption investigation that tripped up Mr. Steele" -- the irony in that name should give up pause ("Steele" or "Steal"?), no wonder that, in New Jersey, God is said to have a sense of humor -- "resulted in the arrest of 10 other public officials across the state, including a colleague of Mr. Steele in the State Assembly, Mims Hackett Jr. [who happens to be the Garden State official once in charge of drafting "ethics legislation"!] and the mayor of Passaic, Samuel Rivera."
There are many more convictions on the way. Ethics? In New Jersey? Nah ... Badda-bing, badda-boom, he, he he ... Hey, the other shoe just dropped:
"TRENTON. Oct. 22 -- The state attorney general, Anne Milgram, on Monday, accused 4 of Jersey City's 10 Municipal Court judges of fixing parking tickets" -- and probably criminal cases also -- "for friends, relatives and two of the judges themselves."
A fifth judge has not been named in this accusation, although he has resigned. I wonder why? Cooperating? Informing? 50% of Jersey City judges are demonstrably corrupt, others may also be corrupt -- even if they have not been busted this time. This is about typical for New Jersey Municipal Courts. Comparable level courts are worse in many other towns. Union City and North Bergen in Hudson County are probably far worse courts and governments.
One problem in New Jersey law is all the secrecy, behind-the-back destruction efforts from politicians pissed off that you don't bribe them or pay tribute, and all of the organized crime involvement in politics and the judiciary. Local prosecutors' offices are sometimes corrupt, always political places, where evidence has been known to disappear or to be manufactured, as needed. Gallipoli and other supervising judges are tainted or distracted by self-worship or (not in Gallipoli's case) stupidity.
Anne Milgram has finally hired good people around her who may know what they are doing. Ms. Milgram has no criminal experience and has never tried a criminal case. She probably does not have Municipal Court experience. In fact, she may never have tried any Superior or Municipal Court case. Milgram's legal career has been "on the government tit," as a N.J. politician I knew used to say. Naturally, Ms. Milgram may have political juice, like most bureaucrats. Hence, it is likely that Milgram is a front person for the political boys -- Codey and Roberts -- who want to embarass Jersey City Mayor Healy because he is not playing ball with the powers that be. I bet you didn't learn any of this stuff in your civics course or in law school.
It is anticipated -- eagerly in Camden -- that Senator Menendez will be indicted (very likely), thus creating a power-vacuum into which the Camden machine and friends may enter, on point, like Natalia Makarova. (Think of Richard J. Codey in a tutu and in fifth position.) Anne may not appreciate these realities. We are going to hold her to this statement:
"The system only works, and can only work, when judges make impartial decisions based on the facts, and when they do so in open court, subject to transparency to public scrutiny."
Think of how it feels for a person to read those words who knows that decisions are made on the basis of secret torture sessions conducted under hypnosis, secretly filed reports and secret testimony from experts, who are not confronted with their own lies and contradictions, nor with their own violations of law. All kinds of hearsay and inuendo must be heard by these decision makers as victims are denied rights to confrontation and cross-examination. Threats to release such uncorroborated slanders and hearsay to the media are meant to discourage or frighten truth-seekers. Nothing is beneath these people or their media serfs.
Does one laugh or scream at the N.J. "legal" world? A little of both. One is dealing with Mafia capos in judicial robes, including some who happen to be Cubans.
These words concerning "transparency" by Milgram are blatant lies until something is done about the horrors to which I and so many others, I am sure, have been subjected. These crimes in Jersey City courts are "business as usual" in New Jersey's legal system, which has been poisoned by organized crime for years. Anne Milgram either knows this or she is even more incompetent than she appears to be.
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