U.S. Attorney Battles New Jersey's Culture of Corruption.

My computer is under attack, again, this morning -- February 26, 2007 at 10:45 A.M. -- when I am blocking: http://view.atdmt.com/dmm/iview/msnnkson001000069dmm/direct/01

I will continue to run scans all day. Please see the essays in the "General" section of my msn group. http://www.Critique@groups.msn.com/ As I write these words, I have experienced a pretty typical several hours of struggle against cyberstalkers and harassment, obstructions and denials of access, mostly to my MSN group. My primary emotion is sadness. I feel sad for people who delight in inflicting frustration and harm on others, even sadder for a culture that remains indifferent and impotent against the cruelties on display in destroying art and intellectual work. Something important about the United States of America may be dying before your eyes. Let us hope not.

The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey was placed "under federal oversight in connection with allegations of widespread cronyism and financial fraud. ... The university was accused, among other crimes, of defrauding the federal and state governments of at least $4.9 million by deliberately overbilling Medicaid."

It turned out to be more like $100+ MILLION that was "misappropriated." See David W. Chen, "With a New Jersey University Under Federal Oversight, Corzine Removes Its President," in The New York Times, January 23, 2006, at p. B3.

I would not be surprised if there are MORE such revelations in the days and weeks ahead. Come to think of it, there are always more such revelations in New Jersey. I think that we can expect new convictions (very soon) for graft and corruption in the Garden State. These words seem even more timely and apt today. Given developments in the battle over compliance with a federal subpoena in February, 2007 -- it may be that these predictions are about to come true.

On February 1, 2006 The New York Times reported: "Trustees of New Jersey's financially troubled university voted on Wednesday to accept the resignation of its president Dr. John J. Petillo, but only after he agreed that his $600,000 severance package could be revoked if a federal investigation of the university finds evidence that he should have been fired."

Most working people in America do not have a $600,000 "severance package" to compensate them when they screw up and get fired for it. Additional information has, apparently, become available now: "... the institution had overbilled medicaid by $5 million or more, [add 95 million more!] spent hundreds of millions of dollars on no bid contracts, and lavished perks on board members, administrators and their political allies." The "overbilling" is now believed to exceed even these figures.

Finally, " ... in the United States Senate, leaders of the Finance Committee [have] demanded a briefing on how the university spent hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid, saying they were 'alarmed and deeply troubled' by the allegations."

And:

"Investigators have now added to their list of questions about $36.8 million in state funds that were sent to the university last year but are not accounted for. ... The United States Attorney Christopher J. Christie, has been investigating the allegations for nearly a year, and in December [2005] threatened to indict the university for Medicaid fraud unless administrators agreed to let a federal monitor oversee its finances."

David Kocieniewski, "Board Accepts Resignation of Medical University Leader," in The New York Times, February 1, 2006, at p. B4.

Two years later, nobody is going to jail because the people who stole this money are white and wear suits. They also, probably, pay off or happen to be New Jersey politicians. A much publicized letter by the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey [now Governor Chris Christie] alleges that "lawyers for the state Attorney General in New Jersey," under the previous [McGreevey] administration, "mishandled" politically sensitive investigations, "raising the possibility that state investigators were trying to shield political figures."

David Kocieniewski, "Ex-Prosecutors in Trenton Respond to U.S. Scolding," in The New York Times, January 27, 2006, p. B2.

New Jersey's Attorney General, in "previous" administrations, actually COVERED-UP for the big time political bosses and crooks. What's Stuart Rabner up to these days? Not much, I guess. Same old, same old. Are you a guilty bystander, Stuart? How about you, Anne Milgram? Who were you trying to protect, Anne?

John P. Martin and Jeff Whelan report in The Star Ledger, January 26, 2006, and at http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-4/1138258644245310.xml&coll=1

"U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie unleashed a blistering attack on the New Jersey Attorney General's Office" -- which, I believe, includes the Office of Attorney Ethics (OAE), which is widely believed to be a corrupt political entity -- " accusing State investigators of botching a 5 year corruption probe into South Jersey political boss George Norcross III so thoroughly that it could not be salvaged."

The U.S. Attorney was quoted as saying:

"In retrospect, our biggest mistake was to entrust a political corruption case of this magnitude to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office." Asking politicians in New Jersey to investigate political corruption (or judicial incompetence) is like asking the fox to guard the chicken coop. David Kocieniewski, "No Title and No Elective Office, But Influence Across New Jersey," in The New York Times, January 7, 2006, at p. B1 (referring to Camden County's "alleged" political boss GEORGE E. NORCROSS, III).

And also:

"New Jersey is an ethically challenged state. It is where far too many politicians have been indicted and where far too many people use their political connections to get jobs. That culture needs to change. Such change is slowly coming through aggressive prosecution by the U.S. Attorney's Office and legislation banning 'pay to play.' ... " Daily Record, February 3, 2006, http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=2006203&Category=OPINION01&ArtNo=60203

Governor John S. Corzine appointed three new members of the board of "the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, which is under federal oversight in connection with allegations of financial fraud and rampant cronyism." Among those selected to serve on the board is "Robert Del Tufo, a former United States Attorney and [New Jersey] Attorney General." The New York Times, February 10, 2006, at p. B7.

New information and sources may have become available to federal agencies, very recently, yielding useful clues that will result, I hope, in arrests and indictments in the immediate future.

If you are aware of criminal wrongdoing by political or legal authorities anywhere in New Jersey, go to FEDERAL agencies to report it. It is widely believed that there are multiple and on-going federal investigations concerning "events" in New Jersey at the moment. Each of them will probably lead to new investigations. My reasonable estimate, based on history, is that there will be more such revelations in the IMMEDIATE future.

It is always best to remain optimistic. There must be some public officials in New Jersey who are not corrupt. Actual suggested state slogan: "No, It's Not True That All of Our Politicians Have Been Indicted." As the state's legal system and political power-structure continues to induce laughter and nausea, New Jersey's Supreme Court is pondering the need for statues of each "justice" to be placed in public buildings. If you are disgusted by all of this corruption and hypocrisy on the part of New Jersey's legal "elite," you're not alone. Let's do something about it.

Call the feds if you can help.

U.S. Attorney Battles New Jersey Corruption.

David W. Chen & Ronald Smothers, "U.S. Battles Lawyers for New Jersey Legislature in Effort to Obtain Budget Records," The New York Times, February 13, 2007, at p. B6.
Richard G. Jones, "Suit Seeks to Ensure Ballot Safety in New Jersey," The New York Times, February 13, 2007, at p. B6. (Dead voters also wish to be counted.)

"NEWARK -- Federal prosecutors are battling lawyers representing New Jersey's state Legislature for access to budgetary records" -- really, it's only the Democrats who don't want the feds to figure out how money was spent and who wound up with that money -- "leading to partisan sniping throughout the state on Monday over whether the inquiry was limited to a single lawmaker who has long been under investigation or had expanded to other members."

If you are honest, why would you care if the feds look at public financial records?

"The battle revolves around Senator Wayne R. Bryant, 59, a Democrat from Camden who has been a legislator for a quarter century. For months, state and federal investigators have been looking into whether Mr. Bryant improperly steered millions of dollars in state grants to the University of Medicine and Dentistry in exchange for a $38,000-a-year position there in which a federal monitor recently said Mr. Bryant did 'little or no work.' "

"On Sunday, The Star-Ledger [sic.] of Newark reported that Christopher J. Christie, the United States attorney for New Jersey, had issued a broad subpoena to the state's Office of Legislative Services ... seeking records related to millions of dollars in state grants. The article said the subpoena requested documents 'pertaiting to conflicts of interest for lawmakers and staffers.'"

What's really going on here?

Well, the feds have "reason to believe" that a lot of the loot "misappropriated" by the Democrat-Criminal-Organization that runs New Jersey is being sucked away by goons affiliated with the politicians, who then kick back cash under the table so everybody's happy. ("Does Senator Menendez Have Mafia Friends?")

Bryant was probably (and allegedly) more of a pig at the trough than most others -- but probably not by much. Most the scams and games in Trenton are about getting public money to distribute on your home turf -- if you're a political whore, and most of them are -- so your boys can get it and make sure that you're taken care of when nobody's looking.

How's Senator Robert "Bob" Menendez doing? Everything hunky-dory with him and that Grand Jury, I wonder? ("Senator Bob Struggles to Find His Conscience" and "Is Senator Menendez a Suspect in Mafia-Political Murder in New Jersey?")

The other side of this lucrative business for New Jersey politicians is getting plenty of jelly beans from lawyers who want to be Superior Court judges.

Does it still cost $25,000 in cash, under the table, to become a judge or has the price gone up? Maybe now you also have to arrange sexual favors for a few politicians or "justices"? ("Is Paul Bergrin, Esq. an Ethical New Jersey Lawyer?" and "New Jersey's Legal System is a Whore House.")

Traditionally, this was compounded by a partnership between politicians and organized crime. Illegal gambling machines were said to be placed in local businesses in West New York, Hudson County, for instance, by "off-duty" police officers moonlighting for local mobsters to make extra cash. The same local mobsters then would arrange dinners with town mayors and other elected officials.

Do a little research on the history of the old West New York Police Department, which is probably better than what they have now.

These are the political zombies appointed to "ethics" panels to judge the characters of others. The entire state (politically and legally) is a horrible, grim and obscene joke at the expense of the U.S. Constitution, made possible by a corrupt and inept New Jersey Supreme Court. When rising to a Supreme Court judgeship is a matter of politics and "contributions," you can expect mediocre or worse judges. These are the people (until recently) deciding death penalty cases.

Among the quaint traditions in New Jersey politics, tampering with computerized voting records and voting machines is, allegedly, routine and not especially illegal or bad. The Jersey boys do a lot worse. Maybe that tampering has something to do with why local Democrats always win. Finally, the feds are doing something about this charming local custom. The problem with the U.S. attorney and the FBI, an old Jersey hood once said to me, is "they have no sense of humor." How true.

"TRENTON, Feb. 12 -- Voters rights activists want a judge to prevent the state from using more than 10,000 voting machines that they say are not properly certified and are highly vulnerable to computer hackers."

Jersey's political and criminal machine has computer people on the payroll -- along with news reporters -- to alter election results or create "banking errors" or otherwise change inconvenient records or statistics. A new division of the U.S. Justice Department and other agencies are developing "cybersquads" to deal with criminal use of Internet provider services in order to censor or destroy inconvenient and overly independent Internet voices. ("How Censorship Works in America" and "What is it like to be tortured?")

Hey, you think that has something to do with the harassment I deal with every day? On February 13, 2007 at 5:53 P.M., I blocked http://view.stdmt.com/iview/msnnkhac001160x600xPROHO200093msn/diret;wi.160;hi600/01 and, as I write this, I am blocking numerous hacks and other obstructions: http://view.atdmt.com/APM/iview/masnnkdrv0010000522apm/direct;wi728;hi90/01 February 14, 2007 at 8:59 A.M.

Happy Valnetine's Day.