Another round up?
I know rumors have been swarming since the February arrests, but the chatter seems to have gotten louder very recently.
Has anybody been hearing the same rumors that another round of arrests by the FBI is coming to Monmouth County in the very near future?
Labels: Monmouth County
posted by Jackie Corley @ 4:11 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
There has been more "chatter", but so far no specifics. General speculation? For starters I'd look at people who were close to Palughi, and towns where gangsta developer Spalliero has or had applications. We'll see when that shoe drops. I'm sure there are many politicians in this county of both parties who get on their knees every night before bedtime and pray that Spalliero doesn't name names.
Chris Christie is doing an outstanding job locking up corrupt politicians, regardless of party affiliation, and I hope he stays on as long as possible. As part of the Bush Administration he would stand to be replaced under the next president. Who knows, if Hillary Clinton gets elected in 2008 it could be Peter Harvey in the job!
Towns where Spalliero has or had applications. Which ones are they? Well, Marlboro obviously - there may be more busts out of there. Also Howell (Colts Neck Crossings) and Aberdeen (Mirror Lake); I believe he also has done business in Manalapan and Lakewood.
Between the lines
Chris's younger brother
I agree that Christie has done some excellent work as a U.S. Attorney. But check the ELEC reports, particularly to the NJ State Republican Party during the three months before his appointment was announced - Christie isn't as clean as everyone seems to think.
I'll just leave it at that. I've been put under enough pressure about this thing as it is.
How about a Hillary Clinton vs. Jeb Bush match-up?
Again, check the ELEC reports and make your own assessment. I'll leave it at that.
I most certainly will check the ELEC reports. But if it's just the fact that Christie made contributions then I don't see the problem. When Republicans are in power they appoint Republicans to positions, just as when Democrats are in power they appoint Democrats. These appointees often come from the ranks of their contributors - like it or not. It then becomes the duty of the appointing official to make sure that the appointee can actually do the job and not simply warm a chair. Christie, so far, has filled the job admirably and performed a service that New Jersey desperately needs - rooting out political corruption. Rudy Giuliani, a Reagan appointee, did excellent work in New York prosecuting the mafia. State Attorney General Peter Harvey, on the other hand, shows what can happen with the same system of political spoils. Sometimes you get lightweights. It will be interesting to see who Corzine appoints as AG. Will he appoint a Democratic version of Christie or Giuliani, a committed crimefighter? Or will he reappoint Harvey?
How to fix the system? Tough question. You want to avoid lifetime appointments. You do want to have some control of appointment, term, qualifications, etc. That is enough stuff for a post in itself, or even a whole blog!
I agree that Christie has done an admirable job. I'm just a little jaded since certain thr-... well, let's call them "pressures"... were put on our newspaper by a high-ranking elected official who issued them to another elected official in the statehouse using Christie's name while we were investigating the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station project.
I believe now that those "pressures" were in fact not issued by Christie, nor with his knowledge, but by a nervous official eager to cover his butt. But still, it was a nerve-wracking time and I'm wary. (We even went to the Monmouth Prosecutor's Office when the "pressures" were directed toward the paper.)
As for the donations -- it's true that pay-to-play has become a normal part of New Jersey political life. In my opinion, the contributions by Christie's brother during the three months that his selection was being decided mark one of the most obvious examples of pay-to-play I've ever seen.
Would someone please tell rogerd73 that corzine won't come up for election until 2009, not 2007.
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