News : POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: No return of the Mack

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: No return of the Mack

Mar 23, 2022

Good Wednesday morning!

I've read there's a labor shortage, but is it so bad that the Department of Community Affairs has to hire people with bribery convictions?

The Trentonian recently reported that Ralphiel Mack, brother of corrupt former Trenton Mayor Tony Mack, got a gig last week as a constituent services representative last week. On Monday, Raphael Mack was fired.

Mack was sentenced to 30 months in prison for accepting bribes on his brother's behalf from a developer who turned out to be a cooperating witness.

So how did he get this job? The DCA isn't saying. Was this a random hire, or did political connections play a role? The former seems unlikely, to be honest. And if his conviction got him fired from a job in Trenton public schools, how could that have escaped the notice of an important state department.

This is not the first time something like this has happened in the Murphy administration. Shortly after the governor took office, the Department of Education hired former Passaic councilmember Marcellus Jackson for a $70,000 a year job. As it turned out, Jackson was not eligible for the job and was forced to resign.

The law that forced Jackson from office didn't apply to Ralphiel Mack, as it's for corrupt officials whose crimes touched on their offices. Mack didn't hold an office. But either the Department of Community Affairs needs to tighten up its job applicant screening or someone did this guy a favor.

DAYS SINCE MURPHY REFUSED TO SAY WHETHER HIS WIFE'S NON-PROFIT SHOULD DISCLOSE DONORS: 36

WHERE'S MURPHY? No public schedule

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Staten Islanders keep on voting to secede from the city. Would they be happier with New Jersey? We love our southernmost county, but it's a long ride to the rest of New York, while New Jersey's close enough for a deer to swim there." — City & State New York's Jeff Coltin's threat to New Jersey.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Former Morris Dem Chairman Lew Candura, Jefferson Health's Lisa Morina, MWWPR's Kathleen O'Brien

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

WHAT TRENTON MADE

JUST LIKE PRE-COVID TIMES — Mask mandate at New Jersey Statehouse repealed, by POLITICO's Matt Friedman: Pandemic-era precautions are no longer in effect at the New Jersey Statehouse. The State Capitol Joint Management Commission, which last month repealed a vaccine-or-test mandate that had stoked tensions with conservative lawmakers, voted Tuesday to repeal the requirement that all staff and visitors to the Statehouse wear masks. Lawmakers had already been exempted from the mask requirement. The vote of the commission, which is made up of staff from the legislative and executive branches, was unanimous. The change takes effect immediately.

OFF THE WATERFRONT — New Jersey urges Supreme Court to let it leave Waterfront Commission, by POLITICO's Ry Rivard : New York shouldn't be able to tell New Jersey how to police its own waterfront, New Jersey officials argued in a legal filing to the U.S. Supreme Court. The filing, submitted late Monday night, is a response to a lawsuit New York filed last week to prevent New Jersey's exit from the Waterfront Commission, the bi-state agency created 70 years ago to fight organized crime around New York Harbor. New Jersey says the commission has little use and wants to hand over law enforcement duties at New Jersey ports to the New Jersey State Police.

QUICK ON THE WITHDRAW — "Lawmaker withdraws bill that would hike pre-trial incarcerations for gun crimes," by New Jersey Monitor's Dana DiFilippo: "A legislator who proposed making it easier to jail people who are charged with gun crimes withdrew his bill Monday in response to critics' concerns that it could land thousands more people in prison and disproportionately impact people of color. Sen. Joseph Cryan (D-Union) said he plans to reintroduce the bill next month after he makes changes to ensure it doesn't ensnare too many people before they've had their day in court. 'The bill may, in fact, go a little bit too far,' Cryan told the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee, which was set to vote on it."

HOTEL LOBBYING — The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, known for its influence New York City politics but active in New Jersey in recent years, looks like it's set to expand its influence even more in the Garden State. The union announced yesterday that it's opening an office in Montclair and that workers at 10 New Jersey hotels are voting to ratify contracts, bringing the number of unionized hotels to 57 in New jersey. The group has a press conference scheduled for 2 in the People's Republic.

TIME FOR SOME STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS IN FORT LEE — "George Washington Bridge priority repairs ignored for years," by News 12's Walt Kane: "The Port Authority ignored dozens of outstanding priority repairs on the George Washington Bridge, some for over a decade, before embarking on its current $1.9 billion restoration, a Team 12 investigation finds ... The most recent, from December 2019, shows several issues, including: 'severely corroded and cracked deck ribs.' Another key structural element, the suspender ropes, were in fair condition, meaning they function, but need 'priority repair.' Despite that, inspectors said the bridge, overall, was in good condition. It's a conclusion a leading infrastructure expert finds difficult to justify. 'I do not see in this report a convincing argument that this bridge is in very good shape,' says Professor Ahmet Emin Aktan, Professor of Infrastructure Studies at Drexel University. He says the reports indicate 'deterioration is ongoing and is getting faster.'"

—"Budget hearings begin with pleas for more money"

—" Lawmakers push proposals to ease pain at gas pump"

—"Zhadanovsky leaves Murphy staff to join Menendez campaign team"

—"NJ Transit gives a sneak peek at what will make electric buses go - starting with Camden"

—" We asked 120 NJ lawmakers if they support ending self-service gas ban. Here's what they said"

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

— Bill introduced to offset tax hikes for small businesses

JOIN THURSDAY FOR A CONVERSATION ON CRYPTOCURRENCY AND REGULATION: Cryptocurrency has gone mainstream. With the market now valued at $1.8 trillion, Washington's oversight of the fast-growing industry remains in its infancy. How should Congress and federal agencies shape future regulation of digital asset markets? Join POLITICO in person or virtually for a deep-dive discussion on what's next for crypto, regulation and the future of finance. Programming will run from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. EDT with a reception from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT. REGISTER HERE.

BIDEN TIME

OAF KEEPERS — "Are the walls closing in on former NJ Oath Keeper over US Capitol assault?" by NJ Spotlight News' Ian T. Shearn: "The news has gone from bad to worse for former New Jersey Oath Keeper Roberto Minuta since he was arrested a year ago on charges he forced his way into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 … Earlier this month, a significant plea bargain reached with another Oath Keeper strengthened an already robust case prosecutors say they have assembled against Minuta and 10 of his extremist allies. Over the past year, authorities have methodically added increasingly tougher charges against Minuta, and his once defiant political tirades have given way to a submissive, downcast devotion to God … [F]or Minuta, the truth is a moving target. He has offered three conflicting versions of his involvement on Jan. 6. First, he claimed he never entered the building. Then he claimed that when he arrived the Capitol doors were wide open, and people were coming and going freely. His most recent account is that he was assisting the evacuation of Capitol Police officers who were in distress. Videos and photographs filed in court documents refute all three versions."

CHILD WELFARE — New Jersey's child welfare system nearing the end of federal oversight, by POLITICO's Carly Sitrin : New Jersey's child welfare system — once regarded as "one of the worst" in the nation — is one step closer to shaking off federal oversight. Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday announced the state has jointly presented a motion to a federal court to end nearly two decades of federal oversight of the state Department of Children and Families. If all goes well, DCF could conclude its monitoring period as early as this June and enter a subsequent transition period, according to a statement from Murphy's office.

—" Monmouth County, NJ corrections officer, friend mulling Jan. 6 plea deals"

—" Cory Booker: Senate on 'precipice of shattering another ceiling' with Jackson SCOTUS hearings"

—Snowflack: "Pallotta v. De Gregorio"

—"Casha ends bid to challenge Sherrill in NJ-11"

LOCAL

PAUL BLART MALL COP DECLINED TO RUN — "Paramus Dems pick Bellinger to run for mayor," by New Jersey Globe's David Wildstien: "Paramus Democrats selected MariaElena Bellinger as their candidate for mayor to replace three-term incumbent Richard LaBarbiera … Bellinger is seeking to become the first woman mayor of Paramus, one of the state's most consistent swing towns over the last 60 years. She's a four-term councilwoman and a well-known high school volleyball coach. 'I'm humbled to have received the Democratic committee's support to be our Mayoral candidate,' stated Bellinger. 'I am running because I want to unite Paramus and move us forward with the kind of leadership and service that our residents deserve.'"

WAR OF THE WARDS — "Over a dozen Jersey City community orgs, Gilmore, file lawsuit to overturn new ward maps," by Hudson County View's John Heinis: "Over a dozen Jersey City community organizations, along with Ward F Councilman Frank 'Educational' Gilmore have filed a 48-page lawsuit in Hudson County Superior Court in hopes of overturning the new ward maps approved in January. 'This is a case of government abuse that adversely affects all voters and residents of Jersey City,' the complaint, where the plaintiffs are represented by Renee Steinhagen, Brett Pugach, and Bill Matsikoudis, says. 'Behind closed doors, the Jersey City Ward Commission disrupted and carved up long-standing neighborhoods, ignored natural geographic dividers, and even split buildings in half in order to create a map that may have satisfied N.J.S.A. 40:44-14's standard regarding population deviation, but violated basic principles of fair representation and communities of interest that are embedded in that statute's 'compactness' requirement.'"

WALL OF SHAME — "Is Wall 'really that bad'? Lawsuits, housing fights show a town reckoning with change ," by The Asbury Park Press' Mike Davis : . "In his 2016 lawsuit, former township employee Brandon Jacobs claimed he had been subjected to daily antisemitic discrimination by his fellow employees in the public works and tax collector's offices. As the township committee prepared to sign off on a $1.25 million settlement with Jacobs, residents pleaded with the township committee. 'Each one of these perpetrators leaves the town open to more litigation and shame,' then-township committee candidate David Fretz said during a June 2018 committee meeting. He lost the November election by nearly a 2-to-1 margin … As the school district reckons with a football hazing scandal last year that made national headlines, the township government has its own unwelcome distinction — the third highest municipality in the state for lawsuit payouts to its own employees, an Asbury Park Press investigation of statewide insurance fund records found. The township and its carriers have paid nearly $3 million since 2016 to settle lawsuits, records show. As the town's insurance rates skyrocketed, officials never admitted any wrongdoing in the cases. There's little public indication that any employee was disciplined or fired for harassment or other abuses."

—" 'Culture of toxicity': Wall schools' recent football assault charges echo troubled past"

STOP THE STEAL….ING OF TAXPAYER RESOURCES TO TRY TO OVERTURN DEMOCRACY — " Barnegat mayor says he didn't break law using email for Jan 6. bus trip," by The Asbury Park Press' Amanda Oglesby: "Mayor Alfonso Cirulli said he has no regrets about organizing a bus trip to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, a day that morphed into chaos and violence as thousands of rioters stormed the Capitol building. Cirulli, who was then Barnegat's deputy mayor, said the county Republican Club paid for the trip that has since become a source of scrutiny. The American Oversight, a nonpartisan government watchdog group, submitted an Open Public Records Act to the township seeking copies of Cirulli's 2021 emails … Richard Gutman, a retired attorney who specialized in New Jersey's Open Public Records Act, discovered Cirulli's use of township email for organizing the bus trip while looking into New Jersey politicians who were in D.C. Jan. 6, 2021. 'He should not be using his township email, because it was not township business,' said Gutman."

NEW BEN & JERRY'S FLAVOR: SWIRLING ACCUSATIONS — "'It's a political witch hunt': NJ probes Howell Township Council members ," by The Asbury Park Press' Alex N. Gecan: "Amid swirling accusations of legal violations and conflicts of interest, state investigators have stepped in to determine whether members of Howell's governing body have broken any laws. The Department of Community Affairs is looking into a 2020 community event that never ended up happening and a vaccine operation in 2021 run by Ocean Health Initiatives. Mayor Theresa Berger, a Democrat, is president and CEO of Ocean Health Initiatives, and Councilman John Bonevich, the only other Democrat on the Township Council, does its marketing and advertising in addition to his other private sector work. Republicans on the Township Council have accused Berger, who was running for reelection in 2020, of attempting to use the would-be community event for political gain, and for violating the Faulkner Act by allegedly circumventing the township manager and directing township employees, which she has denied."

—"Democrat Jill DeCaro wins special election in Old Bridge"

—"Jersey City school board OKs nearly $1 billion school budget with $1,600 tax hike"

—" Former Cape councilman sentenced on stalking charges"

—"Atlantic City police officer acquitted in federal use-of-force trial returns to work"

—"New Brunswick sets tax rates for recreational marijuana businesses. Here's what will be charged"

—" Carteret gets final OK to begin building ferry terminal later this year"

—"Newark Central Ward candidate: 'Our youth, after COVID, have changed' "

—"Burst pipe in Paterson City Hall causes several feet of flooding, building closed"

—"St. Peter's getting a Jersey City police escort to Philadelphia"

DON'T MISS POLITICO'S INAUGURAL HEALTH CARE SUMMIT ON 3/31: Join POLITICO for a discussion with health care providers, policymakers, federal regulators, patient representatives, and industry leaders to better understand the latest policy and industry solutions in place as we enter year three of the pandemic. Panelists will discuss the latest proposals to overcome long-standing health care challenges in the U.S., such as expanding access to care, affordability, and prescription drug prices. REGISTER HERE.

EVERYTHING ELSE

THE RAP SHEET TO END ALL RAP SHEETS — "When NJ political agent allegedly wanted to off a friend, he hired thief who killed before," by The Record's Steve Janoski: "The autumn of 1985 was a dark time for George Bratsenis. A 36-year-old career criminal from Connecticut, Bratsenis languished in Passaic County Jail after police declared him the alleged architect of an ambitious series of jewelry heists across New Jersey that bagged more than $1 million … He had a plan to escape this Bastille on Marshall Street, and it started with making himself sick — very sick — with a drug he'd stashed in his rectum before he was sent to Paterson. The cops would ferry him to the hospital, clueless about Bratsenis' hired guns and the parking lot ambush that awaited. He'd be liberated in minutes. But Bratsenis made one big mistake: He told his cellmate about the plan, a man so well-known for betraying other inmates that a detective referred to him only as 'The Rat.' And the rat did what rats do. Nearly four decades later, the same George Bratsenis who was convicted of killing a man in Connecticut, committing armed robberies in three states and plotting his own jailbreak has once again found himself in trouble — this time, as one of two alleged hitmen in a Hudson County murder-for-hire case that's grown into New Jersey's biggest political scandal in years … Bratsenis did appear briefly in Newark federal court in February, but the proceedings ended before they began. Charles L. Kurmay, Bratsenis' Connecticut attorney, met with federal prosecutors behind closed doors for several minutes before the hearing. Shouting came from outside the courtroom just before Bratsenis walked in, no longer the 'beefy ex-Marine' he was described as in a 1985 newspaper account … [J]ust last month, Kurmay asked in a memorandum in aid of sentencing that Bratsenis be let out so he can 'live out his remaining days with family while seeking cancer treatment as best as he is able.'"

—" 3rd figure in NJ murder-for-hire plot due for plea hearing," by The AP's David Porter: "An aging ex-convict from Connecticut is due back in court for a plea hearing this week in one of New Jersey's most intriguing political mysteries — the murder of a Democratic operative by one of his close colleagues. George Bratsenis, 73, is expected to participate by videoconference in Thursday's hearing in a case involving the death of Michael Galdieri, a Jersey City political consultant found stabbed to death in his home in 2014."

HEALTH CARE — Federal court upholds decision to block Hackensack Meridian-Englewood Health merger, by POLITICO's Daniel Han: The Federal Trade Commission won a federal appeals court ruling Tuesday that affirmed a lower court decision to block the proposed merger of Hackensack Meridian Health and Englewood Health as the federal agency seeks to permanently stop the merger. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court ruling that first granted the preliminary injunction, and comes amid a larger debate over hospital consolidation trends. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and the appeals court both agreed the proposed merger would stymie competition to the detriment of consumers.

—"COVID in custody: Prison concerns reflect pandemic's changing impact"

—" Think before you boycott. How the Russian invasion of Ukraine is impacting N.J. businesses"

—"Warehouses, distribution centers popping up all over North Jersey. Here's where and why"

—"Inflation is slamming us all. From gas to eggs to cars, how prices have spiked since last year"

Follow us on Twitter