News: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Sean Caddle's sentencing delay

Thursday, April 14, 2022

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Sean Caddle's sentencing delay

Apr 14, 2022

Good Thursday morning!

On Tuesday, we learned that Sean Caddle's murder-for-hire sentencing has been delayed six months, from June 7 to Dec. 7.

Given that we know Caddle's cooperating with the feds about something, that's an intriguing little development. What does it actually mean? We can only speculate.

But what's clear is that the feds were, at least early on, looking into the dark money network Caddle helped run — a network that we've since been able to shed some more light on.

And yet there's still no outrage about it. As The Record's Ashley Balcerzak and Dustin Racioppi pointed out in an article late last month, despite the revelation about state and federal dark money investigations that have even touched on Senate President Nick Scutari's now-chief of staff, "Trenton has collectively shrugged." "There is no outrage. No calls for reform. No legislative blue-ribbon panels," they wrote.

Yes, there was a law passed a couple years ago that Gov. Phil Murphy reluctantly signed to require disclosure of dark money groups. But it died when it became clear a federal judge was going to invalidate it, and the Legislature never tried again with a more fine-tuned law. The Legislature passed that law mainly to annoy Murphy. But if the Sean Caddle case can't spur them to action to try again, what will?

DAYS SINCE MURPHY REFUSED TO SAY WHETHER HIS WIFE'S NON-PROFIT SHOULD DISCLOSE DONORS: 58

WHERE'S MURPHY? No public schedule

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "If I was a Clark resident, I'd be embarrassed. Maybe they feel what he does in terms of his success as a mayor supersedes comments like this." — State Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Union) on Clark Mayor Sal Bonaccorso

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Snarky reporter progenitor Barry Friedman, Cape May GOP Chair Michael Donohue, NJAHP's Sarah Geiger, Hamilton COS Bianca Jerez

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

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WHAT TRENTON MADE

THE ENTERTAINER — Murphy directs Department of Education to provide 'further clarification' on sex ed standards , by POLITICO's Matt Friedman: Gov. Phil Murphy, amid an uproar on the right about New Jersey's sex education curriculum standards, announced Wednesday that he'll direct the state Department of Education to "review the standards and provide further clarification on what age-appropriate guidelines look like for our students." "Unfortunately, our learning standards have been intentionally misrepresented by some politicians seeking to divide and score political points," Murphy said in a statement. "At the same time, we have seen a handful of sample lesson plans being circulated that have not been adopted in our school districts and do not accurately reflect the spirit of the standards. Any proposed educational content that is not age-appropriate should be immediately revised by local officials."

Murphy told reporters Monday he's "willing to entertain" revising the standards … State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen) touched off a firestorm when she highlighted an advocacy group's sample lesson plan that was distributed by the Westfield Board of Education. The sample plan delved into gender identity. Schepisi's comments were picked up by the conservative blog Save Jersey and then spread throughout national conservative media. "You might feel like you're a boy even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are 'girl' parts," the sample lesson plan by the group Advocates for Youth states. "You might feel like you're a girl even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are 'boy' parts. And you might not feel like you're a boy or a girl, but you're a little bit of both. No matter how you feel, you're perfectly normal!" Westfield Schools Superintendent Raymond González said the sample lessons are not included in the district's curriculum

—"New N.J. sex education standards spark belated backlash. Here's what Murphy, Republicans say "

—"Are parents hearing bad info on NJ's sex/gender curriculum standards?"

BOOSTERISM — "COVID booster rates up, but thousands in health care forgo shot as Murphy's deadline passes," by The Record's Scott Fallon: "While COVID-19 booster rates among health care workers have increased in recent weeks, thousands of hospital and nursing home employees have still not received the shot as Gov. Phil Murphy's extended deadline passed Monday. But it's unclear if any disciplinary action will be taken against workers who have refused the shot, especially since health care facilities are already grappling with staff shortages.

"'Health care organizations are walking a delicate balance between protecting against COVID and ensuring New Jersey's health care workforce continues to work in New Jersey,' said Cathy Bennett, CEO of the New Jersey Hospital Association. Bennett said many hospitals had between 95% and 100% of staff with boosters. While some hospitals were reluctant to make their booster rates public when contacted by NorthJersey.com on Tuesday, some did release numbers including RWJBarnabas: 96%, St. Joseph's Health: 89% and Hackensack Meridian: 88%."

—" Murphy clarifies vaccine mandate for health care workers, does not include 2nd booster"

FINALLY WE WILL ALL BE ABLE TO GO TO SCRANTON — " NJ Transit green lights tunnel reconstruction so trains can roll to northwest N.J., Scranton, Pa.," by NJ Advance Media's Larry Higgs: "NJ Transit's board of directors approved a $32 million contract to rebuild a tunnel that will provide rail service to northwest Jersey and could pave the way for Amtrak trains to run to Scranton, Pennsylvania. The board approved it in a 9 to 1 vote Wednesday, with board member James D. Adams voting no because he had reservations whether the project was the best use of funds. 'Is it the highest, best use of capital funds at this time?' Adams said, noting many other projects are currently unfunded. 'I can't support this project.'"

—" NJ Transit to move ahead on Lackawanna project, expanding service to Sussex County"

—" NJ opens 'disinformation portal' to fight deepfakes. Here's how to tell fact from fiction"

—"Dancer says state should foot the bill when its mistakes cause do-over elections"

—"Two women at N.J. prison are pregnant after consensual sex between inmates, DOC says"

BIDEN TIME

CENTER FOR DISEASE CONFUSION — "Conflicting COVID-19 maps send mixed message on safety," by NJ Spotlight News' Lilo Stainton: "In one map designed to help the public understand COVID-19 risk at the community level, New Jersey — like 95% of the nation — is shaded green, indicating no masks are needed for public indoor spaces. But most of the Garden State is colored red — a warning of high viral spread — in another COVID-19 community-focused map from the same organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with five southern counties painted orange, for substantial, or yellow, for moderate transmission. New York and New England are almost entirely red and orange in this map, while Pennsylvania is mostly yellow. The disparities in the community COVID-19 maps — and the sharply different messages they communicate — have raised concerns for public health leaders, some of whom took to Twitter to vent their frustration when the CDC promoted its largely green version late last week"

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LOCAL

CLARK CAN'T — "After racist recordings surface, can N.J. mayor survive the scandal?" by NJ Advance Media's Riley Yates, Brent Johnson and S.P. Sullivan: "Caught on recordings using the N-word, Clark Mayor Sal Bonaccorso apologized last week and said he was a changed man after previously denying he'd uttered racial slurs. But while Bonaccorso offered words of remorse and shame in his online mea culpa, underlying his announcement was also defiance: That despite vocal calls for his resignation, he intends to remain in office …

"Now, political observers and legal experts say one of three things could happen. Bonaccorso could resign, an option the mayor has so far resisted. He could face a recall, which would be an uphill battle. Or, he could ride it out until November 2024, when he next faces reelection. Former Clark Mayor Robert Ellenport … survived an effort to recall him during the first of his two terms in office. It also stemmed from controversy over racism in the township."

HACKEN SACKED — " Hackensack was ordered not to fire these two cops. Here's why it will keep trying," by The Record's Megan Burro w: "More than five years after a warrantless search of a Prospect Avenue apartment by city police officers sparked a sharp rebuke from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office and led to the officers' dismissals, two of them are back on patrol. In the fallout from the incident, the prosecutor dropped charges in eight criminal cases because of doubts cast on the officers' credibility. Since then, city attorneys have argued in multiple cases that the officers are no longer fit to serve. And even now, lawyers for Hackensack are continuing to fight in court to fire Detective Rocco Duardo and Officer Victor Vazquez... ."

THE CAPITAL CITY — "Trenton teen detained in killing of 9-year-old Sequoya Bacon-Jones," by The Trentonian's Isaac Avilucea: "Accused killer Isiah Roberts admitted being armed with a gun and firing off "warning shots" that fatally wounded a young girl during last month's family spat at Trenton's Kingsbury Square, a prosecutor said during a detention hearing Tuesday. Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Grillo said that, while the case against 19-year-old Roberts was "circumstantial," overwhelming evidence left little doubt about who pulled the trigger, killing 9-year-old Sequoya Bacon-Jones on the evening of March 25. 'Sometimes circumstantial evidence can be as powerful, and more powerful, than direct evidence,' Grillo said. 'This is certainly one of those cases.'"

THE PROGRESSIVES ARE JUST AFTER HER LUCKY CHARMS — "From Ireland, Pinkin could impact ballot draws in Monmouth, Passaic," by New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein: "Middlesex County Clerk Nancy Pinkin argues that for a head-to-head draw for the top ballot position, a slate must have a candidate for every countywide office. A slate of off-the-line Democrats in Piscataway, who are bracketing with two county commissioner candidates for three seats – and no sheriff candidate – say that the drawing for the top ballot position should be between their slate and the one backed by the Middlesex County Democratic Organization. That issue is likely to go to court – perhaps as early as tomorrow, before the ballot draw. If a Judge in Middlesex agrees with Pinkin, there might be statewide ramifications."

WEED DISPENSARY OPPOSED AT SITE OF FORMER ALCOHOL DISPENSARY — "4 Hoboken council members call on Story Dispensary to withdraw their planning board application," by Hudson County View's John Heinis : "Four Hoboken City Council members are calling on Story Dispensary LLC to pull their cannabis dispensary application from the planning board since it would be 'in the center of the most densely populated residential area' of the city. While the council approved 'common sense' cannabis reforms at last week's meeting, the Story application for 51-53 14th St. – the former Hudson Tavern – is not affected by the new regulations since it was already approved by the city's cannabis review board. The new laws cap the total number of dispensaries at six and more clearly delineate residential areas where recreational cannabis dispensaries cannot be located, such as within 500 feet of a school."

MUNCHIES FOR THOUGHT — Imagine if Hoboken limited the number of bars in town to six.

CHALLENGE GOOWS NOWHERE —"Sayegh backer loses bid to boot ex-Paterson councilman Goow from mayor's race ," by The Paterson Press' Joe Malinconico: "Former councilman Aslan Goow has fended off an attempt by Mayor Andre Sayegh's allies to keep him out of the May 10 mayoral election. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Thomas Brogan ruled in Goow's favor Wednesday afternoon in a lawsuit that questioned the former councilman's Paterson residency. The judge issued his decision after attorney Scott Salmon called three witnesses to try to prove Goow actually lives in West Milford."

THE FRENCHTOWN RESISTANCE — "Hunterdon tourism campaign aims to separate county from 'Sopranos'," by MyCentralJersey's Mike Deak: "The goal of Hunterdon County's new and aggressive tourism campaign – 'Explore Hunterdon: The Other Side of New Jersey' – is to distinguish the county from the "legacy" impressions of New Jersey. Clinton Township resident Thor Harris, CEO of Percepture, a global digital marketing and public relations agency based in Hunterdon, worked with the county's Department of Economic Development and Tourism to develop the campaign and a new logo. Harris, who has created campaigns for Colonial Williamsburg, New Orleans, Wyoming and Peru, told the county commissioners earlier this month that the goal of the county's campaign is sophisticated, yet simple."

—"NJ board clears ex-Ridgewood officials in final word on 2016 ethics charges"

—" Paterson seeks 15% less in state aid this year, citing 'significant fiscal progress'"

—" Muschal claims Trenton council making backroom deals on animal shelter"

—"Passaic GOP sheriff candidates tossed from ballot"

—"Newark South Ward candidates clash at St. John's"

—" Bayonne Planning Board OKs subdivision for 1,250-unit MOTBY project, Election Day hearing set"

—"Jersey City Council seeks to limit sales of 'infused' products like delta 8"

EVERYTHING ELSE

THERE'S ALWAYS A JERSEY ANGLE — "Frank James, accused NYC subway shooter, was charged with making threats in NJ in 1990s," by The Record's Nicholas Katzban: "Frank James, the man New York City police suspect of committing the brazen and bloody attack on a subway train Tuesday morning, had been arrested in Essex County, New Jersey, 27 years ago for making terroristic threats, according to the prosecutor's office. At the time, James, now 62, was charged with making terroristic threats during an incident in Fairfield"

SOMETIMES MORE THAN ONE — @ Joyce_Karam: "Meet Zack Tahhan, Syrian immigrant in NY who ID'ed the Brooklyn subway shooter. 'I am from Syria, I am from Jersey ..' he says proudly."

—"'I'm pretty sure he did die': Vulgar day in court for man accused in Lakewood bias attacks"

—"100 pounds of pot seized from store in [Lumberton] strip mall that was brazenly selling drugs, prosecutor says"

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