Free Republic

The day after his triumph, Chris Christie returned to the place where it had been sweetest: Union City. Located just across the Hudson River from New York City, Union City is nearly entirely Hispanic, and reliably Democratic. This summer the city's Democratic mayor, Brian Stack, endorsed Christie, and by the end of the race, the burg became a beacon for reporters writing about Christie's Hispanic outreach. Christie closed his re-election race with New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez in ... Union City. So on Tuesday, flanked by a Greek chorus of cheering schoolkids, Christie held a lengthy press conference about how...

One was a gourmet food broker who landed work as an $85,000-a-year financial analyst at the Port Authority. Another got a $90,000 job to check maintenance contracts. An author and actor was hired as the employment publications editor — a three-day-a-week gig that pays $50,000 and provides full benefits. What they had in common — like dozens of others hired by the bi-state agency over the past two years — were ties to Governor Christie's administration, which has recommended 50 people for positions at the agency since it took control of Trenton in 2010, records show. Together, the jobs pay...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Tuesday expressed deep disappointment that details of his vice presidential vetting were leaked to the authors of a new book about the 2012 election. "It's very disappointing," Christie told CNN. "I think it's a complete violation of trust of me and the spirit within which I entered that process." -snip- According to the book, "Double Down: Game Change 2012," by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, Romney advisers had major reservations about Christie's weight and physical health, along with concerns about Christie having been investigated by the Justice Department for exceeding travel reimbursement rates...

By winning Tuesday night in a landslide election for his second term as governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie moved so far to the left, it may be difficult for him to win the Republican nomination for president come 2016. The GOP governor won in one of the bluest states, where President Barack Obama beat Republican Mitt Romney by 18 points in 2012. To win, Christie had to morph close to not only blue-state values and views, but become close to Obama himself — and he did just that.

Gov. Chris Christie said today that former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney called him immediately after details of a new book about last year's vice presidential vetting process became public Thursday. -snip- The book also found Christie was on the short-list to be Romney's vice presidential running mate, but that during vetting the former Massachusetts governor's people were "stunned by the garish controversies” lurking in the shadows of his record, which was "littered with potential land mines." Those obstacles included his decision to steer hefty contracts to donors and political allies, a Justice Department report ripping his spending on travel...

TRENTON – Mayor Tony Mack’s city-owned SUV was parked behind the fire department’s repair garage last night, with no sign of the mayor. Firefighters said the SUV appeared on the apron in front of fire headquarters on Perry Street Wednesday evening, and was parked in the lot later on. No one from the city had come to claim it. Late Thursday night, Mack sent a letter to City Clerk Leona Baylor designating Business Administrator Sam Hutchinson as acting mayor “during such time as I may be unavailable.” Civic watchdog Jim Carlucci says this is likely a pro forma move to...

TRENTON — The former longtime Middlesex County Sheriff Joseph Spicuzzo was arrested Monday morning and accused of selling jobs to “young recruits” and taking bribes of at least $50,000. Spicuzzo, 65, the chairman of the Middlesex County Democratic party, turned himself in Monday and was charged with official misconduct and bribery. He faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 10 years for each charge, the attorney general’s office said. Spicuzzo served as sheriff for three decades, announcing in 2010 he would not run again for health reasons. He is accused of demanding bribes of up to $25,000...

Governor Christie today called on Joseph Spicuzzo to resign from the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, one day after his arrest on charges of bribery and official misconduct. "In light of the disturbing allegations ... I call upon you to immediately resign your position," Christie wrote. "The conduct of one individual commissioner cannot be permitted to cloud the work of the entire NJSEA." But a lawyer for Spicuzzo said the former Middlesex County sheriff has already stepped down. New Brunswick attorney Steven Altman said Spicuzzo sent resignation letters to both the sports authority and the Middlesex County Democratic Organization,...

A New Jersey sewer authority targeted for nepotism and corruption has fired at least 85 people, Gov. Chris Christie said Monday. The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, which is in charge of wastewater treatment for parts or all of five counties, is also freezing fees for outside attorneys. Mr. Christie repeated a call for power over the commission's actions. SNIP "You shouldn't need a manual or a memo to know you don't hire your wife," Mr. Christie said.

Roselle mayor is indicted on charges of insurance fraud, leaving scene of crash Published: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:44 PM Updated: Thursday, January 27, 2011, 6:16 AM Ryan Hutchins/The Star-Ledger By Ryan Hutchins/The Star-Ledger ROSELLE — One day after announcing his candidacy for a third term, the mayor of Roselle was indicted today on charges of insurance fraud and leaving the scene of an accident. Garrett Smith, an outspoken 49-year-old Democrat, is accused of leaving a bar early Christmas Day, crashing into a parked car, then driving home — leaving a trail of automotive fluid that police tracked to his...

Well, the left and the mainstream media came to bury James O’Keefe. And I guess they failed. His latest Project Veritas ‘Teachers Gone Wild’ — New Jersey teachers union members exposing their institutional arrogance and lack of seriousness and accountability — is now a huge story in New Jersey politics, according to straight-talking Governor Chris Christie’s own mouth.

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....