NJ State Police Superintendent Resigns (Vanity)

self | 10/18/02 | self

[Alberta's Child]

Looking for NJ Freepers with access to a radio -- Rumor has it that New Jersey State Police head Santiago is resigning this afternoon in the wake of some disgraceful revelations about his organized crime connection.

Any confirmation out there?

[Alberta's Child]

The McGreevey dominoes start to fall . . .

[Fracas]

How nice! A friend of the Torch?

[Alberta's Child]

Even worse -- Part of Jim McGreevey's "cover," if you know what I mean.

More on that one in a few weeks . . .

[bankwalker]

More oooze from the garbage state.

[SternTrek]

I know what you mean.....

[Fracas]

Ah! I getcha. The thought plickens! LOL.

[FryingPan101]

I started to post this story from our newspaper's breaking AP stories but the headline read NJ GOVERNOR RESIGNS Duh .... I guess not yet, huh?

[Alberta's Child]

No, not yet . . .

:-)

[grammymoon]

I live in NJ.
I just say I live in "Corruptionville" now when people ask!
I used to live in NY and thought that was bad, this is a rude awakening.

[Whitebread]

Part of Jim McGreevey's "cover," if you know what I mean.

Rumour has it that Jim McSkeevy is a closeted gay. Is that what you mean?

[genefromjersey]

How should we put it ?

Governor Mc Greevey is as God made him.

[Ready2go]

Alberta's Child wrote: The McGreevey dominoes start to fall . . .

---

Hmmmmm...I found this:

Questions surround Braker's resignation

Friday, October 18, 2002

As a career police officer and current deputy director of the Jersey City Police Department, Bill Braker is used to solving mysteries. Today, he's at the center of one.

Braker's sudden resignation as a member of the Hudson County Board of Freeholders and his rumored - but not confirmed - submission of retirement papers to the city may be part of the growing whirlwind of probes into county corruption, at which former County Executive Robert Janiszewski is at the center.

Braker's terse, three-sentence letter of resignation as a freeholder gives no clue to his reasons.

But the county has been under an ever-growing cloud since Janiszewski pleaded guilty to extortion earlier this month, and there are reports Braker will plead guilty soon to taking money from one of the vendors involved in that case.

Janiszewski admitted to illegally taking more than $100,000 from vendors, and New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie bluntly declared that corruption is rife here.

Early yesterday, when asked about his situation, Braker replied, "Nothing is official yet," and promised to call back. It's the last he was heard from.

Interestingly, Braker has not - as yet - quit as a candidate for re-election this year. His resignation doesn't take effect until Nov. 11 and he has a fund-raiser scheduled for next week. County Democratic Chairman Bernard Kenny said yesterday he will ask Braker to withdraw as a candidate, even though that opens up a whole set of legal problems.

Would the courts approve a replacement at this late date?

Two years ago, it would have been considered very unlikely.

But since then, the Republicans have pushed back a primary for governor when they switched candidates, and the state Supreme Court allowed the Democrats to replace a scandal-tarred U.S. Senate candidate after a supposed deadline had passed.

If Braker agrees to drop out and the courts allow a replacement, who would it be? A split between most Hudson County Democratic leaders and Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham puts that up for grabs.

The mayor is seriously outgunned countywide but should still have enough support among Third Freeholder District Democratic committee members, who would pick the replacement, to get his choice named. But the other side isn't conceding anything.

Meanwhile, County Republican Chairman Jose Arango said that if Braker admits to a felony, he will try to get the courts to bar him as a candidate and not allow a replacement.

William Netchert, Democratic county committee co-counsel, said it's unclear whether Braker would have to forfeit office and/or candidacy upon entering a guilty plea or upon sentencing.

There's also the prospect that Braker stays on the ballot as an admitted felon - and wins. His district is the most heavily Democratic freeholder district in a heavily Democratic county. It might be an ugly win for the Democrats, but they'll take it.

If Braker does win, what happens next is that sometime after Nov. 11 the Democratic county committee members in the Third Freeholder District pick someone to fill the remainder of Braker's current term, and someone to fill the first 11 months of the new term. It could be the same person, and the choice possibly made at the same meeting. A special election would be held in November 2003, with special primaries in June 2003.

All three situations contain the potential for continuing the intra-party fight between the pro- and anti-Cunningham forces.

Peter Weiss can be reached at pweiss@jjournal.com.

[Alberta's Child]

Good post. If they ever clear all the corrupt politicians out of this place, there will be nothing left but crickets chirping in two-thirds of the state.

[Ready2go]

Alberta's Child wrote: The McGreevey dominoes start to fall . . .

---

Lawmaker: Panel in dark on Santiago

Published in the Asbury Park Press 10/18/02
By SANDY MC CLURE
GANNETT STATE BUREAU
TRENTON -- State Sen. John Matheussen, R-Gloucester, said yesterday that the attorney general should have heeded a plea by State Police in February to share allegations against State Police Superintendent Joseph Santiago with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A State Police investigator wrote a memo, which police sources said was forwarded to the Attorney General's Office, asking for protection from retaliation and asking that the allegations be shared with the committee.

"I feel very strongly that the committee should have been advised of this information," Matheussen said. "I think that the (State Police) memo should have been acted upon by the Attorney General's Office and the Judiciary Committee should have been advised of the content of the memo."

Meanwhile, late last night, WNBC-TV, New York, reported Santiago was writing his resignation and would resign today.

In the months before Santiago was confirmed, State Police investigators received information from confidential informants alleging that Santiago was overtly friendly with organized crime figures, that he was tied to the protection of illegal gambling and a no-show security scheme, and that he used Newark police officers to help build his new home, police sources said.

Gov. McGreevey and Attorney General David Samson said because the confidential informants would not come forward and provide affidavits, the allegations were deemed baseless and the information was not shared with the Senate committee. State Police sources said the investigation was closed because the identities of informants are never disclosed in investigations.

Matheussen said, beyond informing the committee of the allegations, State Police investigators should have been allowed to complete their work.

"The investigation should have been completed," he said. "I think everybody would have been a lot better off. All those allegations may have been refuted. But we will never know now."

The State Police memo, written by an investigator to his supervisor, asked that the Judiciary Committee be allowed to assess the allegations with the proper weight that is given to hearsay in an administrative hearing, according to police sources.

The memo, which asked for protection from retaliation, expressed concern that a confidential source had called State Police to say that Santiago was aware of the investigation and had threatened retaliation against the troopers conducting it.

Police sources said that two separate lawsuits are being prepared alleging that numerous troopers were subjected to retaliation for their roles in the investigations.

Union officials said yesterday that by requiring the names of confidential informants, Samson shut down the investigation.

"What I am very, very concerned about is that the administration seems to be turning this thing around and back at the troopers," said Dennis Hallion, president of the State Troopers NCO Association. "It is almost like they are saying the troopers didn't do a thorough job. They were short-circuited from investigating because the attorney general said we needed these people's identity."

A spokesman for the attorney general declined to comment.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that under pressure to resign, Santiago asked Samson to investigate members of State Police squads charged with supervising probes into official corruption and organized crime.

"Given the abundance of State Police confidential information, which has been appearing in recent newspaper articles throughout the state, it is apparent that such information is being released by members of the State Police," Santiago said in a letter obtained by the AP.

Meanwhile, Republicans called for the removal of Santiago while sources close to the governor indicated his future as top cop is in doubt.

Assemblyman Tom Kean Jr., R-Union, introduced a resolution calling for McGreevey to fire Santiago. The move by Kean came on the heels of a call by Sen. Diane Allen, R-Burlington, for his removal.

"As one of New Jersey's top law enforcement officers, the superintendent of the state police must be a person whose judgment and integrity are beyond question," Kean said.

"Unfortunately, as a result of numerous incidents of inappropriate and questionable behavior, Joseph Santiago has made it impossible to earn the trust of the people of New Jersey."

Allen's resolution calls for McGreevey to suspend Santiago and begin the dismissal process.

The resolution notes the controversies that surrounded Santiago during his confirmation hearings -- his conviction for slugging a prison guard over a woman and his failure to pay taxes in the late 1980s for an off-the-books security firm.

"There are now numerous media reports of potentially far more damaging information concerning the superintendent's alleged immoral, unethical and perhaps criminal behavior," the resolution states.


© copyright 2002 Gannett News Service

[dead]

McGreevey's as gay as an 1890s Easter bonnet.

[dead]

Oh, and he's incredibly corrupt as well.

[Alberta's Child]

"What I am very, very concerned about is that the administration seems to be turning this thing around and back at the troopers," said Dennis Hallion, president of the State Troopers NCO Association.

My guess is that this whole thing started to unravel once McGreevey and Santiago began to treat the State Police like sh!t. The NJ State Police have had their troubles, but in many respects there isn't a finer law enforcement organization in the U.S. They were founded by Norman Schwarzkopf Sr. in the 1920s, and as a rule they don't like to take sh!t from anyone outside the organization.

[Liz]

.....probably his "godfather".....heheheheh......

[Cagey]

Actually, it is Senator Clarence Case who is credited with being the "Father of the NJ State Police". Schwarzkopf had the honor of being the first Superintendant.

History of the NJ State Police

McGreevy's addition of Santiago to the list of many fine Superintendants was disgraceful, if not downright disgusting.

[OldFriend]

He's not closeted and rumor has it he's a wife beater too.

[Alberta's Child]

I tend to doubt the "wife beater" part. He's smaller and more effeminate than even most 10 year-old girls.

[OldFriend]

Christie Whitman dumped all over the Troopers when she threw their Superintendent overboard in a profiling scam foisted on the state by the likes of sharpton/jackson.

We had better wake up before they just go door to door demanding protection money from us, above and beyond the already extortionate taxes they levy.

[ConservativeDude]

Are McGreevey and Santiago lovers?

[Alberta's Child]

I don't know -- Maybe someone will ask that question at a news conference.

[Ready2go]

Here it is:

N.J. Police Superintendent Santiago resigns

By JOHN P. McALPIN
The Associated Press
10/18/02 3:26 PM

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Joseph Santiago, the embattled superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, resigned Friday after less than 11 months on the job.

He is the third superintendent to leave in four years, forcing Gov. James E. McGreevey to find a replacement for an agency under a federal court order to end racial profiling.

Lt. Col. Frederick H. Madden, the department's deputy superintendent of administration, was named acting superintendent by McGreevey at a Statehouse news conference. Santiago did not attend.

"There needed to be a change in leadership in the structure of the New Jersey State Police," McGreevey said.

The state attorney general is investigating whether Santiago improperly ordered subordinates to turn over all investigative files pertaining to him and his top staff. That probe is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

In a copy of a report obtained by the AP, state police files showed no criminal investigations were ever conducted that involved Santiago.

The former police director in Newark, Santiago was nominated to be the state's head of police in January. The troopers unions opposed the nomination, saying they preferred if someone was promoted from within the ranks.

Questions were quickly raised about Santiago's past, which include a disorderly persons conviction for hitting a corrections officer, a conviction for verbally abusing another member of the Newark department and a bankruptcy filing.

Santiago's nomination was approved by the Senate on one vote. He quickly ran afoul of the rank and file who complained about promotions and his sometimes abrasive management style.

Attorney General David Samson twice reprimanded Santiago, first for attending a political rally and again after signing papers that appeared to have him graduate a special police academy class. That allowed Santiago, who never served as a state trooper, to wear the uniform and carry a state police badge.

Santiago replaced Carson A. Dunbar, the first black superintendent and the first to be chosen from outside the state police ranks. He left when McGreevey was elected governor.

Dunbar's predecessor, Carl Williams, was fired by then Gov. Christie Whitman in February 1998, after giving a newspaper interview in which he linked blacks, Hispanics and immigrants to drug trafficking.

Two months after William's was dismissed, Whitman's attorney general admitted troopers unfairly targeted minority drivers for stops and searches.

The U.S. Justice Department threatened a civil rights lawsuit, but agreed to a deal where the state allowed federal monitors to supervise court-ordered reforms.

New Jersey has complied with nearly all of the profiling reforms, but officials have admitted some troopers still persist with practice.

Copyright 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[ReleaseTheHounds]

organized crime connection

He's a Democrat poll-watcher?

[leprechaun9]

At my 35th year reunion from high school, one of my classmates who has worked for the FBI for over 30 years, was asked if NJ is as corrupt as most people believe?

He said that if an army of bulldozers were lined up side to side and driven from the Delaware River to the Atlanic Ocean and cleared everything in its path, then there MIGHT be a chance to clean it up.

The recent acts of TORCHicelli, Lousenberg, Howdy Doody McGreedy, et al, do not come as a surprise to me, a lifelong resident of NJ!

[lelio]

"There needed to be a change in leadership in the structure of the New Jersey State Police," McGreevey said.
Yes, just as I predicted! Like the poet laurate debacle that McGreevey got himself into, he's going to try and make himself out to be the white knight saving NJ.

[Alberta's Child]

Christie Whitman dumped all over the Troopers when she threw their Superintendent overboard in a profiling scam foisted on the state by the likes of sharpton/jackson.

You've got a point, but in some cases those concerns about racial profiling were right on target.

[Alberta's Child]

The "white knights saving New Jersey" were those state legislators who voted against Santiago's confirmation in the first place. Many of the ones who supported him are covering their @sses by complaining that this information about Santiago should have been released to them before his confirmation hearings.

[Palladin]

Another good police department destroyed by affirmative action.

[OldFriend]

The superintendent was stating the facts from the statistics.......stopping little old ladies in Dodge Dusters was not likely to catch a meth dealer.

[Unknown Freeper]

Bump. I had heard a teaser about this on the radio today and was wondering about the details. So.... do we have the untold story yet?