Free Republic

Out of the Closet; Into the Church Homo McGreevey Finds Higher Calling thelastcrusade.org What does a gay governor do after he resigns from political office in disgrace? He becomes an Episcopalian and enters the priesthood. Jim McGreevey, the former New Jersey love gov, has gone from Turnpike truck stops to All Saints Church in Hoboken, where he is known as “Father Jim.” Last Sunday, the ex governor administered the sacrament of baptism to a bevy of babies, blessed the Eucharist, and carried the cross during the processional. In 2004, Mr. McGreevey resigned as Governor of New Jersey after revealing...

The informant who sparked the biggest criminal sting in New Jersey history briefly emerged from federal protection long enough yesterday to plead guilty to a $50 million bank fraud. But even as Solomon Dwek stood fidgeting before a judge in a perfunctory 30-minute appearance, explosive details about his private con schemes and his role as the cooperating witness in the ongoing federal corruption investigation were coming to light. A Star-Ledger examination of court documents shows before Dwek became an informer for the FBI, he was running a wild Ponzi operation in which one investment was being used to pay off...

Levy Izhak Rosenbaum claimed to be in the business of buying and selling real estate, but he really bought and sold human kidneys for transplant, according to a federal complaint filed Thursday. The 58-year-old Brooklyn man was accused of trafficking in human organs, after a sting by an undercover FBI agent who agreed to pay $160,000 for a kidney from a live Israeli donor for her sick New Jersey "uncle." Investigators said Rosenbaum bragged about doing "quite a lot" of transplants over the last 10 years. "I am what you call a matchmaker," the complaint said the man, also known...

Former Irvington Mayor Michael Steele rejected a final plea deal from the state Attorney General Friday and will now stand trial in October for allegedly accepting thousands of dollars in kickbacks while he was business administrator for the local board of education. Steele, 53, is accused of working with two contractors to inflate prices and of accepting at least $120,000 in kickbacks in two separate schemes between 2003 and 2007. The state has charged him with nine counts, including official misconduct, pattern of official misconduct and bribery. ... But if he were to enter a guilty plea, "his entire pension,...

TRENTON, N.J. - A Democratic leader in the New Jersey Assembly has been charged with public corruption for allegedly abusing his former position as Perth Amboy's mayor by using city money for personal expenses such as his son's basketball camps and refreshments served after his father's funeral. Prosecutors also accuse Joseph Vas of rigging a lottery so his driver would win. In an 11-count indictment, Vas, 54, is charged with conspiracy, official misconduct, bid-rigging and records tampering. Attorney General Anne Milgram announced the charges at a news conference Wednesday. "Joseph Vas took an oath as mayor to honestly and faithfully...

For nearly an hour-and-a-half yesterday, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the non-partisan research arm of New Jersey Legislature squared off in federal court over records federal prosecutors reportedly want as part of a widening probe into political corruption. The Office of Legislative Services (OLS), also the legal arm of the legislature, claims the documents are confidential and has refused to release them. Newark attorney Edward Dauber, hired to represent the Legislature to contest the federal subpoena offered no comment upon exiting Judge Mary Cooper's court room. Dauber is a former assistant U.S. Attorney and has served as the executive assistant...

Former New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne has often joked that he wants to be buried in north Jersey because ''that way I can stay active in politics.'' Of course, dead people can't really vote, but it's a running joke that underscores New Jersey's rough-and-tumble political image. Ghostly voters aside, the Garden State has become ensnared in another political corruption inquiry. The latest investigation into possible political misconduct is one of the biggest ever. Federal agents have delivered grand jury subpoenas to every key state official, all the way up to Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine. ''Even for a state that...

Financially strapped New Jersey hospitals spent $3.7 million on lob bying lawmakers and state officials last year in a mad scramble for special grants doled out at the end of the state budget process. The lobbying tab for the hospitals is nearly twice what it was just five years earlier as competition heated up for the grants, which were made at the discretion of lawmakers and the governor's office. Part of Trenton's controversial "Christmas tree" items, the discretionary grants to hospitals totaled $112 million last year -- a huge increase from the $6 million handed out by lawmakers in 2001....

It's been a whirlwind two weeks as the U-S Attorney's Office collects documents related to state Senator Wayne Bryant, and his influence over the New Jersey budget. Subpoenas are flying. Legislators are being questioned. Republicans are crying foul. And Democrats are calling for cooler heads. Legislative leaders in both political parties and staff offices, the Treasury Department and the Office of Legislative Services have received subpoenas. The inquiry is apparently about how state money is directed and spent. It stems from an allegation by a federal monitor overseeing the finances of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey....

State union leader Carla Katz's scholarship from Seton Hall Law School is now part of an inquiry ordered by North Jersey's Roman Catholic leader, who raised questions about donations made by her former boyfriend -- Governor Corzine. On Friday, Archbishop of Newark John Myers, who is chairman of the board at the Catholic university, directed the law school to make the review, a spokesman said. The request came after Myers learned of Katz's scholarship and Corzine's donations to the university, said John Goodness, a spokesman for the Newark Archdiocese. "Just because this issue has come up, it is just incumbent...

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie announced this week that he would not pursue corruption allegations against New Jersey's top political boss because of bungling by the state Attorney General's Office. But this scandal cannot end there. Just who is responsible for the botched investigation, and how will they be held accountable? Is this just another case of politics as usual in the Garden State? Governor Corzine's choice for state attorney general, Zulima Farber, has said she'll make corruption her top priority. And Mr. Christie has pointed out the state still has two years to reexamine the Norcross case before the state...

A lawyer for reputed mobster Angelo Prisco communicated with then-Gov. James E. McGreevey's chief of staff, Gary B. Taffet, before Prisco's unexpected parole from prison, according to a published report. Controversy has surrounded the unusual way Prisco was paroled in 2002, although state prosecutors cleared a different senior McGreevey official of improperly intervening in the reputed mobster's early release. This is the first time Taffet's name has been publicly mentioned in the case. In a May 7, 2002, letter obtained by Gannett New Jersey, politically connected lawyer Donald Scarinci told Taffet it was "very important" that the State Parole Board...

Police Officers Steal From Police Department 10/25/2000 A former West New York police sergeant pleaded guilty today, admitting his role in a scheme to steal approximately $60,000 seized by police during the investigation of a fire in West New York, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Cleary announced. Ronald Riccie, 58, of Little Ferry, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle to a one-count Information, charging him with participating with other West New York Police officers in the theft of the $60,000. http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nj/publicaffairs/releases/2000/ri1025_r.html Eminent Domain Squabble 02/22/2003 Rowan University and Wal-Mart squabbled over 102 acres of land. Last fall, Rowan...

RAHWAY, N.J. (AP) - A year after his life imploded in scandal, former New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey lives in self-imposed exile, avoiding the limelight he spent a lifetime chasing. Separated from the wife he betrayed, McGreevey lives modestly in a one-bedroom apartment. He takes his 3-year-old daughter out for bacon and eggs after Sunday church services, walks to a corner newsstand for coffee and newspapers and stops to chat when passers-by recognize him. It's a long way from the stately governor's mansion and the spotlight that shone on his soul-baring confession. With wife Dina Matos McGreevey at his...

In 1998.....Kay Elizabeth LiCausi, a 26-year-old graduate of Rutgers....started a job as scheduler.......for Representative Robert Menendez (D-NJ).....who was soon to become the highest-ranking Hispanic member of Congress. She quickly gained his trust, and less than three years later was promoted to director of his NJ headquarters. But in 2002..... Ms. LiCausi left his staff. Since then.......She has amassed hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts as consultant, lobbyist and fund-raiser. Some of the work was orchestrated by Mr. Menendez, who steered more than $200,000 worth of political consulting and fund-raising contracts her way. Several of her clients are businesses and...

Article can't be posted due to copyright complaint. Here is the link: http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050619/NEWS/506190333

UMDNJ lobbyist may face conflict Christy Davis-Jackson was hired last August to serve as a $156,000 vice president and full-time legislative lobbyist for the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.While on the public payroll, though, Davis-Jackson continues to be registered with the state as a private lobbyist representing business clients that include a casino industry association - an outside interest that UMDNJ officials said would violate their conflict-of-interest policy.UMDNJ on Thursday said Davis-Jackson reported to them in August that she had "discontinued her interest" in her firm - Davis & Partners LLC on Halsey Street in Newark. But...

TRENTON, N.J. -- A Democratic fund-raiser linked to Gov. James E. McGreevey extorted $40,000 in campaign donations by promising a farmer that public officials would help him get more money for development rights to his land, federal authorities said Tuesday. David D'Amiano is charged with extortion, mail fraud and bribery. According to an indictment released Tuesday, D'Amiano told the owner of a Piscataway farm he would not get premium value for his property unless he made donations to the Democratic Party. Middlesex County officials had offered Mark Halper $3 million for development rights to his 74-acre family farm. After D'Amiano...

Democratic fund-raiser indicted on extortion chargesBy JOHN P. McALPIN The Associated Press 7/6/2004, 6:02 p.m. ET TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A Democratic fund-raiser linked to Gov. James E. McGreevey extorted $40,000 in campaign donations by promising a farmer that public officials would help him get top dollar for his land, federal authorities said Tuesday. Carteret businessman David D'Amiano is charged with extortion, mail fraud and bribery. According to an indictment released Tuesday, D'Amiano told the owner of a Piscataway farm he would not get premium value for his property unless he made donations to the Democratic Party. Middlesex County officials...