Posted on 10/3/2007, 6:05:17 PM by LdSentinal
He is facing questions about his service in Vietnam and hasn't been seen for a week.
ATLANTIC CITY - Where's the mayor? Not since "Where's Waldo?" and "Where's the Beef?" has such a query caused such a stir.
In this resort, where the streets are literally paved by gambling revenues, they're taking bets on what might have become of Mayor Bob Levy and whether his disappearance signals another impending scandal involving the city's top job.
Amid reports of a federal probe into false claims that Levy admits he made regarding his Vietnam military service, the mayor drove off last Wednesday in a silver, city-owned Dodge Durango and has not officially been heard from since.
His lawyer says that Levy is in a hospital, but isn't giving up anything else.
Rumors flew last week that Levy was ready to resign and would hold a news conference. But his assistants insisted that none of that was true.
How long will he be gone? And how does such apparent abandonment of his office bode for a city trying to attract new gaming business as new casinos in other states are popping up faster than jellyfish on the beach?
"You can't have this big mystery going on and have a functioning city government," said State Assemblyman Jim Whelan, a former Atlantic City mayor. "His first responsibility, as an elected official, is to the people who elected him to office. They deserve an explanation."
Whelan's statement may seem unremarkable, except for the fact that he has been Levy's best friend since they spent teenage summers together as lifeguards on Atlantic City beaches. Until recently, battling middle-aged paunches, they were rowing partners most mornings on Atlantic City's back bays.
So when Whelan publicly called for Levy to either explain his absence or resign, he was railed by his political opponents, who called his statement a cheap shot against a friend.
"My statement is out of frustration that I see a dysfunctional Atlantic City government that needs to fulfill its obligation to the people of Atlantic City, and really, the entire region," said Whelan in a telephone interview yesterday. "The casinos are the lifeblood of this region and at a time when we are competing to attract new investment, we cannot have this kind of dysfunction and appearance of an unstable city government."
The city's image as a bastion of bad government strikes deeply with Whelan, one of the city's few modern mayors whose administration did not end in disgrace. Three of the city's last six mayors have been arrested.
Currently, one-third of Atlantic City's City Council members are in prison or awaiting sentencing. Another city councilman was caught in a videotaped sex act with a prostitute last year. He said he was set up by political opponents.
Since taking office two years ago, Levy may have spent as much time out of his City Hall office as he did serving in it.
As 2006 closed, the mayor turned over city government to the city business administrator, Domenic Cappella, without telling anyone while he took a mysterious 11-day medical leave.
After Levy returned to work, his attendance record around the office and at City Council meetings has been spotty, according to colleagues. He rarely makes ceremonial appearances for groundbreakings or ribbon-cuttings.
After Levy went underground a week ago, his office issued a 36-word statement, saying he is on medical leave until further notice. Cappella declared himself in charge.
City Council members, though, say Cappella can't be in charge, because state law requires a mayor, when absent, to transfer power to an appointee for a specified period. They say Levy fled without formally transferring power to anyone.
The City Council on Monday petitioned the state attorney general to help determine who's running Atlantic City. It's unclear whether the answer is forthcoming.
Levy's attorney, Edwin Jacobs, one of the region's top criminal defense lawyers, confirmed the 59-year-old mayor was in the hospital "on extended medical leave." Jacobs, before leaving for a vacation himself, declined to elaborate.
Things got personal after Whelan, a Democrat in a contentious race for state Senate against Sen. James "Sonny" McCullough (R., Atlantic), publicly said Levy owes the public an explanation.
With all the drama of a Greek tragedy, Edward Kline, campaign manager for McCullough and his Republican slate, called Whelan's comments "a sad, shameful and sickening example of backstabbing for political advantage."
Then, in a local radio debate with Whelan Monday night, McCullough called for Levy's resignation "if he is incapable of being in office."
Levy's public problems started last fall, when he acknowledged to a reporter for the Press of Atlantic City that he misrepresented his military background during his mayoral campaign.
He had claimed to have served in the Army Green Berets during the Vietnam War, but in November said he never was in the elite Army Special Forces group.
New Jersey makes my Ohio look good politically.
And that takes some doing.
What a piece of sh!t. Well I am a Green Beret and I can get at least a handful more to go protest this wanna-be... I see more and more of them.
hmmmm, dhimmicrat...lying about their war record...
yeah, i can see that....
They should have a DA on hand to indict every Mayor of Atlantic City at the swearing-in ceremony. It would be a real time-saver.
Bet he volunteers to go into rehab and the rest of weak-kneed dems will claim that's enough punishment.
Why is it that Democrats, who essentially loathe the military, think a service record is such a big deal? I’m a vet (Army 1969-72) but I don’t hold it against anyone who hasn’t served unless they are a cowardly draft dodger like WJC. John Wayne never served, nor did Limbaugh. So what? Both men served their country valiantly as civilians. Lee Harvey Oswald was a vet, as was John Kerry and Benedict Arnold. I knew alot of guys in the Army that I wouldn’t trust as dog catchers. Military service, or the lack of it, is conclusive proof of nothing as far as the fitness to lead is concerned. There are many ways to serve, only one of which is military service. The irony is that the Democrats are so obsessed with it.
I hope the radio get stuck on the Rush Limbaugh show.
Poor bastard, being himself just wasn’t enough. He had to go for the ultimate - a US soldier who fought in VietNam, and a Green Beret at that. He could have said he was a Senator’s aide or worked in Congress but that would not have gotten him anywhere in politics or become a dog catcher.
Cowardly lion exiting stage left.
duly filed under a relevant keyword:
KEYWORD: STOLENVALOR
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=stolenvalor
Two Democrats added in two days to that archive...
(well, Senator Harkin may have already been in the archive)
I wonder if he knows Tom Harkin, America’s top Ace in Vietnam...or John Kerry, America’s greatest war hero. </dripping Sarc>
Hey Weasely Clark! Here’s another phoney soldier for you! And naturally, he’s a RAT!
Hey Weasely Clark! Here’s another phoney soldier for you! And naturally, he’s a RAT!
Wow! A 50% corruption rate. I am most impressed.
Wow! A 50% corruption rate. I am most impressed.
Dammitt! My ‘puter is so slow today I thought it didn’t post.
Wow! A 50% corruption rate. I am most impressed.
I love John Wayne movies and listen to Limbaugh...but I don't believe either served as valiantly as true veterans. Limbaugh makes megabucks as a radio talk show and Wayne make piles of dough in the movies...the average E-1 ground pounder in WWII and 'Namn (periods when they could have served) pulled in less than $400/month while dodging bullets.
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