News: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Another shoe to drop in the Caddle case

Thursday, March 24, 2022

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Another shoe to drop in the Caddle case

Mar 24, 2022

Good Thursday morning!

There should be a new development today in the Sean Caddle murder-for-hire case. George Bratsenis, one of the two alleged hit men Caddle admitted hiring to kill Michael Galdieri, has a remote federal plea hearing scheduled at 10:30 in federal court.

Bratsenis' criminal record is really something to behold. The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Record and The New York Times have all done deep dives into his criminal history, which goes back decades.

If the guilty plea of his accomplice, Bomani Africa, is any indication, I wouldn't expect to learn many new details about the case. And so far, other than some very strange coincidences, nothing has come to light to link Galdieri's killing to the unsolved deaths of John and Joyce Sheridan.

But we have learned that federal and state authorities were looking into how dark money flowed in New Jersey politics through a network of super PACs and 501(c)(4)s associated with Caddle, and that state investigators were looking into Caddle's payments to Democratic operative Tony Teixeira.

While I find it personally gratifying that my reporting from a few years ago on dark money led to state and federal investigations, I and most other reporters had assumed that Caddle was allowed to remain free because he was cooperating on something massive. Could that really be the extent of it?

DAYS SINCE MURPHY REFUSED TO SAY WHETHER HIS WIFE'S NONPROFIT SHOULD DISCLOSE IT'S DONORS: 37

WHERE'S MURPHY? At the Rutgers Institute for Women's Leadership for a 5 p.m. episode of "Ask Governor Murphy," airing on News 12

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "You're so much more than your race and gender. You're a Christian, you're a mom. Your intellect. For me, I'm sorry, it's hard for me … to look at you and not see my mom, not to see my cousins." — Sen. Cory Booker to Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — IBEW's Ryan Doran, Beach COS Ivy Rovner, Ocean Twp.'s Steve Clayton

TIPS? FEEDBACK? HATE MAIL? Email me at mfriedman@politico.com

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WHAT TRENTON MADE

STANDING ON THE VERGE OF GETTING IT ON — "N.J. legal weed sales on verge of finally getting OK to begin," by NJ Advance Media's Suzette Parmley: "The Cannabis Regulatory Commission that oversees the nascent industry is expected to approve the first batch of conditional license applications for cultivation and manufacturing at its monthly meeting on Thursday. In addition, five alternative treatment centers currently serving medical cannabis patients that applied to expand to sell to the adult-use market are also expected to be approved. If approved by the commission, the five centers will be the only facilities selling cannabis initially to both the medical and recreational market. The approved cultivators and manufacturers are expected to grow crop and build out their facilities over the course of six to nine months before they can start selling cannabis, say experts. The commission on Thursday is expected to set the start of the 30-day notification period for actual sales of cannabis to begin at the five alternative treatment centers. That would make late April or early May as the earliest for sales to non-medical customers to begin."

WILL COVER HOTEL, MOTEL, HOLIDAY INN — NYC-based hotel union expands its reach into New Jersey, by POLITICO's Katherine Landergan: A powerful New York City-based hotel union expanded its reach into New Jersey on Wednesday, opening its first permanent office in Montclair and announcing that workers it represents at 10 hotels across the state had voted to ratify new contracts. The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council represents 40,000 workers in New Jersey and New York, but has only been organizing in New Jersey for less than a decade. Workers at 10 New Jersey Extended Stay hotels run by Extended Stay America voted to ratify contracts with their employers. The union now represents 6,000 workers at 57 hotels across New Jersey, and 6,000 people who live and work in the state.

LESNIAK'S PRETEXTEIRA — "Why are NJ investigators looking at checks from man at center of murder-for-hire to Dem aide?" by The Record's Dustin Racioppi and Ashley Balcerzak: "Why did the man at the center of New Jersey's bizarre murder-for-hire plot write checks to Tony Teixeira, now a top aide to the second-most powerful Democrat in the state? That's one of the answers state investigators sought in a September 2021 state subpoena demanding details on nearly $50,000 in payments from Sean Caddle and his consulting firm Arkady to Teixeira and his wife between 2015 and 2017. … [Sean Caddle] told NorthJersey.com in a phone call earlier this month that Teixeira did not work for Arkady, but confirmed he paid Teixeira. … Lesniak had a simple explanation for the payments, saying earlier this month that Teixeira took a leave of absence from his legislative position and 'did campaign work,' which is allowed with certain restrictions. But payroll records show Teixeira earning his full legislative salary in those years and there is no record in the Senate Democratic Majority office of Teixeira taking time off."

WHEN YOU GET PUT ON HOLD WHILE SEEKING EMPLOYMENT AFTER BEING ON HOLD WITH UNEMPLOYMENT — " 'On hold for an hour.' Aspiring N.J. teachers say getting certified can be frustrating," by NJ Advance Media's Steven Rodas: "Waiting on hold for an hour to inquire about getting certified. Delays in receiving email responses from the state. Months elapsing before an application is approved, even after submitting all the necessary documents. These are just some of the issues prospective New Jersey teachers say they have faced on the road to getting the required certification to teach in public schools in the state. Combined with relatively low salaries and stress on teachers due to the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, some teacher candidates say they have been deterred from pursuing full-time work in a classroom."

SCHOOL SEGREGATION — Education advocates urge New Jersey lawmakers to step in to desegregate schools: 'Time is running out', by POLITICO's Carly Sitrin : As Gov. Phil Murphy's administration continues to fight against the ongoing school segregation lawsuit crawling through the court system, desegregation advocates are pleading with New Jersey lawmakers to take action. "The Legislature and the governor cannot wait for a court ruling before tackling this problem," Willie Francois, a pastor at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Pleasantville, said Wednesday during a remote meeting of the Joint Committee on Public Schools. "The unflinching tyranny of time begs that we do something now. In fact, time is really running out." Francois joined representatives of the Newark-based Education Law Center, several school officials, education advocates and lawyers to ask lawmakers to move on several bills they say would assess the depths of New Jersey's school segregation problem and work toward a solution.

THERE'S ALWAYS THE WEEHAWKEN DUEL OPTION — "Just one state has no law to break election ties and it's New Jersey ," by New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein: "New Jersey is the only state that doesn't have a tie-breaking statute, so seats sit vacant until judges and county election officials can agree on a date for a do-over election that typically draws relatively few voters. In South Toms River just last week, just 15.9% of voters participated in a special election for a borough council seat that had been empty for a year as judges mulled challenges to a November 2020 election that ended in a tie. … Some states have different approaches to breaking ties that offer an immediate resolution to an election. Seven states, including New York, break ties with a coin flip. Three states — not surprisingly, Nevada is in this group — uses a deck of cards to determine an election winner. South Dakota once used a single hand of poker. Several states draw straws to break a tie. Florida allows election officials to pick a game of chance; one recent tie was settled in a two-tier event: a coin flip allowed one candidate to pick first from a bag filled with numbered ping-pong balls. The candidate who drew the highest number was certified as the winner of the election. When candidates for the Ocala, Florida city council tied in 2012, officials considered a game of Rock Paper Scissors."

— Budget hawks stay clear of hearing

— BPU hears plans from offshore wind developers to avoid local opposition, hold down costs

— "Ben Carson to be keynote speaker at New Jersey GOP leadership summit in Atlantic City"

— " Does a gas tax holiday make sense for New Jersey? Here's why it's complicated"

— "Delayed for years, election worker raises advance"

BIDEN TIME

WOULD THE WORLD CUP BE RELATED TO THE PANDEMIC BECAUSE IF WE CALL IT 'THE PAN CUP'? — "Pandemic relief money spent on hotel, ballpark, ski slopes," by The AP's Brian Slodysko: "The expenditures amount to a fraction of the $350 billion made available through last year's American Rescue Plan to help state and local governments weather the crisis. But they are examples of uses of the aid that are inconsistent with the rationale that Democrats offered for the record $1.9 trillion bill: The cash was desperately needed to save jobs, help those in distress, open schools and increase vaccinations. … [W]ith permissive Treasury Department rules governing how the pandemic money can be spent, state and local governments face few limitations. New Jersey allocated $15 million for upgrades to sweeten the state's bid to host the 2026 World Cup."

—"Feds announce another pot of money that could be used for Gateway Tunnel"

—" As Christie visits New Hampshire, Mowers comes under fire"

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LOCAL

AS IF BAYONNE NEEDS ANOTHER PENINSULA — Massive Bayonne development proposed by Lesniak super PAC donor due for key vote, by POLITICO's Matt Friedman: A massive housing and retail project proposed by the developer who funded a super PAC set up to aid Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis' reelection is scheduled for a key vote in April — less than a month before the city's hotly contested municipal election. The Bayonne Planning Board has scheduled a hearing for April 12 for final approval on the project, part of the sprawling "Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor" development located on the former Military Ocean Terminal site. The developer is Bayonne Partners Urban Renewal, which consists of three members of the Boraie family. …

POLITICO reported last week that Wasseem Boraie donated $25,000 to the super PAC Government for the People, which was founded by former Democratic state Sen. Raymond Lesniak. The donation was almost half of the total the super PAC raised. The group, whose existence had not been previously reported, paid political operative Sean Caddle $2,500 in December. … Another $20,000 in donations came from two partners at the Weiner Law Group — Lesniak's former law firm that's representing Bayonne Partners Urban Renewal before the planning board. The only other donor was Eric Bergstol, the founder of the Bayonne Golf Club, which is directly across the water from the site of the proposed development … "I think [Wasseem Boraie] is worried that if Jimmy Davis doesn't get reelected his sweetheart deal goes away," [Sharon] Ashe-Nadrowski said.

GOP NEEDS MENTAL LAXATIVE TO GET THOSE VBMS OUT — "Do Republicans have a VBM problem? " by New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein: "A former Republican councilman who lost a court-ordered special election yesterday in Old Bridge blamed his defeat on the lack of trust by GOP voters in vote-by-mail ballots. 'Republicans think it's a scam. It's not,' said Mark Razzoli. 'The scam is they have you thinking it's a scam.' Democrat Jill DeCaro defeated Razzoli by 145 votes, 477-198 (55%-45%), after winning 71% of the vote-by-mail ballots. Razzoli won the Election Day machine vote by 134 votes, 495-361 (58%-42%) in an election where 55% of the ballots were cast in-person on Tuesday."

POLAR BEAR SPOTTED FLEEING SCENE — "Piscataway Pepsi complex scene of major five-alarm fire, township closes local roads," by Gannett: "A five-alarm fire at the Pepsi complex on New Brunswick Avenue has filled the air with a plume of acrid smoke and forced the township to close down local roads around the burning complex on Tuesday night. Firefighters from around the region — including the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service — were on the scene in an effort to control the mammoth blaze. Piscataway Mayor Brian C. Wahler said the fire was under control on Tuesday night, less than 4½-hours after it was first reported about 6:30 p.m."

— " Rep. Parker Space won't seek reelection, but his wife Jill will run for county seat"

— " Hamilton school district, 19 staffers sued over payment flap with COVID-19 tester"

— "Ukraine and Syria — Two mayors, the passion, and the parallels"

— "Englewood school board president is stepping down in April"

— " Judge halts printing of Paterson ballots until challenge to Mendez petitions resolved"

— "Hasbrouck Heights lieutenant's lawsuit is latest in series against Police Department "

— "Paterson faces double-digit school tax increase for fourth straight year"

— " Randolph BOE deals with new controversy amid Rosh Hashanah holiday cutback outcry"

— " Burlington GOP says Democrats can't legally fill empty county commissioner seat"

EVERYTHING ELSE

NURSING HOMES — "Hackensack Meridian to sell most of its nursing home facilities to for-profit company," by The Record's Lindy Washburn: "Hackensack Meridian Health plans to sell a majority of its nursing homes and assisted living residences to Complete Care Management, accelerating New Jersey's shift away from nonprofit control of long-term care facilities to for-profit ownership. Complete Care, with 61 facilities, is one of the fastest growing and largest nursing home chains in the state. One of its homes — Complete Care at Fair Lawn Edge, located in Paterson — recently made the State Comptroller's list of 15 'lowest rated long-term-care facilities' in New Jersey."

IT MIGHT SEEM CRAZY WHAT THEY'RE 'BOUT TO SAY — "Centenary University launches master's degree in 'happiness studies'," by The Daily Record's William Westhoven: "Americans treasure their Constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness. Starting in the fall, that path can also lead to a graduate degree. Centenary University will offer the world's first master's degree program in 'Happiness Studies,' said its President Bruce Murphy. Approved by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Murphy said he feels positive about the program 'designed to promote well-being and resilience in the midst of current world stress.' 'This online, 30-credit graduate degree is an interdisciplinary program designed for leaders who are committed to personal, interpersonal, organizational and societal happiness,' Murphy said."

— With help from Montclair State, Bloomfield College will remain open — for now

— " Largest yeshiva in U.S. to buy 42 acres from N.J. Catholic university for housing"

— "St. Peter's University sees uptick in admission applications as Peacocks advance to Sweet 16"

— "NJ fines BetMGM $25K for bets on prohibited basketball games"

PUTIN GIVES RUS A VLAD NAME — " Ukrainians rock out to famous Bon Jovi song while preparing to defend Odessa Updated," by NJ Advance Media's Katherine Rodriguez : "A group of Ukrainians were rocking out to the famous Bon Jovi song 'It's My Life' while preparing to defend Odessa against Russia, according to a tweet from Bon Jovi's Twitter account. 'This is for the ones who stood their ground. … Odessa, Ukraine. #SlavaUkraini,' the rocker and New Jersey native wrote on Twitter, saluting them with a nod to his classic tune. The Ukrainians were blasting the song on stereos while one man played the song on the drums."