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NEWARK—Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini and Edward Cheatam, an official in both Hudson County and Jersey City, were charged today in a one-count Indictment with conspiring to extort corrupt cash payments, illicit political contributions and other benefits under color of official right, in return for Beldini’s and an elected Jersey City official’s influence in Jersey City government matters, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr., announced. Beldini, 74, and Cheatam, 61, both of Jersey City, were originally arrested on a criminal Complaint on the morning of July 23, 2009, along with 42 other individuals, resulting from a two-track federal...

In a political season in which Barack Obama has delighted in playing the age card—see "lost his bearings," "wander around," and multiple mentions of McCain's "half-century of service," Democrats are now demonstrating that they're even willing to use an opponent's superannuation on each other. There I was in my upstate NY home this evening, innocently watching the Yankee game, when this ad by Dem Rob Andrews, targeting primary opponent Dem Frank Lautenberg, the–very–senior senator from New Jersey, appeared . . . View video here.

TRENTON, N.J. - The mayor of Passaic City resigned Friday after he pleaded guilty to attempted extortion and admitted he accepted $5,000 in cash to influence government contracts. Samuel Rivera, a former police officer, is the latest of about 130 public officials to be found guilty of corruption in New Jersey since 2002 in a federal probe. "By his own conduct, Mr. Rivera added himself to the growing roster of corrupt public officials in New Jersey," U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said. "The citizens of Passaic deserved better."

TRENTON, NJ (AP) -- New Jersey's accelerating population loss is starting to have significant economic and fiscal consequences for the state [SNIP] The report found the state lost 231,565 people between 2002 and 2006, including 72,547 people last year. The latter was the fourth highest loss in the nation behind only California, Louisiana and New York. Meanwhile, North Carolina grew by 807,000 people over the four-year period, displacing New Jersey last year as the nation's 10th most populous state, the report stated. When lost income and sales taxes from the people who left New Jersey are considered, the population drain...

  Three of every four guns recovered from crime scenes in New Jersey last year were purchased from surrounding states with looser gun laws, according to a recent study by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Surrounding states must strength their gun laws to match New Jersey’s if violent crime in the Garden State is going to be reduced, a group of county prosecutors said Thursday. To drive home their point, prosecutors from several counties stood with members of an anti-gun violence coalition next to the Phillipsburg Free Bridge on the Delaware River, across from Easton, Pa....

Eleven public officials from across New Jersey, including 5 Pleasantville officials, were arrested Thursday in a federal corruption probe, the U.S. Attorney's office said. --snip-- More than 100 public officials in the state have been convicted on federal corruption charges in the last five years. Two other Democratic state senators, Wayne Bryant of Lawnside and Sharpe James of Newark, are among others facing pending corruption charges.

The horrific, execution-style killing of three teens in Newark last weekend has sparked widespread outrage and promises of reform from politicians, religious leaders, and community activists, who are pledging a renewed campaign against the violence that plagues New Jersey’s largest city. But much of the reaction, though well-intentioned, misses the point. Behind Newark’s persistent violence and deep social dysfunction is a profound cultural shift that has left many of the city’s children growing up outside the two-parent family—and in particular, growing up without fathers. Decades of research tell us that such children are far likelier to fail in school and...

ExclusiveJoke's on mob wife  Mrs. Louie Ha Ha signed prenup with jailed capo and judge backs it  BY JOHN MARZULLI DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERSaturday, August 11th 2007, 4:00 AM Erica Attanasio says she'll be left destitute now that the divorce is pending and the judge has backed a prenuptial she signed in 1997. Erica Attanasio with mobster Louis (Louis Ha ha) Attanasio.  A murderous Mafia gangster known as Louie Ha Ha is getting the last laugh - on his estranged wife.Bonanno capo Louis Attanasio is tossing the missus and her 89-year-old mother out of their New Jersey townhouse after...

Wildwood's famous boardwalk could be underwater. Smog in the suburbs, heat-related deaths in Newark and beetle infestations in the Pinelands all could worsen. The Holland Tunnel could be closed every five years on average - because of flooding.Or New Jersey could become a nationwide leader by passing "the strongest, global warming legislation in the country."  That was the choice outlined today by Suzanne Leta Liou, global warming and clean energy advocate for the non-profit group Environment New Jersey, who strongly urged the latter course of action."If we don't take drastic action, global warming will touch every corner of New Jersey,"...

FDU Public Mind Poll Finds New Jersey Doesn't Care How Nation Views Us Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - Millennium Radio New Jersey [Fairleigh Dickinson Univ., Madison, NJ] -- 54% of New Jersey voters think the Garden State is a better place to live than other states. 20% say it's worse, and 17% say it's just the same. Jersey voters agree on something else: pollution. A sizable majority--62%--say our state is more polluted than others. Perhaps worse, 42% of people around the country agree, and just 17% around the country say New Jersey has the same amount of pollution or less...

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey's health department is escalating the battle against the bulge by starting a new Office of Nutrition and Fitness to better coordinate programs aimed at preventing obesity. The agency is particularly needed in New Jersey — possibly the first state to create such a government body. The Garden State has the highest percentage of overweight and obese children under age 5, at 17.7 percent, according to a 2004 survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New Jersey also has many black and Latino youth, who are more likely to be overweight than white...

What does it take to change light bulbs on the 75-foot rotunda ceiling of the massive Secaucus rail station? First, crack a hole in the roof big enough to drive a crane through. Then, hoist a crane onto the roof using, well, another crane. Build a ramp, widen a doorway and protect the interior floor with some plywood. Then you can start thinking about unscrewing a light bulb. The $700 million Secaucus Junction station was built with no easy way to change the bulbs that surround the rotunda skylight. And as more and more lights have grown dim over the...

A wonderland of waste washed up on beaches in 2006 Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 04/27/07 What do a plunger, a playpen, a jockstrap, fake plastic breasts, a pregnancy test and five pairs of underwear have in common? They were among nearly 260,000 items of sometimes bizarre trash that either was left or washed up on New Jersey's beaches last year. The total: about 40 tons. With Clean Ocean Action set to launch a new wave of beach cleanups on Saturday, the coastal environmental group released its tallies on the wretched refuse plucked from its teeming shores last...

JerseyPride.com: A site for Shore eyes By KELLY HEYBOER Jeff Kauflin, 25, who runs the Web site JerseyPride.com. (Photo by George McNish) NEWARK, N.J. _ Jeff Kauflin was in his first year of college in Vermont when it hit him: People don't think good things about New Jersey. The mere mention of where he was from elicited chuckles from Kauflin's New England classmates at Middlebury College. Then came the ``What exit?'' jokes and references to the mob, big hair, toxic waste dumps and that smell along the Turnpike.``It wasn't really until I got to college that I realized the bad...

N.J. warns: Don't eat squirrel near dump Thu Jan 25, 5:36 PM ET TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey has warned squirrel hunters near a toxic waste dump about consuming the critters because they could be contaminated with lead. It is the first time the state has cautioned Ringwood residents _ many who are members of the Ramapough Mountain Indian tribe who hunt and fish in the area _ about their squirrel intake, said Tom Slater, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Senior Services. A lead-contaminated squirrel was found in the area two months ago, prompting the agency, along...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey has warned squirrel hunters near a toxic waste dump about consuming the critters because they could be contaminated with lead. It is the first time the state has cautioned Ringwood residents - many who are members of the Ramapough Mountain Indian tribe who hunt and fish in the area - about their squirrel intake, said Tom Slater, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Senior Services. A lead-contaminated squirrel was found in the area two months ago, prompting the agency, along with the state Department of Environmental Protection, to send out letters advising...

When Cy Thannikary left India to come work at the UN in Manhattan, he settled in Flushing, Queens, and loved the excitement of living in the city. After starting a family, though, he traded New York’s hubbub for Freehold, New Jersey, a quiet suburb with lower taxes and affordable housing. That was 25 years ago. These days, Thannikary sometimes feels like he’s back in Gotham as he watches his taxes soar and hears neighbors grumble. He has started a new group, Citizens for Property Tax Reform, to fight the special interests that have turned both state and local government into...

Who cut the cheese? New Jersey, apparently. Across the length and breadth of Manhattan, people were asking, "What's that smell?" after a pungent odor like natural gas or rotten eggs blanketed the borough and northern New Jersey for three hours yesterday morning. By evening, the answer seemed to be a stinky gas emitted by a New Jersey swamp or marsh. "That's where our noses and instruments tell us" the smell was coming from, said Charles Sturcken, a spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Protection.

Bloomberg's Car Stolen, Aide Beaten By Thieves (AP) NEW YORK A personal employee of Mayor Michael Bloomberg was beaten by thieves who then carjacked the billionaire's car Wednesday morning in New Jersey, authorities said. The employee was driving the 2001 Lexus in Hackensack, N.J., on an errand for the mayor shortly before 9 a.m. when he was approached by a woman who came to the window to ask for money, police said. As he declined and began to roll up the window, a man got into the passenger seat and punched him in the face. "They force him out and...

A municipal prosecutor may ask a judge to cite former Attorney General Zulima Farber for contempt of court after she failed to appear yesterday as a witness in a traffic case against her boyfriend, Hamlet Goore. The case stems from the now- infamous Memorial Day weekend traffic stop in Bergen County in which Farber went to the aid of Goore after he was ticketed for driving on a suspended license. The incident ultimately led to Farber's resignation last month when a special prosecutor found she had violated state ethics rules by going to the scene. At the time of her...

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — A powerful southern New Jersey politician was paid for a no-work job at a scandal-ridden state university while helping the school garner millions of dollars in new state funding, according to a report released Monday. The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey paid state Sen. Wayne Bryant, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, $35,000 a year "to lobby himself in his capacity of state senator," according to the report of a federal monitor who had investigated the school's finances. The report said all Bryant appeared to do at the university's School of Osteopathic Medicine...

Cipel: McGreevey assaulted me The onetime aide said he wanted to clear the record: The former governor made an advance he rejected. By John Shiffman Inquirer Staff Writer In his new book, Jim McGreevey vividly recalls his first, magical kiss with Golan Cipel. Cipel does not remember the 2001 encounter so fondly. The former aide calls it a failed sexual assault that followed shots of Jagermeister. After he pushed New Jersey's governor away, Cipel said, he asked McGreevey why he assumed he was gay. "And McGreevey said, 'Everybody is a little gay,' " Cipel recalled yesterday in his first extended...

Web Site Editor subpoenaed in civil case by attorney for the City of Jersey City Press Release www.GETNJ.com FOR RELEASE: Immediate September 14, 2006 CONTACT: Anthony Olszewski Email: info@getnj.com Phone: 201-798-2292 Fax: 201-798-2085 Yesterday evening, Anthony Olszewski received a subpoena in a civil case commanding him to appear at the offices of Scarinci and Hollenbeck, LLC. The City of Jersey City is the defendant. Mr. Olszewski is being asked to testify about material posted on the Hudson County Politics Message Board at www.GETNJ.com There is a history to the Hudson County political establishment's displeasure concerning information distributed via GET NJ....

A federal investigation has been launched into the financial dealings of New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez and a nonprofit agency he has helped over the years, sources said. The U.S. attorney's office has subpoenaed the agency's records pertaining to a house once owned by then-congressman Menendez, sources told NewsChannel 4's Brian Thompson. Menendez, a Democrat, has denied there was anything wrong with his renting the house to the North Hudson Community Action Corp. for more than $3,000 a month, even as he was working to obtain millions of dollars in federal grant money while he was a congressman

Senator took in at least $300,000 from nonprofit in Union City Federal investigators have subpoenaed records of a rental deal between U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and a nonprofit agency in Union City, launching a criminal investigation that is sure to rock New Jersey's hotly contested Senate race. Authorities delivered the subpoena to the North Hudson Community Action Corp. earlier this week, according to four sources familiar with the move who requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation. The action comes two weeks after The Star-Ledger reported that Menendez collected more than $300,000 from the organization over a nine-year period while...

New Jersey's reputation as a tax hell just got worse. The $1.9 billion worth of tax increases in the state's new budget represents a 5 percent increase over last year, far outpacing any other state, according to a study by the National Conference of State Legislators. New Jersey now has the highest state sales tax, tied with three other states, at 7 percent. Its cigarette tax now leads in the nation. And, of course, this all comes on top of the nation's highest average property taxes. It's no wonder people like Donley Kuendel are thinking of leaving. "The quality of...

Email: Insha Allah, September 15, 2006, is the "Great Muslim Adventure Day" at Six Flags, NJ. The park will be open from 10 AM to 11 PM. Come, join 15,000 Muslims for a day featuring Jummah prayers, quality ethnic Halal food, Islamic bazaar and much more! All this is, of course, in addition to the regular thrills Six Flags Great Adventure is known for, including what is claimed to be the largest safari outside Africa. In addition to the drive-thru safari, tiger and dolphin shows, there will be special shows for children! Special fireworks show is also arranged! Special Discounted...

<p>TRENTON, N.J. — Six New Jersey state treasury workers were indicted Thursday on suspicion of accepting dinners, entertainment, golf outings and spa treatments from a company hired to collect back taxes.</p> <p>The state taxation director and his deputy were among those charged, the attorney general's office said.</p>

NEWARK, N.J. -- Six police officers from northern New Jersey were indicted Tuesday, accused of protecting targets of a drug ring by tipping them off about imminent raids in return for some of the drugs. What began as a "social relationship" between the officers and their young contemporaries, who would use small amount of drugs together, soon spiraled out of control, authorities said. "Several of the officers were engaging in some partying," said Passaic County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jay McCann. "It wasn't really a drug distribution for profit. It was more of a social relationship between the officers and the...

NUTLEY, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- State and federal authorities were investigating a small explosion Friday that damaged a car but did not injure anyone. The blast occurred around 1:30 p.m. in a parking lot between a single-family home and an apartment building, authorities said, but neither structure sustained much damage. Lt. Steven Rogers, a Nutley police spokesman, said federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officials believe the bomb was a small, homemade device made up of household chemicals in a glass bottle. Rogers said his department received several 911 calls from residents who heard the explosion and saw a...

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey: We're Not So Good With Slogans. The state has jettisoned "Come See For Yourself," its second attempt at a tagline in less than a year. It was the product of a statewide contest set up by then-acting Gov. Richard J. Codey last fall, after he rejected a consultant's offering: "We'll Win You Over." State tourism officials said legal issues led them to scrap the latest slogan, explaining that West Virginia and other states previously used "Come See For Yourself." "We are proceeding without the slogan. We will revisit the next steps at the end of...

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - New Jersey announced a new tourism slogan on Thursday in an effort to shrug off the state's grim reputation for traffic jams, mobsters and toxic waste dumps. "New Jersey: Come See for Yourself," was the winning entry in a statewide contest that attracted some 7,800 entries. The public was asked for suggestions after Acting Gov. Richard Codey rejected "New Jersey: We'll Win You Over" -- a slogan devised by an image consultant at the cost of $260,000 -- as too negative. State officials earlier rejected sardonic entries including: "Come Out to New Jersey: It's Not as Bad...

Who's laughing now? New Jersey, the state that spawned a thousand wise-guy bumper stickers and became the butt of a million late-night jokes, is actually a nice place to live. The research group Morgan Quitno crunched the numbers this year and yesterday ranked New Jersey the fifth-most-livable state. As for its neighbors? Pennsylvania finished 30th, New York 32d. "The people we talk to say they wouldn't live anywhere else, and I have to go along with that," said Mark Moran, a Bloomfield resident and one of the editors of Weird New Jersey magazine. "Whether it grows on you or people...

If you live in or have ever lived in Jersey...you'll appreciate this...if not, you may be surprised! New Jersey is a peninsula. Highlands, New Jersey has the highest elevation along the entire eastern seaboard, from Maine to Florida. New Jersey is the only state where all of its counties are classified as metropolitan areas. New Jersey has more race horses than Kentucky. New Jersey has more Cubans in Union City (1 sq mi.) than Havana, Cuba. New Jersey has the densest system of highways and railroads in the US. New Jersey has the highest cost of living. New Jersey...

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - New Jersey, trying to overcome its reputation for corruption, traffic and toxic waste dumps, has rejected dozens of sardonic and sarcastic entries in a contest for a new tourist slogan. A list of five possible slogans released on Wednesday leaves out "New Jersey: We can always use another relative on the payroll," and "Come to New Jersey: It's not as bad as it smells." Voters get to pick the winner in the competition launched after Gov. Richard Codey nixed "New Jersey: We'll Win You Over," created by a consultant who was paid $260,000 (149,000 pounds). "It makes...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Make us a slogan we can't refuse, the state of New Jersey said. We got your slogan right here, the people replied. A push to come up with a new slogan for the Garden State has become an excuse to crack New Jersey jokes. Among the not-so-serious entries: "New Jersey: You Got a Problem With That?" "NJ: How You Doin'?!" "Most of Our Elected Officials Have Not Been Indicted." The search yielded more than 4,000 possibilities in all, many of them attempts to sum up the land of Bruce Springsteen, "The Sopranos" and smelly interstates in...

Pace Vows to Remember Impact of Advice on Servicemembers By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2005 – Marine Gen. Peter Pace vowed today that as he gives his best military advice to the president and other members of the National Security Council, he "will remember not only the mission, but the impact it will have on the lance corporals and the airmen and the lieutenants junior grade and the captains." Pace became the first Marine to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during an Armed Forces "hail ceremony" here today. He succeeds Air...

Worried New Jerseyans Expect Doctors Not To Be In By ROBERT HANLEY and MARIA NEWMAN As New Jersey braces for a work stoppage by doctors on Monday, physicians are canceling appointments, emergency rooms are planning for a sudden influx of patients, and many residents — including the governor — are beginning to fret about disruptions in health care. A movement that began last summer with isolated grumbling about soaring premiums for malpractice insurance has drawn broad support from doctors across the state and now seems poised to interrupt the everyday interaction between them and their patients. Whether those interruptions will...