Court Bars Probation Officers From Making Arrests

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NEW JERSEY / PROBATION OFFICERS PROHIBITED FROM MAKING ARRESTS

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"The court appears to want to have it both ways, giving the probation officers a mission, but taking away the tools and basically giving them no power out there to do what they have to do," said Christopher Burgos, first vice president of State Troopers Fraternal Association of New Jersey. "It's a clear message to encourage and promote lawlessness."

More than 30 states consider probation officers law enforcement officers, training them in self defense and allowing them to carry firearms, Christie said. Garden State probation officers have not carried guns on the job since 1974.

Probation Officers Blast Rules That Bar Making Arrests

~ BY LAUREN O. KIDD
GANNETT STATE BUREAU
09/15/06

TRENTON -- New Jersey probation officers have not been permitted to make arrests since early last month, and they feel the safety of both themselves and state residents is at risk as a result.

"We require the proper tools and training to provide for the safety of our communities," George Christie, president of the Probation Association of New Jersey, said at a Statehouse news conference Thursday.

Christie's group and law enforcement associations across the state oppose the "Probation Field Supervision and Safety Standards" the state Supreme Court approved in June.

The directive took effect last month. Implementation plans must be submitted by Monday. Among the document's orders, police officers, not probation officers, must arrest and transport probationers if a probationer commits another crime. Police officers must also be present during search and seizure activities.

"These standards reiterate that probation officers have . . . very specific work to do for their clients, but that they are not law enforcement officers," said Winnie Comfort, spokeswoman for the state judiciary.

"It is critically important for the probation officers to be safe and to rely on law enforcement when the responsibility falls to law enforcement based on their experience, their training and their mission," Comfort said.

Approximately 130,000 people are on probation in New Jersey, and officers have an average caseload of 125, Christie said. About 64,000 of those 130,000 actively meet with probation officers, Comfort said.

Some critics of the judiciary said the move requiring a greater police presence could spread law-enforcement ranks too thin.

"The court appears to want to have it both ways, giving the probation officers a mission, but taking away the tools and basically giving them no power out there to do what they have to do," said Christopher Burgos, first vice president of State Troopers Fraternal Association of New Jersey. "It's a clear message to encourage and promote lawlessness."

More than 30 states consider probation officers law enforcement officers, training them in self defense and allowing them to carry firearms, Christie said. Garden State probation officers have not carried guns on the job since 1974.

Probation officers in 20 counties made no arrests last year, Comfort said. The exception was in Passaic County, where they made roughly 170 arrests, she said.

"We deal with every possible human ugliness and corruption imaginable, and our jobs are dangerous because we are forced to go into the field to keep track of these criminals," said Daniel Bergin, president of the Passaic County Probation Officers Association.

Assemblyman Richard Merkt, R-Morris, is proposing a bill to transfer probation from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and into the executive branch. "If the Supreme Court won't do what's right, it is my hope that the Legislature will," Merkt said.

Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, D-Mercer, chairwoman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, said that if the judiciary does not reverse the order, her committee will consider Merkt's bill.

Greenstein said she hopes that if moved to the executive branch, probation officers would be equipped to handle "all of those things that are required of a law enforcement officer and not a social worker."

Lauren O. Kidd: lkidd@gannett.com

Copyright © 2006 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved.

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A Glance At N.J.'s Rampant Political Corruption

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NEW JERSEY / A GLANCE AT RAMPANT POLITICAL CORRUPTION

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The guilty pleas to tax evasion and fraud Friday of former state Senate President John Lynch are just the latest instances of corruption to hit New Jersey, a state that has had more than a few high-profile officials and others disgraced in recent years, including the mayors of Camden and Paterson.

NJ Corruption Glance

~ By The Associated Press
The Associated Press
September 15, 2006 5:07 PM

The guilty pleas to tax evasion and fraud Friday of former state Senate President John Lynch are just the latest instances of corruption to hit New Jersey, a state that has had more than a few high-profile officials and others disgraced in recent years, including the mayors of Camden and Paterson. A partial list:

• Real estate mogul Charles B. Kushner, a big donor to state and national Democrats, last month left federal custody after serving less than two years for campaign violations, tax violations, and retaliating against a witness - his sister - by having her husband seduced by a prostitute. Kushner admitted that he sent a videotape of his brother-in-law's sexual encounter to his sister because she had cooperated with a federal investigation of Kushner's business activities.

• Democratic fundraiser David D'Amiano was sentenced in 2005 to two years in prison for soliciting and accepting $40,000 in cash and political contributions in return for assisting a Middlesex County farmland preservation deal. Prosecutors charged that D'Amiano demanded campaign donations from Mark Halper, owner of a 74-acre farm in Piscataway, in exchange for helping Halper get a favorable offer from county officials for preservation rights to the farm.

• Several former local and county officials in Monmouth County have pleaded guilty as part of a federal sting that came to light in February 2005 with the arrests of 12 people, including the mayors of Hazlet, Keyport and West Long Branch. Among those later charged was the longtime director of the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Harry Larrison Jr., a Republican who was the top elected official in the county. Larrison, who was charged in April 2005 with taking $8,500 in bribes from developers, died the next month at age 78. He had retired in December 2004 after 39 years as a freeholder.

• Longtime Hudson County Executive Robert C. Janiszewski, a Democrat with national influence, last year began serving a 41-month federal term. He has been helping prosecutors put his associates in prison since he pleaded guilty in October 2002, admitting that he took more than $100,000 in bribes during his 13 1/2 years as the county's top elected official.

• Developer Joseph Barry got a 25-month prison term after admitting giving Janiszewski nearly $115,000 in payoffs after getting his help obtaining government grants. Barry, former president of Hoboken-based Applied Development, also was fined $20,000 and ordered to repay $1 million to federal agencies.

• Nidia Davila Colon, a five-term Hudson County freeholder, got a 2 1/2-year term after being convicted of passing more than $10,000 in bribes to Janiszewski so her then-boyfriend, psychiatrist Oscar Sandoval, could win millions of dollars in county contracts. Janiszewski testified against her at trial. Sandoval became an FBI informant and was never charged.

• Former Hudson County Freeholder William C. Braker, a Democrat, in 2004 got three years and five months in prison for extorting money from Sandoval while he was in office in exchange for help in getting a police contract.

• Former Hoboken Mayor Anthony J. Russo was sentenced in May 2005 to 30 months in federal prison after admitting he took bribes from an accountant and towing contractor to help them get city contracts.

• Former Essex County Executive James W. Treffinger, who twice failed to win the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, spent 13 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2003 to obstruction of justice and mail fraud. Besides inflating three county contracts by $5,000 each to reimburse a contractor, Treffinger acknowledged that he had two Essex employees work on a political campaign while on county time at a cost to taxpayers of $29,471. Treffinger had succeeded Democrat Thomas D'Alessio after D'Alessio's conviction on federal corruption charges.

• Former Paterson Mayor Martin G. Barnes left federal custody this year after serving 32 month. He pleaded guilty in July 2003, admitting that he took $200,000 worth of bribes from contractors doing business with the state's third-largest city.

• Former Camden Mayor Milton Milan got a seven-year prison sentence following his 2000 conviction on taking payoffs from the mob, laundering drug money and stealing campaign funds. He was the third mayor of that city in recent years to be indicted.

• Former Newark Kenneth Gibson of Newark, pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges in 2002 for actions that took place after he left office.

• Former Asbury Park Mayor Kenneth E. Saunders Jr. was sentenced in July 2004 to 33 months in federal prison on corruption and tax charges. He had been convicted in December 2003 with political consultant Rayfield James Jr. of plotting to offer bribes to a City Council member in an effort to profit from waterfront redevelopment. The Saunders case was among several to emerge from the city's effort to rebuild its rundown waterfront.

©2006 Copyright Calkins Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Greenwwod Lake Turnpike Progress Report

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WEST MILFORD / ROAD CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2006

The first phase of the construction of the new roadway alignment for Greenwood Lake Turnpike between Marshall Hill Road and Awosting Road began March 6. The project will take 2 years to complete and the completion date is scheduled for April 2008. The project is currently on schedule.

Road Construction

ON-SITE PROGRESS REPORT AT GREENWOOD LAKE TURNPIKE

PATERSON – The Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders will hold a progress report on site of the Greenwood Lake Turnpike project 2 p.m. Monday, September 18 at the west junction of the Old Road intersection.

State, county and local officials have been invited to attend.

The first phase of the construction of the new roadway alignment for Greenwood Lake Turnpike between Marshall Hill Road and Awosting Road began March 6. The project will take 2 years to complete and the completion date is scheduled for April 2008. The project is currently on schedule.

The project length is approximately one mile in length and will eliminate numerous obsolete curves and bends along the existing road. Evacuation and the road foundation of the new alignment through the mountain have been completed. This included the removal of approximately 4,700 tons of soil with an additional 150 tons of rock. The average width for evacuation is 60 feet.

The new roadway will continue to have one travel lane but will be widened to current design standards with the addition of road shoulders in each direction.

Improvements to the roadway will include drainage facilities and the replacement of two existing bridges to accommodate the new alignment as well as construction of culverts, retaining walls, drainage system and roadway.

Excavating through the mountain, the relocation of utilities and the building of culverts will commence during the first phase. Traffic will be maintained at all times, one lane in each direction on the existing turnpike. There will be some slow down of traffic due to movement of equipment.

The old roadway will be abandoned upon completion of the new alignment and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will accept the old right-of-way as part of the adjacent State Park system.

The contractor is Petillo, Inc. of Flanders, N.J. and the contract cost is $8,890,875.

CONTACT:

Dolores Choteborsky
Passaic County Public Information Officer
973-569-5050

www.passaiccountynj.org

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Freeholder Candidate Sues Democrat Committee

Follow-Up / Update To Original Article:

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PASSAIC COUNTY / PATERSON / FREEHOLDER BALLOT NOMINATION LAWSUIT

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Peace In Passaic County, For Now

Sami Merhi, the controversial Arab-American businessman who was to be the Democratic nominee for Passaic County Freeholder until key Democrats -- including Governor Jon Corzine and Senator Bob Menendez -- stopped his candidacy, will drop his Independent bid for Freeholder today and endorse the Democratic ticket.

Posted by Wally Edge on September 12, 2006 09:41 AM

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The Following Article Was Originally Posted 05/27/2006 -- 3:46 P.M.:

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PASSAIC COUNTY / PATERSON / FREEHOLDER BALLOT NOMINATION LAWSUIT

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The lawsuit alleges that Merhi was the victim of anti-Arab prejudice, saying that his removal as a candidate violated his civil rights and the rules of the Democratic organization. The suit calls for Merhi's name to be reinstated on the primary ballot.

9/11 Flap Leads To Candidate Suit In Paterson

PATERSON, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- An Arab-American political candidate who was dumped by Passaic county Democratic leaders for comments some people interpreted as sympathetic to suicide bombers is suing to get on the ballot.

Democrats put forward Sam Merhi's name as a nominee for a county freeholder seat in the June 6 primary, but withdrew it in March amid political backlash from remarks Merhi made in 2002 about the 9/11 attacks.

Merhi, a Totowa businessman active in Democratic politics, said during a political fundraiser that he was outraged by the 9/11 attacks. When asked whether those feelings also applied to Palestinian suicide bombers in Israel, Merhi said he did not see a comparison. He later elaborated, saying that while all terrorist attacks are wrong, 9/11 was unique because it was on such a massive scale.

The lawsuit alleges that Merhi was the victim of anti-Arab prejudice, saying that his removal as a candidate violated his civil rights and the rules of the Democratic organization. The suit calls for Merhi's name to be reinstated on the primary ballot.

"The stated reason for the withdrawal was 'politics,' but the underlying basis ... is the fact that Merhi is an Arab-American and exercised his constitutional right of freedom of speech," the lawsuit reads, according to The Record of Bergen County for Saturday's newspapers.

John Currie, the chairman of the Passaic County Democratic Committee, one of the suit's defendants, said it was "ridiculous" to think that the committee had discriminated against Merhi.

The Democrats replaced Merhi with Joanne Graziano, who later pulled her candidacy over allegations that she forged education documents.

Merhi's lawsuit claims that he never gave up his candidacy and that the county's Democratic committee didn't correctly remove him. Merhi wants the county to reprint ballots to include his name.

However, Currie said Merhi never was the party's official candidate and that he always had the option of filing petitions to get his name on the ballot as a challenger.

A court hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday in Paterson.

© MMVI CBS Radio Stations Inc., All Rights Reserved.

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Belmont Avenue Bridge Re-Opens

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HALEDON BOROUGH

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2006

The Passaic County Board Of Chosen Freeholders held a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday, August 31st, for the opening of the Belmont Avenue Bridge over Molly Ann's Brook in Haledon.

Road Construction

BELMONT AVENUE BRIDGE RE-OPENS
[ Link Is In .pdf Format ]

HALEDON -- The Passaic County Board Of Chosen Freeholders held a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday, August 31st, for the opening of the Belmont Avenue Bridge over Molly Ann's Brook in Haledon.

The original bridge was built in 1900 and reconstructed in 1986 when the deck and superstructure was replaced.

Hurricane Floyd collapsed the bridge on September 17th, 1999 and the road was closed to traffic. A temporary bridge was constructed between November 1999 and January 2001. Belmont Avenue was then re-opened to traffic.

The currnt bridge is a 38-foot simple span bridge constructed of precast concrete beams with a concrete deck. The bridge width is 74.5 feet.

The work started December 2005 and was completed in eight months, two months ahead of schedule. The cost is $2.4 million. The county received 80% of the cost in Federal Emergency Funds from Hurricane Floyd. Boswell Engineering was the designer and H & G Contractors of Ridgewood was the contractor on the project.

The project also included the construction of the last portion of the flood control walls that connect to the bridge along Molly Ann's Brook, both upstream and downstream of the project. These walls were part of the Army Corp of Engineer's Molly Ann's Brook Flood Control project.

CONTACT:

Dolores Choteborsky
Passaic County Public Information Officer
973-569-5050

www.passaiccountynj.org

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Paterson Drug Bust Yields $5 Million In Cocaine

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PATERSON / LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SEIZE $5 MILLION IN COCAINE

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The seizure is the largest in Passaic County since 2004, when the Drug Enforcement Agency shut down a major heroin-processing mill in a three-family home in Clifton and seized about 44 pounds of purified heroin worth an estimated $32 million

Drugs Were Shipped From Mexico ...

New Jersey Officers Seize $5 Million In Cocaine

~ CRISTIAN SALAZAR
North Jersey Media Group

Updated: September 11th, 2006 03:06 PM EDT

PATERSON -- Ninety-six kilograms of cocaine with an estimated value of $5 million were seized at an apartment on Twelfth Avenue that was used as a transfer station for drugs shipped from Mexico to distribution sites in North Jersey, officials said Friday.

Meanwhile, two New York City men were arrested on Broadway -- a few blocks from the house involved in Thursday's raid -- in the culmination of a month long investigation led by the Passaic County Sheriff's Department and the Paterson Police Department.

Officials also seized three cars, including one with Ohio license plates, with hidden compartments containing $360,000 in cash.

Rafael Franco, 43, of Brooklyn, and Jorge Acevedo, 32, of Queens, were charged with several drug offenses, including possession of a controlled dangerous substance and intent to distribute in connection with a narcotics distribution scheme.

"We consider this a very significant seizure," said Bill Maer, a spokesman for the county Sheriff's Department who announced the seizure and arrests Friday.

"The department used every mechanism within its means to make these arrests. The department had no problem using contacts both domestically and internationally," he said.

Maer described the distribution ring as highly sophisticated but could not go into detail about the depth and scope of the network, saying the investigation is ongoing. The drugs were shipped from a Mexican cartel, he said. The raid stems from detectives' contact with other local narcotics investigations.

The drugs were brought to the apartment at 427 12th Ave. and then distributed to lower-level dealers, Maer said. The house faces the corner of East 29th Street and is only a few blocks from a hardened strip of the city some residents have come to call "Murder Avenue," named after a spate of killings there in recent years.

But on Friday, a resident on the same block as the alleged drug-transfer site -- who did not give her name -- said she had no idea about the cocaine being sold out of the apartment or if anyone even lived there. The house, a beige vinyl-sided structure that seemed to shine as if newly built, appeared to be empty. No furniture of any kind was visible through the front windows.

Franco and Acevedo were "fairly significant" members of the narcotics ring, Maer said.

The seizure is the largest in Passaic County since 2004, when the Drug Enforcement Agency shut down a major heroin-processing mill in a three-family home in Clifton and seized about 44 pounds of purified heroin worth an estimated $32 million.

Recent large drug busts in Passaic County, according to Herald News archives:

In 1999, Venezuelan authorities seized cocaine destined for Passaic County after getting a tip from the Passaic County Sheriff's Department. The shipment was valued at $48 million.

In 2001, during a routine traffic stop, Paterson police recovered 283 pounds of cocaine worth $12 million.

In 2004, federal and state narcotics agents seized 44 pounds of purified heroin worth an estimated $32 million.

In May, detectives with the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office conducted raids in Paterson, Clifton and North Bergen, seizing 180 pounds of cocaine worth about $1.6 million.

In June, the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office seized hundreds of marijuana plants worth about $1 million from a house in Haledon.

In July, a Passaic County Sheriff's officer stopped a driver with cocaine in his vehicle worth $1.2 million.

Reach Cristian Salazar at 973-569-7165

Copyright 2005 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Senator Menendez Facing Ethics & Financial Probes

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NEW JERSEY

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Federal investigators have subpoenaed records pertaining to the relationship between Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and a nonprofit organization based in Union City, N.J.

Menendez allegedly received approximately $300,000 over the past nine years from the North Hudson Community Action Corporation.

New Jersey Senator Facing Ethics And Financial Probes

~ By Jeff McKay
CNSNews.com Correspondent
September 11, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - For the second time this year, a political appointee of New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine has come under fire for alleged improprieties. This time, the controversy could tilt the balance in one of the nation's most closely watched U.S. Senate races.

Federal investigators have subpoenaed records pertaining to the relationship between Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and a nonprofit organization based in Union City, N.J.

Menendez allegedly received approximately $300,000 over the past nine years from the North Hudson Community Action Corporation.

That is the same group that allegedly entered into an arrangement with Menendez in 1994 to lease a property he owned in Union City. He initially charged the group $3,100 per month in rent, but then increased the rate to $4,000.

Meanwhile, Menendez is accused of using his position as the congressman representing that district, of helping the agency to win a special designation that allowed it to receive federal health care grants.

Menendez was a congressman for 14 years before being appointed by Corzine to serve out Corzine's remaining U.S. Senate term.

According to government records, the North Hudson Community Action Corporation has received approximately $9.6 million in federal grants since receiving the special designation. Published reports claim that nearly two-thirds of the organization's annual operating budget comes from the federal government.

Employees of the corporation, including the former head of the organization, have also reportedly contributed more than $30,000 to Menendez's prior congressional campaigns.

Tom Kean, Jr., the Republican challenging Menendez for his Senate seat, released a statement Friday citing the investigation as further evidence of corruption plaguing New Jersey politics.

"After years of embarrassment, it should be perfectly clear to New Jerseyans that we must have leaders with the highest ethical integrity," said Kean, son of former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, who also co-chaired the 9/11 Commission.

"Today's developments illustrate the need to clean up the corruption and scandal that has plagued Washington, D.C., and our state, so we can finally restore the public's faith in government," Kean said in the statement.

The subpoenas were brought by U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, a Republican who had considered running for U.S. Senate in this election.

A spokesman in the U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment on "an ongoing investigation."

Menendez for Senate spokesman Matthew Miller released a statement arguing Menendez's actions were legal.

"This transaction was already approved by the House Ethics Committee, and the U.S. Attorney will find that Bob Menendez did nothing but support a well-respected agency in the exact same manner that he has supported other non-profits in the state," said Miller.

"We're troubled by the timing of this subpoena in the middle of a political campaign, but the facts are that the NHCAC has received federal funds for over [sic] 35 years because they provide education and health care services to New Jerseyans who need it [sic] the most," Miller added.

Democrats were quick to side with Menendez, who is battling Kean in a very tight election, questioning the motives behind the probe.

Menendez, Corzine, and many leading state Democrats cloistered together at a three-day Democratic gathering in Atlantic City when news broke about the probe.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) said the timing of the probe launched by Christie's office "suggests something sinister," a charge echoed by Albio Sires, a Democrat running for Menendez's former congressional seat.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) also went on the attack, releasing a statement saying Kean is merely trying to divert attention from his connection to President Bush.

"From day one of this campaign, Tom Kean Jr. has relied on smears to cover up his own ties to George Bush and gloss over Republican failures on gas prices, spending and Iraq," Schumer asserted. "Mr. Kean is using the GOP attack machine to divert attention from his advocacy for a Bush agenda that is wrong for New Jersey. It's a despicable tactic that will backfire."

Menendez has been an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq, demanding that all U.S. troops be pulled out within one year and calling for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign.

In an unrelated matter, two New Jersey state senators charge that Menendez violated ethics rules by trying to block a merger involving a company in which he holds stock.

In 2003, Menendez sponsored legislation to ban media mergers he said would create monopolies in Spanish-language broadcasting. At the time, he owned stock in Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (SBS).

The merger ultimately went through, and the stock Menendez owned dropped, which he reportedly sold at a loss.

According to Federal Election Commission reports, Menendez has also received political campaign contributions totaling nearly $25,000 from SBS.

The three most recent polls show the race between Menendez and Kean with no clear leader.

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