Fred Niemann and Jack Morris sitting in a tree...

And there comes a time when everything is illuminated...

From today's Asbury Park Press article:
IN TINTON FALLS: Project needs stormwater system overhaul
Development terms made tougher; group won't sue

"Fred Niemann, a lawyer representing Edgewood [Properties], could not be reached for comment."

Edgewood Properties is Jack Morris' company. Jack Morris is a business partner of former Middlesex Democratic boss and future inmate John Lynch. Jack Morris has also been identified as the unnamed developer listed in an indictment brought by the U.S. Attorney's office against an elected official; in the indictment the unnamed developer is accused of bribing the elected official via campaign contributions, including wheeled campaign contributions.

Jack Morris has not been charged by Chris Christie's folks over at U.S. Attorney's office, though the bribery-via-campaign contributions accusation was made public in the indictment several months ago.

For those who forget, Jack Morris and his companies have given over $50,000 in campaign contributions to Chris Christie family friend state Sen. Joe Kyrillos. Former Matawan mayor and current Freeholder Deputy Director Rob Clifton also received money from a PAC that had Morris as a top contributor (some might consider that particular contribution wheeled money and Clifton has since returned it).

Morris also contributed to the Monmouth County GOP and to one of those illustrious legal-but-ethically-questionable Mon. Cty. GOP PACs during the time Fred Niemann was chair.


And no, the Jack Morris-Aberdeen/Matawan
Train Station issue is not going away.

Republican leader tied to controversial religious group

(Published in the October 6, 2005 issue of The Courier.)

Republican leader tied to controversial religious group

By JACKIE CORLEY

During last year's Monmouth County Freeholder race, Republicans had a bone to pick with Democrats after a derogatory comment about women made by one of the Democrat candidates years earlier, was made public.

Republican Freeholder candidates in 2004, Amy Handlin and Rob Clifton, and their campaign manager, Dan Gallic (formerly the executive director of the Monmouth County Republican Organization), gained political traction when they revealed that Democrat candidate Steve Morlino made a joke during a Howell Township Council meeting stating that some women "should be muzzled."

"If my opponent is threatened by intelligent women who speak their minds, he'll have a tough time working with the people of this county," Clifton said at the time.

What Republicans kept in their closets, however, was Gallic's connection with a religious group that has been sharply criticized for its own views of women, as well as statements by former members likening the group to "a cult."

The People of Hope, located in Plainfield, is a Catholic charismatic covenant community that was founded by Gallic's father, Bob Gallic, and a handful of others in 1977. However, the People of Hope is not recognized by Catholic Church as a lay organization, according to Jim Goodness, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Newark.

"There was a time (in 1991 when the community appealed to the Archdiocese of Newark for official recognition) when Archbishop Theodore McCarrick (now Cardinal Archbishop of Washington) had expressed reservations about the organization," Goodness said. "They were not in communion with the archdiocese. There were some concerns as to whether or not this was truly a Catholic organization."

According to Goodness, the Catholic Church now allows priests to say mass for the People of Hope, but the organization is still in no way recognized as a lay Catholic community.

Gallic's involvement with the People of Hope first became news in the political sphere during state Sen. Anthony Bucco's 2003 re-election campaign against challenger Blair MacInnes. Gallic served as Bucco's campaign manager.

According to MacInnes, Gallic was quoted in a local Morristown newspaper as saying, "The only thing that makes [MacInnes] legitimate is her husband and her husband's money."

MacInnes's campaign charged that the comments were sexist and called attention to Gallic's involvement with and leading role in the People of Hope.

"Koinonia Academy [in Plainfield], the school run by the People of Hope, has been accused of teaching female students classes in 'active submission' and discouraging female students from attending college," an October 16, 2003 release from MacInnes's campaign stated.

The above release also states: "Former members of the group reported to the Bergen Record that: husband[s] and wives are encouraged to go out only on 'prescribed date nights'; teenagers are prohibited from dating without approval from group leaders; older women are told not to wear pants or makeup; two women who left the group described a husband who wrote out his wife's daily schedule in 15-minute intervals."

A former member, who contacted The Courier but declined to allow his name to appear in print for fear of retaliation, confirmed the specifics issued by MacInnes's campaign. The source also confirmed that women in the group were taught to be subservient to men.

Many members left the group in the early 1990s following McCarrick expressing concerns about the community.

A family member of one such individual created a web site [http://members.tripod.com/~PeopleofHope] billed as "The Hope Awareness Center." The Courier has been in contact with the web site's creator but is withholding the person's name because of fears expressed by former members who are no longer supportive of the organization's teachings.

The site details several aspects of "cult-like" control exhibited by the organization.

"It is important to note that many members of these communities are good and faithful people who are trying to do the right thing but are living in a deceptive environment," the family member writes on the site. "These groups are considered totalitarian and high demand organizations with rules and regulations that enslave many people and take away their own independent thinking and thought processes."

Among the issues the Hope Awareness Center details is a 1985 state and federal investigation into tax records to determine whether or not Bob Gallic misused funds to purchase land that his and other high-ranking community members' homes were later built on. The investigation did not yield any charges.

Also included on the web site is a 'letter to the editor' that appeared in Fidelity Magazine, a now-defunct Christian publication, according to the Hope Awareness Center. The name is withheld by the Hope Awareness Center, though archives of Fidelity Magazine are available for purchase.

An excerpt from the letter reads:

"The following briefly examines each control I experienced…in the Hope pastoral system. Behavior control was accomplished by the structuring, regulation and discipline of a member's physical reality. Hope members schedule their week with the discernment of a pastoral leader…

"Thought control has only one goal: to transform the thought mechanisms of a person to be 'one with the group.'… As recently as June 23, 1991, at a general gathering of the community a senior head coordinator decided that it is a sin of deception and unity to read material that is critical of covenant communities and Hope.

"Emotional control uses fear as an effective way to keep members committed to the group. Very often many were prayed with to be delivered from fears the group in its own way instilled them. By the false creation of fears…and enemies, and making those enemies seem imminent (Islam, Communism, etc.), the community imposed an unconscious fear to leaving the confines of the group…

"Sharing and relating is controlled…Women getting together was also controlled. After all, women had to be protected from gossip or complaining. The general observation is that most women have superficial relationships and are missing a particular bond and support that women need with each other."

Not all former members felt harmed by their experiences in the People of Hope or thought the group espoused beliefs that were sexist.

"I always felt that the Hope community did a better job of respecting women's dignity and uniqueness and their giftedness better than any group outside them. My own experience led me to be a far better spouse," Michael J. Donnelly wrote in an e-mail.

In another e-mail Donnelly stated, "The aspects of community life which have led people to judge it as 'cultish' are its seeking to find and live a common life of morality and supportiveness toward each other…I would call the People of Hope a non-ordained religious family which seeks to serve God in a dedicated and committed way."

Gallic's perspective

While the former members of the People of Hope that The Courier spoke with said otherwise, Gallic denied he was ever a leader of the religious community and said he is not currently a member.

When asked if his father founded the People of Hope, Gallic said, "I believe he did."

Gallic, a resident of Warren Township in Somerset County, who ran unsuccessfully in 2003 for an Assembly seat left vacant by state Sen. Tom Kean, did acknowledge that he attended the Koinonia Academy.

Gallic, whose one-year tenure as Monmouth County Republican Director ended in August, said his views do not matter in the campaigns and organizations he works for.

"I didn't know Monmouth County from a hole in the wall. I didn't know who [Monmouth County Republican Chair] Fred Niemann was [before August 2004]," Gallic said.

While Gallic is no longer the executive director of the Monmouth County Republican Party (and no one has been selected to replace him as of yet), he said he does serve as a political consultant for the county organization and acknowledged serving as Handlin's and Clifton's campaign manager last year.

"I'm not the executive director of the Monmouth County Republican Party. I'm nothing. I resigned in August. I'm just a consultant. My views do not get put into anything. If and when I'm elected to public office, that's when my views will matter," Gallic said. "As for anyone who wants to attack me personally, my only response is that my grandfather was Jewish and I have an uncle who is Puerto Rican."

MacInnes, a Morristown resident, recalled the 2003 campaign and Gallic's campaigning style in particular as turning very ugly.

"I had a very contentious relationship with Dan Gallic. I think he and the People of Hope have a Medieval notion about women," MacInnes said, noting that she believed some of his comments about her revealed him to have a misogynistic view of women.

"I found Gallic to really be a right-wing ideologue. I would think that the Monmouth County Republicans would have enough on their plate without having to defend Gallic's position on the role of women in politics," MacInnes said. "New Jersey is 43rd out of 50th states in terms of the number of women in elected office. Whereas many people, including myself, would like to see that change, I think Mr. Gallic is happy to see that number stay as it is."

Niemann did not respond to questions about why Gallic was selected as executive director or what his role was or is in the Monmouth County Republican Organization.

With reporting by Jim Purcell

CAPTION:

DROP QUOTE:
"I didn't know Monmouth County from a hole in the wall. I didn't know who [Monmouth County Republican Chair] Fred Niemann was [before August 2004]," Gallic said.

Green candidate challenges freeholders to end pay-to-play

Green candidate challenges freeholders to end pay-to-play

By JACKIE CORLEY

Brian Unger hopes voters will paint their election ballots Green this November: Green Party, that is.

Unger, who is running for the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders on the Green Party ticket, has recently made waves with his call for tough anti-pay-to-play legislation on the county level.

Unger proposed a reform package he titled the “Public Accountability in Contracting Act” (PACA). The Green Party candidate’s proposal would forbid the awarding of contracts over $10,000 to individuals or businesses that contribute more than $400 to freeholder campaigns. It would also prohibit current contractors from contributing to campaigns of incumbent freeholders. Additionally, Unger’s plan calls for a four-year ban on contracts with businesses or individuals who have made political contributions to freeholder campaigns.

On September 22, 2004, then-Governor James E. McGreevey issued an executive order, effective October 15, 2004, prohibiting state contractors who receive more than $17,500 in contracts with state agencies from contributing to a gubernatorial campaign or a state or county political party committee.

A bill approved by the state legislature on June 16, 2004, to take effect on January 1, 2006, would prohibit contractors who receive more than $17,500 from counties or municipalities from making campaign contributions to county or municipal political parties or candidates running for office in that county or municipality.

Unger said the state legislation is filled with loopholes, and he criticized the Board of Chosen Freeholders for not passing a stronger resolution at the county level.

“There is a grass-roots movement in the towns and counties to do the tough, honest work that the state legislature doesn’t have the moral or ethical fiber to do,” Unger said. “There is a bill in the [New Jersey Legislature] now that would allow municipalities and counties to continue to adopt their own [anti-pay-to-play] measures, but it’s not going anywhere because no one’s looking, and there isn’t enough pressure to move the bill forward into law.”

Unger said the all-Republican Board of Chosen Freeholders is incorrect in believing that anti-pay-to-play legislation cannot be passed at the local or county level before the state acts.

“Mercer County has adopted pay-to-play reforms, other counties are considering them, and many towns including Long Branch and Belmar have already done so. The citizens of Dover Township are going to referendum to force their government to adopt more stringent measures,” Unger said. “We need this measure now because the state’s legislation is weak and only in effect from January to June of each year. So it’s important that as many towns and counties as possible adopt the toughest pay-to-play and wheeling legislation. Every county in the state should do this. It could help steamroll the legislature into meaningful action.”

“Wheeling” is a practice whereby contributors give money to a political action committee (PAC) and, in turn, the PAC gives money to the candidate the contributor was actually looking to give money to. Wheeling places a degree of distance between a candidate and a contributor, particularly when a direct contribution would give the appearance of impropriety or a conflict of interest.

The state’s provision only prohibits “wheeled” contributions from January 1 to June 30 of each year.

“Wheeling allows contractors, vendors and party bosses to secretly contribute to campaigns without proper disclosure. With cash gifts hidden, the contributors influence legislation, the award of contracts and patronage jobs, etc.,” an August 25 release from Unger’s campaign stated.

Contractors and contributions

Political contributions by county contractors frequently find their way into freeholder elections.

Money from the Monmouth County Republican Committee is used to heavily finance Republican freeholder elections. For example, during Rob Clifton’s and Amy Handlin’s 2004 general freeholder election, the two Republican candidates each received $50,598.12 in in-kind contributions, about 40 percent of the total money the pair received at that time, from the Monmouth County Republican Committee, according to New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) reports.

Under Monmouth County Republican Chairman Niemann’s watch, the Monmouth County Republican Committee raised the $430,035 in contributions over $400 from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005, excluding money contributed to the county party by election funds of would-be office holders.

Of the $430,035 the Monmouth County Republican Committee collected during Niemann’s time as county chair, $75,570 came from companies that received a contract or multiple contracts with the county, as approved by the Board of Chosen Freeholders, from June 2004 to April 2005.

Additionally, according to the Monmouth County Republican Committee’s July 15, 2005 quarterly ELEC report, the organization received $37,000 of the $37,500 raised that quarter from the Monmouth Leadership PAC. Notably, $37,000 is the maximum a political action committee can donate to a county political committee. The $37,000 contribution was made on June 13, 2005.

The Monmouth Leadership PAC is billed as a non-partisan ideological committee created to promote the candidacy of strong leaders in Monmouth County. In fact, the Monmouth Leadership PAC shares the same P.O. Box with the Monmouth County Republican Committees well as many of the same contributors.

An end to wheeling?

Unger said that wheeling funds from various county political committees and PACs can be stopped through relatively simple legal measures.

Unger’s proposal would require that any business or individual applying for a county contract of over $10,000 submit a certification stating that they did not give funds to county candidates through outside individuals or committees.

“A simple cross-check with ELEC contribution reports would indicate if improperly wheeled money had come to the candidate. Certifications are a common regulatory mechanism widely used by state, federal and local governments. The process would halt wheeling for any contractor that wanted a county contract,” the release from Unger’s campaign stated.

At the very least, Unger hopes voters will look to the Green Party when they go the polls this year.

“The two major political parties in power cannot agree on who loses and who gains. Neither has been able to get the upper hand politically and both have successfully stopped tough, credible legislation from passing year after year after year,” Unger said. “The Monmouth County Freeholders are wrong. They can adopt pay-to-play reforms now and they should. Our home county is the political corruption poster child for the entire state. We need to be out front leading the fight for clean honest government.”

Latest e-mail from The Researcher

From: John Burns nocredibilitycourier@XXXXX.com
To: Jackie Corley jcorley @ gmail.com
Date: Aug 30, 2005 8:55 AM
Subject: Re: hmmm

We shall see. Only if I could be as important as the writers at the Courier. Ask Rosmarie Peters, Amy Handlin or Rob Clifton how much of an impact the Courier had on their election prospects--the results speak for themselves. The only election prospects that have been impacted by the Courier are Mr. Azzolina's--and that was a losing prospect--almost two years ago and then finally this June. Obviously, this is the business the Courier is in--not journalism, but politics. Politics is a rough hobby and if you want to be involved in it, then you have to not only be willing to dish it out, but to take it too. I have Mr. Purcell's email address, but thank you anyway.

-The Researcher

Well, folks, the documentation for just about all of my articles is available on the index to your right. You can decide for yourselves whether I'm providing access to information or playing politics.

If I'm going to be retaliated against for doing my job, well that would say a lot about the county I live in.

Please support the freedom of the press.

Clifton to return money from Morris-funded PAC

Published in the August 11, 2005 issue of The Courier.

Clifton to return money from Morris-funded PAC

By JACKIE CORLEY

After learning that the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government was significantly funded by developer Jack Morris, former Matawan mayor and Freeholder Rob Clifton said he will return the $5,000 he received from the political action committee (PAC).

As first reported in the Thursday, July 28 issue of The Courier, the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government, an East Brunswick-based PAC, received significant funding from Morris, his wife and associated companies. The group, formed on July 3, 2003, contributed $5,000 to Clifton’s successful general freeholder election.

From July 2003 to June 17, 2004, the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government raised $93,200 and distributed $62,600 of that in campaign contributions.

Significant contributions made to the PAC came from such development and construction heavyweights as Jingoli Construction, Ferreira Construction and the Columbia Group, among others.

The Columbia Group, a company owned and operated by Morris in Piscataway, is the lead redeveloper for Matawan in the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project.

The Columbia Group’s plan, as described in a September 23, 2002 memorandum from Richard Coppola, planner for the interlocal agency formed by Aberdeen and Matawan, included 1,000 residential dwelling units and did not meet the specifications detailed by the interlocal services agreement.

The Matawan Borough Council selected the Columbia Group as its redeveloper in a resolution passed December 3, 2002. Matawan was subsequently sued by Silver Oaks Properties, the company selected by Aberdeen to serve as its redeveloper for the project. The issue is still in litigation.

On September 25, 2003, Jack Morris, his wife and his business partner each contributed $7,200 to the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government.

Furthermore, another company Morris is employed by, Marlboro Routes 9 & 520 Development Company LLC, located at 69 Century Drive in Clifton, contributed $3,200 on September 25, 2003.

The $24,800 represented about 27 percent of the $93,200 in the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government’s coffers by June 17, 2004, the largest share held by any associated group of individuals who contributed to the PAC by that time.

Additionally, the Columbia Group and Smith Street Properties, another Morris company, each contributed $7,200 to the PAC some time between July 2004 and September 2004. ELEC reports filed by the PAC do not specify an exact date.

The majority of the $62,600 distributed by the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government went to candidates in northern counties in the state. However, Clifton, who was mayor of Matawan at the time the borough’s governing body selected the Columbia Group as its lead redeveloper, was the only Monmouth official to receive funds from the year-old PAC.

On June 17, 2004, the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government contributed $5,000 to Clifton’s freeholder election fund. Clifton raised a total of $19,650 in contributions over $400 for the 2004 freeholder election, in which Freeholder Amy Handlin was his running mate. Thus, the $5,000 contribution made by the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government represented 25 percent of the total contributions over $400 made to Clifton’s election fund.

In addition to contributions made to office seekers, the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government also contributed $24,000 to the New Jersey Republican State Committee on October 1, 2004, when state Sen. Joe Kyrillos was chair of the party.

Clifton to return money

At the Tuesday, August 2 meeting of the Matawan Borough Council, Clifton was on hand to swear-in Councilwoman Victoria Allen to the seat vacated by former Councilman Michael Cannon.

When questioned about the $5,000 contribution, Clifton said he was not aware that Morris significantly funded the PAC and, since being made aware of that fact, planned to return the money.

“When I received a letter from David Himmelman, who was the head of it – the attorney, and CC’ed on that was Jack Sinagra, who is a former Republican state senator. When I did some background checking on it—I also asked the state Republican Committee to check it—[I saw] it was bi-partisan. It gave to Assemblyman Bill Baroni. It gave to a [Democrat] Union County Surrogate candidate and the Burlington County Republican Party,” Clifton said.

“So, as I did some background checking, I honestly didn’t check into who had donated to the PAC. But from the indications I had gotten from Democrats and Republicans, it was a legitimate political action committee and that’s why I took it. Now, in hindsight, seeing who is the developer in question who contributed, I’m going to give the money back,” Clifton concluded.

Matawan defends choice of Columbia Group

Published in the August 11, 2005 issue of The Courier.

Matawan defends choice of Columbia Group

Members of the Matawan Borough Council defended the borough’s selection of the Columbia Group as its lead redeveloper for the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Project. Meanwhile, former Matawan Councilman Michael Cannon recounts a version of events that directly contradicts statements issued by fellow Republicans, including state Sen. Joe Kyrillos.

By JACKIE CORLEY

Members of the Matawan Borough Council are not taking recent press reports and calls for investigation into the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project lightly.

At the August 2 meeting of the Matawan Borough Council, Councilman and Matawan Republican Chair Paul Buccellato and Councilwoman Debra Buragina held an impromptu public information session on the project. Freeholder and former Matawan Mayor Rob Clifton attended the meeting.

“Reading the newspaper accounts of this project, one would have to believe that Matawan was wrong and that Aberdeen was right,” Buccellato said. “Number one, New Jersey Transit has endorsed this plan (the Columbia Group’s plan selected by Matawan). Number two, the Asbury Park Press has endorsed it, or favors it. And the state of New Jersey endorsed [the plan] by designating Matawan one of 14 municipalities in the state to be designated as a transit village. Everyone can’t be wrong and Aberdeen right.”

Aberdeen Township Manager Mark Coren said he has seen no official documents pertaining to any endorsement by New Jersey Transit for the Columbia Group’s plan.
Coren also critiqued the transit village designation.

“The designation of Matawan as a transit village is part of this whole process. [Columbia Group principal Jack] Morris’s representative said at presentations heard by officials from both towns prior to the designation [of the Columbia Group as Matawan’s redeveloper] that they were the local team and have friends in state government and can get things done,” Coren said.

Coren noted that, while areas of Matawan surround the train station, the station itself lies within Aberdeen.

Coren said, “How could Matawan even apply for a transit village designation when they don’t have a train station in their town?”

During the August 2 Matawan meeting, Buccellato said an official agreement had not been signed with Morris, but that a resolution had merely been passed designating the Columbia Group the borough lead redeveloper. The borough was still in the process of negotiating, Buccellato said.

“The mayor and council that is sitting up here presently, the freeholder (Clifton), we would not sell Matawan down the drain,” Buccellato said.

An audience member called out, “You already did.”

History of the project

In March 2001, Democrat-controlled Aberdeen and Republican-controlled Matawan joined into an interlocal services agreement for the redevelopment of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station.

In the early stages of the project, Aberdeen Township Manager Mark Coren said he worked closely with former Matawan Borough Administrator and current Middlesex County Republican Chair Joe Leo.

“Joe Leo was a real ace in this whole process. There wasn’t a problem that he and I couldn’t sit down and discuss,” Coren said. “He was an honest broker. I can’t say that for the people he was working for.”

In September 2002, five teams submitted plans for the project in response to the interlocal agency’s request for proposals (RFP).

Richard Coppola, planner for the interlocal agency, endorsed a proposal by Silver Oaks Properties saying, “This proposal most closely meets the agency’s plan that has been endorsed by both the [Matawan] Borough Council and the [Aberdeen] Township Council.” Aberdeen agreed, selecting Silver Oaks Properties as the town’s redeveloper.

A plan introduced by Morris’s company, the Columbia Group, was deemed “not consistent” with the interlocal agency’s vision of the redevelopment project. However, Matawan broke with the agency’s assessment and chose the Columbia Group, along with K. Hovnanian and Mack-Cali Realty, as the redevelopment team for the borough in a resolution adopted December 3, 2002.

On two occasions, once in November 2000 and once on or about December 16, 2002, Coren and Leo met with Kyrillos to discuss the redevelopment project.

Coren said that the first meeting was productive. “The senator told us the two towns should work together and hold a public process that was fair and open,” Coren said.

The second meeting, however, was not a positive one, in Coren’s opinion. “It was the first time that it became clear to Joe Leo and myself that there was a preference made by a state senator.”

Kyrillos confirmed that the two meetings occurred but denied that he lobbied on behalf of the Columbia Group.

However, Michael Dasaro, a Democrat candidate for the 13th District Assembly, called the timing and amount of the contributions from Morris to Kyrillos “a little strange” at a press conference on Thursday, July 21 at the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station.

From April 1999 to June 2005, Morris, his companies and individuals employed by his companies contributed $50,200 to Kyrillos’s campaign funds.

“A quick review of the timeline shows that: one, the municipalities entered into an interlocal services agreement; two, the Columbia Group’s proposal was inconsistent with the plan; three, Sen. Kyrillos lobbied on behalf of [the] Columbia [Group] in Republican-controlled Matawan; four, [the] Columbia [Group] is designated redeveloper in Matawan; and five, Sen. Kyrillos backs then-Matawan Mayor Rob Clifton over long time Freeholder Ed Stominski in the 2004 freeholder election,” Dasaro said. “The residents of the 13th District can no longer sit idly by as their quality of life is bought and sold for campaign contributions and political support.”

Former Matawan councilman
defends Coren, Leo

Former Matawan Councilman Michael Cannon, a Republican, said recent newspaper coverage of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project has led him to believe that former Matawan Borough Administrator Joe Leo was fired for a different reason than what Cannon was originally told.

“Joe Leo and Mark Coren got along very well. I think [some members of the council] were afraid that Mark and Joe Leo were getting along too well,” Cannon said. “Mr. Leo told me a number of times that there would have to be a compromise [between the two towns] on the train station redevelopment. I think those turned out to be prophetic words. I don’t think that some people on Matawan’s side wanted to hear that.”

Cannon, who was a member of the Matawan Borough Council from January 2001 until July 2005, said he believed that Matawan officials have painted an unfair portrait of Coren.

“Matawan tries to portray Coren as an all or nothing type of guy. I don’t think that’s the case. The bottom line is you have to be honest enough to look back and say does [Coren] achieve things? The answer is yes. If Matawan ran the town half as good as Mark runs his own town, we’d be a lot better off,” Cannon said.
Additionally, Cannon’s account of events that took place while the fate of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project was being decided contradict statements made by Kyrillos.

Cannon said that, while Kyrillos never contacted him directly, he did recall a conversation with Councilman Joe Penniplede, now deceased, in which Penniplede said Kyrillos placed a phone call to him and discussed the train station project.

“[Kyrillos] wanted to know [from Penniplede] how I felt on the train station redevelopment,” Cannon said.

However, Kyrillos firmly denied that he ever met or even spoke to any member of the Matawan Borough Council regarding the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project.

“Even if I had lobbied these people, which I didn’t and, in fact, had no communication [with Aberdeen and Matawan officials] outside of the two administrators (Coren and Leo) in my office at the same time, so what?” said Kyrillos, noting that he did not have a vote on the Matawan Council and therefore could not exert any real influence on the project.

Cannon’s statements also contradicted comments issued by other Matawan Borough Council members.

During Dasaro’s press conference, Buccellato said that he was not a part of the joint management committee formed by Aberdeen and Matawan officials.

Cannon called any suggestion that Buccellato had not participated in joint management committee meetings “laughable.”

“If he wasn’t officially on the committee, he sure attended a lot of meetings,” Cannon said.

According to Cannon, the Matawan officials who frequently attended meetings of the joint management committee were Buccellato, Buragina, Clifton and Matawan Attorney Brian Mullen. He said it was his recollection that Buccellato, Buragina and Clifton attended “99.9 percent” of joint management committee meetings.

During his time on the council, Cannon said he attended one of the redevelopment meetings.

According to Clifton, Morris’s portion of the project—some 500 apartments—had been immediately removed from the redevelopment plan after the Columbia Group was selected as Matawan’s lead redeveloper for the project. Cannon concurred that that was the case.

Clifton also said that Morris has not attended any negotiations with the Borough Council since the apartments were removed from the redevelopment plan.
However, Cannon said that representatives from the Columbia Group have met with Matawan officials within the past six months. He noted that he was unable to attend any council meetings during March and April of 2005 when he was battling leukemia, and thus could not comment on any events that occurred during that time.

Cannon denied that any members of the council or other elected officials attempted to influence his vote.

“No one approached me on how to vote. There were suggestions by [members of] the council on what was best for Matawan. Clifton and Buccelato expressed their opinions but they never tried to influence me. I never spoke to Joe Kyrillos directly,” Cannon said. “The only thing I would question would be that there were a lot of meetings [of the joint management committee] that other council members attended. The only people who ever attended those meetings were Clifton, Buccelato and Buragina.”

According to Cannon, the three officials were responsible for reporting to the rest of the council on what took place at the joint management committee meetings.

Cannon said that he believed and still believes that, of the RFPs submitted, the Columbia Group’s proposal represented the best plan for Matawan.

In light of recent coverage of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project, the events that took place before the interlocal services agreement disintegrated have become “more clear” in Cannon’s mind, the former councilman said.

The future?

“I’m mostly sad for the residents,” Cannon said, noting that he does not know when or if the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project will ever come to fruition.

Meanwhile, Dasaro has called for the Office of the State Attorney General to investigate the financial relationship between Kyrillos and Morris.

One thing seems certain: trains won’t be leaving a redeveloped Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station any time in the near future.

SIDEBAR

September 23, 2002 memorandum from Coppola &
Coppola Associates, planner for the Interlocal
Agency formed by Aberdeen and Matawan

To: Mark Coren, Aberdeen Township Manager

From: Coppola & Coppola Associates

Subject: Request For Proposals
Commerce and Transportation Center
Aberdeen Township & Matawan Borough

Silver Oaks Properties

This proposal is the most consistent with the “Plan” in terms of square footage and the number of dwellings (1,185,800 s.f. of commercial in Aberdeen and 861,600 s.f. of commercial in Matawan, with 60 townhouses and 360 apartments in the Borough). A significant amount of parking spaces (11,497 spaces) are proposed in the garages which form the platforms for the commercial development above. Proposed road improvements are significant, as with the “Millennium Homes” proposal [which wasn’t selected by either town], but appear to be more feasible than that proposed by “Millennium Homes.” While there is a need for an addressment of the required COAH units and there is concern with the sensitivity of the design to the neighboring properties, the proposal could be refined to address these issues.

1. Most consistent with the “Plan,” including non-residential square footage and number of dwelling units.

2. High level of detail and cost projection.

3. Road improvements include use of the Henry Hudson trail for new access ramps parallel to the NJ Transit line to GSP and for a new road to Route 79 using the old transit line.

4. Buildings are high (up to 10 stories); parking garages create platforms for commercial and retail uses above, although some retail will be at ground level.

5. Orientation of commercial area inward to rail line, with plazas and levels of buildings tiered down towards plazas; orientation of residential areas also internal as well as to vistas beyond center.

6. Residential units are in two (2) areas at edge with vistas to lake and marshes; no flats over retail. Office, retail and parking are all intermixed within the core buildings around the train tracks and plazas. Not as sensitive to existing developed areas outside the center, since the buildings will be elevated on top of parking garages (with some street level retail possible).

K. Hovnanian [Columbia Group]

This proposal does not have the detail of the others, especially regarding road and other infrastructure improvements. A total of 1,000 dwelling units are proposed, but with less than 270,000 s.f. of non-residential space in Matawan Borough, and only 382,000 square feet of office/retail space in Aberdeen. The buildings tend to be massive in six, with a six (6) story L-shaped parking garage of 3,800 spaces bordering the existing uses in the area of Harrison and Dolan Avenues.

1. Not consistent with the “Plan”; proposed 1,000 du’s but less than 270,000 s.f. of non-residential space in Matawan and only 382,000 square feet of office/retail space in Aberdeen.

2. Moderate level of detail, but mostly oriented to residential uses.

3. No discussion of infrastructure improvements, except site plan shows “proposed Henry Hudson access road and trail.”

4. Building heights are not clearly specified; 10-story mixed use building in center with one 5-story parking garage in Matawan and two (2) massive stand alone 6-story parking garages and a surface computer [sic] parking lot in Aberdeen.

5. Orientation to central “Village Square,” which has a low profile; most existing development north of Harrison will face two (2) sides of a massive 6-story parking garage.

6. Residential buildings are 4-stories with interior surface parking, all located outside center core and west of Atlantic Ave.

Anthony "The Rat" Palughi pleads guilty

Published in the August 4, 2005 issue of The Courier.

Anthony "The Rat" Palughi pleads guilty

By JACKIE CORLEY

FBI "person of investigative interest" Anthony "Tony the Rat" Palughi, Wall, had his day in court this week, after months of speculation by residents in Monmouth County that Palughi was somehow involved in the corruption probe targeting area officials.

Palughi waived an open court prosecution by indictment and pled guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Matini in Newark Tuesday to a bribery charge.

According to the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office, Palughi acted as an intermediary, accepting money from a confidential FBI informant as payment for introducing the cooperating witness to elected officials who were reportedly willing to accept bribes. Allegedly, these officials, including elected office holders in Middletown and Neptune, then received money in exchange for securing contracting and demolition work in those towns, a press release from the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Palughi admitted to accepting $12,500 in bribes between March and October of 2004. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

"Palughi and others were extensively recorded on video and audio tape in discussions with undercover FBI agents whom they believed were employees of the cooperating witness, and who were purportedly involved in the laundering of loansharking proceeds as well as paying off local officials," the release from the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Republican Insider?

Before Monmouth County corruption allegations began surfacing, Palughi served as the superintendent of the Monmouth County Division of Bridges for eight years.

At the time of his retirement in March 2005, Palughi earned a salary of $92,114.

Palughi was appointed to the position on January 6, 1997 and reappointed on January 7, 2002. Both times, the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, composed of former Freeholder Director Harry Larrison, current Freeholder Director Tom Powers, former Freeholder Ed Stominski, Freeholder Theodore Narozanick and current Freeholder Deputy Director Amy Handlin, voted unanimously to retain Palughi, according to the minutes of the meetings.

During the time Palughi was employed by the county, allegations were brought to the attention of the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders that he rarely showed up to his county job and was reportedly doing political work when he was on county time, according to an Asbury Park Press article published March 6, 2005. However, no official action was taken against Palughi because of his relationship with Larrison.

In the Asbury Park Press article, Handlin was quoted as saying Larrison was the only freeholder to defend Palughi.

Palughi served as president of the Affiliated Republican Club of Monmouth County for five consecutive years in the 1990s. By all accounts, his tenure at the head of the club ran smoothly.

But the Affiliated Republican Club was not Palughi's only venture into the Monmouth County Republican organization.

Palughi was regularly paid to put up campaign signs for Republican county candidates during election season.

Palughi's last venture into Republican politics took place during the 2004 freeholder and sheriff elections. On October 2, 2004, Palughi was paid $1,000 by the Monmouth County Republican Committee for "campaign sign labor," according to Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) documents.

A county employee, who asked not to be named in this article, said Palughi's campaign work was completed on county time. Whether or not Palughi was on the clock when he accepted bribes between March 2004 and October 2004 is not clear at this time.



Of the $1,000 Palughi was paid for putting up signs, $333.33 was attributed as an expenditure incurred on behalf of Handlin's campaign; $333.33 on behalf of then Matawan Mayor and current Freeholder Rob Clifton; and $333.33 on behalf of Sheriff Joseph Oxley.

Handlin, the only one of the three candidates who had authority over Palughi's county position at the time he completed the 2004 campaign work, has refused comment on direct questioning about Palughi and has not responded to numerous written, electronic and telephone inquiries about Palughi's role in her campaign.

Palughi will likely be unable to participate in any campaigns this year. His sentencing on the bribery charge is scheduled for November 9.

Clifton received campaign money from Morris-funded PAC

Published in The Bayshore Courier on July 28, 2005

Clifton received campaign money from Morris-funded PAC

By JACKIE CORLEY

Does the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government live up to its name?

The East Brunswick-based political action committee (PAC) was formed on July 3, 2003 as a nonpartisan ideological group. The PAC, which counts former Republican state Sen. Jack Sinagra, R-Middlesex, as its chairperson and David B. Himelman as its treasurer, is located at 44 Valley Forge Drive.

From July 2003 to June 17, 2004, the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government raised $93,200 and distributed $62,600 of that in campaign contributions.

Significant contributions made to the PAC came from such development and construction heavyweights as Jingoli Construction, Ferreira Construction and the Columbia Group, among others.

The Columbia Group, a Jack Morris company based in Piscataway, is the lead redeveloper for Matawan in the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project. The Columbia Group’s plan, as described in a September 23, 2002 report by Richard Coppola, planner for the interlocal agency formed by Aberdeen and Matawan, included 1,000 residential dwelling units and did not meet the specifications detailed by the interlocal services agreement.

The Matawan Borough Council selected the Columbia Group as its redeveloper in a resolution passed December 3, 2002. Matawan was subsequently sued by Silver Oaks Properties, the company selected by Aberdeen to serve as its redeveloper for the project. The issue is still in litigation.

On September 25, 2003, Jack Morris, his wife and his business partner each contributed $7,200 to the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government.

Furthermore, another company Morris is employed by, Marlboro Routes 9 & 520 Development Company LLC, located at 69 Century Drive in Clifton, contributed $3,200 on September 25, 2003.

The $24,800 represented about 27 percent of the $93,200 in the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government’s coffers by June 17, 2004, the largest share held by any associated group of individuals who contributed to the PAC by that time.

Additionally, the Columbia Group and Smith Street Properties, another Morris company, each contributed $7,200 to the PAC some time between July 2004 and September 2004. ELEC reports filed by the PAC do not specify an exact date.

The majority of the $62,600 distributed by the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government went to candidates in Middlesex and Mercer Counties. However, one Monmouth official received funds from the year-old PAC: Freeholder Rob Clifton, who was mayor of Matawan at the time the borough’s governing body selected the Columbia Group as its lead redeveloper.

On June 17, 2004, the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government contributed $5,000 to Clifton’s freeholder election fund. Clifton raised a total of $19,650 in contributions over $400 for the 2004 freeholder election, in which Freeholder Amy Handlin was his running mate. Thus, the $5,000 contribution made by the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government represented 25 percent of the total contributions over $400 made to Clifton’s election fund.

In addition to contributions made to office seekers, the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government also contributed $24,000 to the New Jersey Republican State Committee on October 1, 2004, when state Sen. Joe Kyrillos was chair of the party.

Is it wheeling?

“Wheeling” is a practice whereby contributors give money to a PAC and, in turn, the PAC gives money to the candidate the contributor was actually looking to give money to. Wheeling places a degree of distance between a candidate and a contributor, particularly when a direct contribution would give the appearance of impropriety or a conflict of interest.

Whether or not Clifton knew that the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government was significantly funded by Jack Morris and his associates is unclear. Clifton has not returned calls by press time.

Kyrillos said he was not aware of Clifton receiving any money from Morris or a Morris-funded PAC. When informed of the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government’s $5,000 contribution to Clifton’s freeholder race, Kyrillos said, “I think Rob is a bright, objective person who makes his own decisions and certainly did [on the train station] matter.”

TIMELINE (sidebar)

December 3, 2002: Matawan Borough Council passes an ordinance declaring the Columbia Group the lead redeveloper for the borough’s portion of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Project.

July 3, 2003: The Committee for Responsibility & Trust in Government, a political action committee (PAC), is formed in East Brunswick.

September 25, 2003: Morris, his wife and associated companies and employees contribute $24,800 to the PAC. By June 17, 2004, the $24,800 represents 27 percent of the total amount in the fund.

April 2004: Matawan Mayor Rob Clifton is selected to replace Freeholder Ed Stominski and join Freeholder Amy Handlin on the Republican line for the November election. State Sen. Joe Kyrillos, R-Monmouth, and former Monmouth Republican Chairman Bill Dowd meet with Stominski to inform him of the decision.

June 8, 2004: Clifton and Handlin defeat Stominski in the primary for the Republican freeholder line.

June 15, 2004: Fred Niemann unseats Dowd as chairman of the Monmouth Republican Committee.

June 17, 2004: Clifton, still mayor of Matawan, receives $5,000 from the Committee for Responsibility & Trust in Government for his general freeholder election fund.

July-September 2004: Morris companies contribute $14,400 to the PAC. The exact dates of the contributions are not specified.

October 1, 2004: The New Jersey Republican State Committee, chaired by Kyrillos, R-Monmouth, receives $24,000 from the Committee for Responsibility & Trust in Government.

Press conference erupts into debate

Published in The Bayshore Courier on July 28, 2005.

Press conference erupts into debate

By JACKIE CORLEY

A routine press conference became a debate on the steps of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station, in Matawan, on Thursday, July 21.

Michael Dasaro, the 13th District Democrat candidate for assembly, called on the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General to investigate the financial relationship between Piscataway-based developer Jack Morris and state Sen. Joe Kyrillos, R-Monmouth.

In March 2001, Democrat-controlled Aberdeen and Republican-controlled Matawan joined into an interlocal services agreement for the redevelopment of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station.

In the early stages of the project, Aberdeen Township Manager Mark Coren said he worked closely with former Matawan Borough Administrator Joe Leo.

“Joe Leo was a real ace in this whole process. There wasn’t a problem that he and I couldn’t sit down and discuss,” Coren said. “He was an honest broker. I can’t say that for the people he was working for.”

In September 2002, five teams submitted plans for the project in response to the interlocal agency’s request for proposals (RFP).

Richard Coppola, planner for the interlocal agency, endorsed a proposal by Silver Oaks Properties saying, “This proposal most closely meets the agency’s plan that has been endorsed by both the [Matawan] Borough Council and the [Aberdeen] Township Council.” Aberdeen agreed, selecting Silver Oaks Properties as the town’s redeveloper

A plan introduced by Morris’s company, the Columbia Group, was deemed “not consistent with the interlocal agency’s vision of the redevelopment project. However, Matawan broke with the agency’s assessment and chose the Columbia Group, along with K. Hovnanian and Mack-Cali Realty, as the redevelopment team for the borough in a resolution adopted December 3, 2002.

On two occasions, once in November 2000 and once on or about December 16, 2002, Coren and Leo met with Kyrillos to discuss the redevelopment project.

Coren said that the first meeting was productive. “The senator told us the two towns should work together and hold a public process that was fair and open,” Coren said.

The second meeting, however, was not a positive one, in Coren’s opinion. “It was the first time that it became clear to Joe Leo and myself that there was a preference made by a state senator.”

Kyrillos confirmed that the two meetings occurred but denied that he lobbied on behalf of the Columbia Group.

Dasaro, however, believes the timing and amount of the contributions from Morris to Kyrillos “appear a little strange.”

From April 1999 to April 2004, Morris, his companies and individuals employed by his companies contributed $52,800 to Kyrillos’s campaign funds.

“A quick review of the timeline shows that: one, the municipalities entered into an interlocal services agreement; two, the Columbia Group’s proposal was inconsistent with the plan; three, Sen. Kyrillos lobbied on behalf of [the] Columbia [Group] in Republican-controlled Matawan; four, [the] Columbia [Group] is designated redeveloper in Matawan; and five, Sen. Kyrillos backs then-Matawan Mayor Rob Clifton over long time Freeholder Ed Stominski in the 2004 freeholder election,” Dasaro said. “The residents of the 13th District can no longer sit idly by as their quality of life is bought and sold for campaign contributions and political support.”

Dasaro’s running mate, William Flynn, was not present at the press conference, but issued a statement.

“The Columbia Group’s proposal for the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station is the archetype of bad development…This proposal calls for 495 town houses on some 44 acres of land – more than 11 homes per acre. Well, at least that’s better than the 1,000 homes that would have been built if Aberdeen had bought into the raw deal that Mr. Morris was proposing,” Flynn’s statement said.

“The Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District has spent millions upon tens of millions of dollars to provide adequate facilities to the students they educate. How can we ask them to take on the new burden of hundreds of students that the Columbia Group’s proposal will place on them?” Flynn’s written remarks also stated.

Buccellato, Matawan Dems spar

Dasaro was joined at the press conference by Democrat candidates for Matawan Borough Council William Malley and Mary Aufseeser, as well as Democrat mayoral candidate William Smith.

Paul Buccellato, a Matawan councilman and the chair of the Matawan Republican Party, also appeared at the press conference and challenged some of Dasaro’s assertions.

“As far as I know nothing was done inappropriately and everything was done above board. We haven’t signed an agreement with anybody; we’re still negotiating,” Buccellato said.

Buccellato also said that the RFPs were kept “under straps” by Coren and that Matawan was not kept in the loop during the interlocal process, statements that Coren vehemently denied.

“[Buccellato’s] statements are self-serving, fallacious and bordering on out-right lies,” Coren said during an interview on Monday. “[Matawan] Borough was totally informed. They did review and signed off on all aspects.”

During the course of the press conference, Malley challenged Buccellato to state his position on pay-to-play.

“How do I feel about it?” Buccellato said. “I think it’s wrong.”

“Don’t you participate in it yourself? You don’t contribute to the [Monmouth County] Republican Party and receive county contracts?” Malley asked.

“If donating to a political party, you feel that’s what’s going on, well —,” Buccellato began, but Malley continued with his challenge.

“Absolutely. I think you’re as guilty as the rest of them,” Malley said.

Buccellato is a principal in Henshell & Buccellato, a Red Bank-based architectural firm. The firm gave the Monmouth County Republican Committee $3,900 between August 2004 and November 2004, according to Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) reports.

On January 13, 2005, Henshell & Buccellato was awarded a $25,000 contract by the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders to provide “call-in professional architectural services” for the Monmouth County Department of Buildings and Grounds for 2005.

Dasaro ended the press conference by reiterating the timeline of events, as he saw it.

“From what I see, something’s wrong, something stinks. It’s an easy timeline: Morris gives a lot of money to Kyrillos; people allege that Kyrillos steps in; [the] Columbia Group gets pushed through Matawan,” Dasaro said.

Kyrillos: Press conference “political stunt”

In a Tuesday interview, Kyrillos called the press conference “laughable” and “a political stunt.”

He denied having any conversations with members of the Matawan Borough Council or lobbying to them on behalf of the Columbia group.

“Even if I had lobbied these people, which I didn’t and, in fact, had no communication [with Aberdeen and Matawan officials] outside of the two administrators (Coren and Leo) in my office at the same time, so what?” said Kyrillos, noting that he did not have a vote on the Matawan Council and therefore could not exert any real influence on the project.

Kyrillos said he believed the proposal issued by Silver Oaks Properties, which called for some 2 million square footage of commercial and office space between the two municipalities, was not consistent with the character of the area.

“I didn’t lobby for [Morris’s] project. But, at one point, I expressed an opinion that [Matawan and Aberdeen] should have 10 proposals. But if you only have two and you’re only going to pick one of the two, you’ve got one that’s a 2 million square foot monstrosity run by a guy who spent time in jail for trying to bribe an IRS agent, and the other is K. Hovnanian, publicly traded company, a Middletown company; Mack-Cali, one of the biggest office builders in North America; and Jack Morris, who’s a controversial guy, no doubt, but at least he’s got experience in this stuff. And [the Columbia Group’s] project was about a quarter of the size. I’m entitled to opinion,” Kyrillos said.

DROP QUOTE:

“From what I see, something’s wrong, something stinks. It’s an easy timeline: Morris gives a lot of money to Kyrillos; people allege that Kyrillos steps in; [the] Columbia Group gets pushed through Matawan.” –Michael Dasaro

“Even if I had lobbied these people, which I didn’t and, in fact, had no communication outside of the two administrators in my office at the same time, so what?” –State Sen. Joe Kyrillos

Does the arm of 1260 Stelton have Monmouth in its grasp?

Published in The Bayshore Courier on July 21, 2005.

Does the arm of 1260 Stelton have Monmouth in its grasp?

By JACKIE CORLEY
Staff Writer

The Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station redevelopment project has been on the road to nowhere for over two years.

The project has been bogged down in litigation and the disintegration of an interlocal services agreement between the Democrat-controlled Aberdeen Township Council and the Republican-controlled Matawan Borough Council.

In an interview shortly after former Councilman Michael Cannon announced his retirement from Matawan Borough's governing body, Cannon said the borough was close to reaching a settlement with Silver Oaks Properties.

Silver Oaks Properties was the developer chosen by Aberdeen for the redevelopment project, while Matawan chose the Columbia Group, a Piscataway-based company run by developer Jack Morris.

For Mark Coren, Aberdeen's township manager, the decision of the Matawan Borough Council to break with the spirit of the interlocal services agreement in favor of the Columbia Group's proposal left him “mystified.”

In a letter to former Matawan Borough Administrator and current Middlesex Republican Chairman Joe Leo, dated October 24, 2002, Coren wrote, “Now we have the third group represented by the Columbia Group making an end run around the interlocal process that was agreed to by both councils by attempting to negotiate directly with one of the towns at the exclusion of the other partner in this process. This, in the opinion of the Township of Aberdeen, works contrary to the letter and spirit of the interlocal agreement entered into in good faith.”

For Coren, the Columbia Group's proposal did not meet the best interests of either municipality. The plan, as described by Richard Coppola, planner for the interlocal agency, on September 23, 2002, included 1,000 residential dwelling units. Coren said he believed the residential portion of the Columbia Group's proposal would put a substantial strain on the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District.

Coppola agreed that the Columbia Group's proposal did not meet the specifications detailed by the interlocal service agreement.

“This proposal does not diversify the tax base, Most of the proposed development is residential. It continues the reliance of the towns on the residential taxpayer to fund municipal services. Since most of the development activity is in one town [versus] the other the benefit that is derived is skewed,” Coppola wrote in the September 23, 2002 report. “This is very divisive and not consistent with the underlying goal of the legislators of the 13th District to have the two towns working together.”

Two years earlier, in November 2000, Coren said he, Leo, former Matawan Mayor and current Freeholder Robert Clifton and other Aberdeen and Matawan officials met with state Sen. Joe Kyrillos, R-Monmouth, at the senator's offices at Arin Park, in Middletown.

“The senator told us the two towns should work together and hold a public process that was fair and open,” Coren said.

The Matawan Borough Council eventually chose the Columbia Group, along with K. Hovnanian and Mack-Cali Realty, as the redevelopment team for the borough in a resolution adopted December 3, 2002.

About two weeks later, on or about December 16, 2002, Kyrillos again met with Coren and Leo at Arin Park, Coren said.

“It was the first time that it became clear to Joe Leo and myself that there was a preference made by a state senator,” Coren said. “Sen. Kyrillos told me that I had drafted the RFP ['request for proposal' defining bid specifications] too tight.”

Matawan's December 3, 2002 resolution marked the end of the cooperative process between the two towns, as well as an end to the long-term vision Coren had for the revitalization of both communities.

With Coren scheduled to retire at the end of this year, after 18 years of service on both Republican- and Democrat-majority Aberdeen Township Councils, the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station redevelopment project was supposed to be the pinnacle of his career. Instead, it dissolved into the quagmire where it currently remains.

“It's very disappointing. There were a lot of expectations that this project could really do something good for this entire area,” Coren said.

The Morris Factor

Who exactly is Jack Morris? A scan of Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) reports show that the Middlesex-based developer has no qualms about heavily funding politicos and political parties on both sides of the aisle.

Since 2000, Morris and his companies have contributed over $500,000 to Democrats and Democratic political organizations throughout the state. Of that money, $140,000 went to the Middlesex Democratic Organization PAC, ELEC reports show.

During the 2002 freeholder race in Middlesex County, Republican candidates Joe Paone and Roger Craig issued a press release calling for Middlesex County and the state to stop payment on an Edison land deal between Morris and the township.

“Craig and Paone had asked the state Attorney General's office…to investigate the Oak Tree Pond land deal in Edison, citing the fact that a major Democratic campaign contributor [Jack Morris] made a $4.2 million profit on property he owned for seven months, that even a fellow Democrat said 'isn't worth that kind of money,'” Paone's and Craig's release said.

According to a May 30, 2002 Star-Ledger article filed by Josh Margolin, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office investigated the land transaction. However, the investigation into the land deal died out without any charges filed, though investigators acknowledged that “key critics” had not been interviewed, nor was the land appraisal thoroughly looked into, according to Margolin's article.

But Middlesex Democrats aren't the only ones who have benefited from Morris's generosity.

From April 1999 until April 2004, Kyrillos accepted $47,200 from Morris and Morris's companies, ELEC reports show. Of the $47,200, $9,000 came from five contributions made from five different Morris companies in April 1999. Also, on May 17, 2000, Morris and his companies made seven $1,800 donations, totaling $12,600, according to ELEC reports. Three of the donations came directly from Morris, while four contributions came from separate Morris companies: JSM @ Bridgewater LLC, JSM @ Brookside LLC, JSM @ Timber Glen LLC and JSM @ Woodbridge LLC.

Additionally, Morris's company JSM @ New Durham LLC made a $10,000 contribution to Kyrillos's campaign funds on October 1, 2001 and a $5,600 contribution on October 2, 2001, according to ELEC reports. While the $5,600 contribution from JSM @ New Durham LLC was immediately returned, Kyrillos's campaign accepted another $5,600 from a Morris company, JSM @ Monmouth Road, a month later on November 1, 2001. Furthermore, two employees of JSM @ Monmouth Road made $1,866.67 contributions to Kyrillos's campaign and a third made a $1,866.66 contribution, all on November 1, 2001, according to ELEC reports.

Morris's companies also gave a $2,200 contribution to Kyrillos's campaign funds on October 17, 2003 and another $2,200 contribution on April 30, 2004.

On February 23, 2005, a day after that infamous day in Monmouth's history when 11 officials were taken away in handcuffs on bribery and corruption charges by the FBI, Kyrillos's campaign returned five $1,800 contributions to Morris and his wife. Whether the five contributions returned came from the April 1999 or the May 17, 2000 transactions is unclear in the campaign's ELEC reports.

Kyrillos's July 15, 2005 quarterly report was not available on-line at ELEC's website by press time.

Current election law stipulates that the maximum amount a candidate can receive from an individual, corporation or union is $2,600 per election cycle. Businesses designated “limited liability companies,” or LLCs, cannot make a contribution as an entity, according to ELEC. A check made on behalf of an LLC is not considered a contribution by the LLC, but rather a donation by the member of the LLC who signed the check. Therefore, an individual who is a partner in an LLC can, at maximum, contribute a total of $2,600 per election cycle under both the LLC and the individual's name.

In addition to the $47,200 that Morris and his companies contributed to Kyrillos's campaign funds, the New Jersey Republican State Committee received $30,000 in contributions from a Morris company during the time that Kyrillos was chairman of the state party. Smith Street Properties Inc. contributed $20,000 to the New Jersey State Republican Committee on November 4, 2002 and $10,000 on May 7, 2003.

The $20,000 contribution came one month before the Matawan Borough Council approved the resolution selecting the Columbia Group as the head of its redevelopment team.

Furthermore, Smith Street Properties made a $10,000 contribution to the Monmouth County Republican Committee on December 29, 2004.

Other Morris developments

According to the official website of Edgewood Properties, a Morris company, the developer has constructed or is in the process of constructing over 700 homes, 1,600 rental units and 500,000 square feet of retail space, with plans of doubling the number of rental units and square feet of retail space during the next three years.

The website notes, “Jack Morris's proven talent for obtaining the cooperation of the municipalities in which Edgewood operates results in real estate development that benefits both public and private sectors.”

Time will tell whether or not Morris's “proven talent” will result in the successful realization of the Columbia Group's vision of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station redevelopment project.

ELEC: Handlin had to know Palughi's role in campaigns

Published in The Bayshore Courier on July 14, 2005.

ELEC: Handlin had to know Palughi's role in campaigns

Former county employee and FBI “person of investigative interest” Anthony “Tony the Rat” Palughi was paid to put up Handlin's freeholder campaign signs in 2001 and 2004.

By JACKIE CORLEY
Staff Writer

At a public appearance at an Aberdeen Township Council meeting on Thursday, July 7, Freeholder Deputy Director Amy Handlin was asked by a reporter whether or not the 13th District Republican assembly candidate would answer any questions about Anthony “Tony the Rat” Palughi.

Handlin responded succinctly: “No.”

Palughi, the former superintendent of the Monmouth County Division of Bridges, retired in March of this year, shortly after being named “a person of investigative interest” by the FBI.

While Palughi was an official employee of the county, many believe Palughi did little but serve as deceased former Monmouth County Freeholder Director Harry Larrison Jr.'s driver and run political errands for Larrison.

Currently, Palughi is rumored to be at the center of a federal corruption probe taking place throughout Monmouth County, specifically in the northern area of the county. But one year ago, Palughi's life was much simpler-and financially comfortable.

At the time of his retirement, Palughi earned a salary of $92,114. He picked up an additional $1,000 on October 2, 2004 from the Monmouth County Republican Committee for “campaign sign labor” for the 2004 freeholder and sheriff elections, according to Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) documents. The 2004 county elections saw the successful re-election of Handlin and Sheriff Joseph Oxley and the election of former Matawan Mayor and sitting Freeholder Rob Clifton.

Of the $1,000, $333.33 was an expense incurred on behalf of Handlin's campaign, $333.33 on behalf of Clifton's campaign and $333.33 on behalf of Oxley's campaign.

Of the three candidates, Handlin was the only candidate who had authority over Palughi's county position at the time he completed the 2004 campaign work.

Neither Oxley nor Clifton had any supervision of Palughi at his day job or direct knowledge of Palughi's job performance with the county at the time. However, Handlin, in a roll as a sitting freeholder, did have such authority and knowledge.

Indeed, Handlin voted twice, along with Larrison, current Freeholder Director Tom Powers, former Freeholder Ed Stominski and Freeholder Theodore Naronick, to retain Palughi's employment at the county: once on January 6, 1997 and again on January 7, 2002.

Less than three months prior to Palughi's January 7, 2002 reappointment, Palughi received $3,000 from the Monmouth County Republican Committee for “campaign sign installation” on behalf of the 2001 Republican county candidates, including Handlin. Of the $3,000 Palughi received on October 29, 2001, $750 of that amount was paid by the Monmouth County Republican Committee, as an in-kind contribution, on Handlin's behalf.

According to New Jersey election law, an “in-kind contribution” is an expenditure by a political party committee “on behalf of a candidate with the cooperation or prior consent of that candidate.” The political party committee must provide immediate written notification to the candidate within 48 hours of the cooperative expenditure that took place.

Therefore, according to election law, the Monmouth County Republican Committee had toreceive consent from Handlin in order for Palughi to complete and be paid for work on her two most recent freeholder elections.

According to ELEC's Compliance Department in Trenton, there are no prohibitions, from the commission's point of view, on county employees working for the campaigns of county office holders who appoint and reappoint that worker into his or her position. However, according to an official in the Compliance Department, counties and municipalities can stipulate ethics regulations to safeguard against such occurrences. Monmouth County has simply not proposed such a reform act as of yet. And, Handlin has refused to answer questions relating to such reforms.

Are contributors buying access or buying contracts?

Published in The Bayshore Courier on July 14, 2005.

Are contributors buying access or buying contracts?

By JACKIE CORLEY
Staff Writer

What's good for the goose is usually good for the gander, unless you're talking about the difference between state level and county level campaign financing.

The Monmouth County Republican Committee, chaired since June 15, 2004 by Wall Township resident Fred Niemann, has kept the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders in Republican hands for over 20 years.

The five-member Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, which awards tens of millions of dollars in county contracts each year, is currently all Republican and consists of Freeholder Director Thomas J. Powers; Freeholder Deputy Director Amy Handlin; Freeholder Ted Narozanick; Freeholder Robert Clifton; and Freeholder William Barham.

According to an executive order issued by former Gov. James McGreevey on September 24, 2004, the state's departments, agencies and authorities cannot award a contract over $17,500 to a company or individual that has made contributions to any candidate running for governor or to a state or county political party.

The executive order, however, does not apply to companies that have made contributions to county political parties and who enter into contracts with county governments.

In May 2005, Handlin began introducing a reform package, one piece of which was meant to make the contract awarding process more transparent.

Handlin, who has not returned calls at press time, was quoted in published reports as saying that she knows there are no “sweetheart deals” when it comes to county contracts awarded to architectural and engineering firms, but that the reform package would allow the public a more “transparent view” of the awarding process.

While Handlin's reform package addressing no-bid contracts would employ a “point-system” to determine the qualifications of a company for a project, it does not place any limits on firms that contribute significantly to county parties and apply for no-bid contracts from the county.

Notably, money from the Monmouth County Republican Committee is used to heavily finance Republican freeholder elections. For example, during Clifton's and Handlin's 2004 general freeholder election, the two Republican candidates each received $50,598.12 in in-kind contributions, about 40 percent of the total money the pair received at that time, from the Monmouth County Republican Committee, according to New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) reports.

Under Niemann's watch, the Monmouth County Republican Committee raised $392,535 in contributions over $400 from July 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005, excluding money contributed to the county party by election funds of would-be office holders.

Of the $392,535 the Monmouth County Republican Committee collected during Niemann's time as county chair, $75,570 came from companies that received a contract or multiple contracts with the county, as approved by the Board of Chosen Freeholders, from June 2004 to April 2005.

Among the firms that have donated to the Monmouth County Republican Committee and also received county contracts approved by the all-Republican Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders are: Henshell & Buccellato; Earle Asphalt Company; French & Parrello Associates; Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan Griffinger & Vecchione; MBI GluckShaw; Hatch Mott MacDonald; HDR Engineering, Inc.; Hawkins Delafield & Wood, LLP; Seely Equipment and Supply Co., Inc; Freehold Cartage Inc.; The Dittmar Agency and Abbington Associates.

Henshell & Buccellato, a Red Bank-based architectural firm, gave the Monmouth County Republican Committee $3,900 between August 2004 and November 2004, according to ELEC reports. Paul Buccellato, a partner in the firm, is a Matawan councilman and the chairman of the borough's Republican organization. On January 13, 2005, Henshell & Buccellato was awarded a $25,000 contract by the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders to provide “call-in professional architectural services” for the Monmouth County Department of Buildings and Grounds for 2005.

The Earle Asphalt Company has provided paving, construction and general contracting work to municipal and county governments and residential and commercial developers for nearly 30 years. From August 2004 to September 2004, the company contributed $2,500 to the Monmouth County Republican Committee, according to ELEC reports. From July to September 2004, Earle Asphalt Company received $2,875,324.44 in contracts with the county, according to resolutions adopted by the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

The Holmdel-based engineering firm of French & Parrello Associates contributed $4,000 to the Monmouth County Republican Committee on August 6, 2004. From October 2004 to December 2004, the company received $35,000 in contracts with the county.

Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione is a Newark-based law firm that specializes in bond law. The firm, which counts Middletown Republican Chairman Peter Carton among its employed attorneys, currently serves as the bond counsel for Monmouth County, Middletown, Highlands and Union Beach, where Carton is named specifically as the attorney representing the firm in the borough.

From August to November 2004, Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione contributed $7,500 to the Monmouth County Republican Committee, ELEC reports show. The firm was reappointed as the county's bond council on January 4, 2005.

Additionally, Carton contributed $500 on May 27, 2005 to Handlin's 2005 primary campaign for the assembly.

MBI GluckShaw is a Trenton-based public affairs and legislative lobbying firm. On August 9, 2004, Hazel Gluck, one of the firm's consultants, contributed $2,000 to the Monmouth County Republican Committee. Gluck also contributed $1,000 to Handlin's assembly campaign on May 7, 2005.

On March 23, 2005, the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders awarded a $92,700 to MBI GluckShaw and the Strategy Group for management consultant services in support of the Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex passenger rail line project.

Hatch Mott MacDonald is a consulting engineering firm with New Jersey offices located in Cape May, Freehold and Millburn. The firm contributed $4,000 to the Monmouth County Republican Committee on August 6, 2004, according to ELEC reports. Additionally, Clifton accepted a $2,000 contribution from the firm for his 2004 freeholder election on November 11, 2004. Hatch Mott MacDonald received at least two contracts from the county: an $8,150 contract on June 24, 2005 and a $60,000 contract on October 14, 2004.

HDR Engineering, Inc. is an architectural and engineering firm based in White Plains, NY. From August 2004 to November 2004, the company contributed $3,900 to the Monmouth County Republican Committee. On December 9, 2004, HDR Engineering, Inc. received a contract for $499,870.

Hawkins Delafield & Wood, LLP is a Manhattan-based law firm that specializes in public finance and government contracts. ELEC reports show that attorneys from the company contributed $2,800 from July 2004 to October 2004. On November 9, 2004, Hawkins Delafield & Wood, LLP received a $290,000 contract to provide special legal counsel services for 2005.

Seely Equipment and Supply Co., Inc., Farmingdale, provides vehicles, snowplows and other supplies to municipal and county governments. The company contributed $4,000 to the Monmouth County Republican Committee, according to ELEC reports. From June 2004 to September 2004, Seely Equipment and Supply Co., Inc. received $218,315 in contracts from the county.

Freehold Cartage Inc., based in Freehold, provides waste removal services. From October 2004 to November 2004, the company gave $5,900 to the Monmouth County Republican Committee. From July 2004 to November 2004, Freehold Cartage, Inc. received $5,525,420 in contracts with Monmouth County.

The Dittmar Agency is a Freehold-based insurance company. In October 2004, the company gave $3,000 to the Monmouth County Republican Committee, ELEC reports show. From December 2004 to April 2005 received $674,666 in county contracts.

Abbington Associates is an engineering and architectural firm based in Freehold. In October 2004, the company's president, James P. Kovacs, contributed $6,300 to the Monmouth County Republican Committee. From June 2004 to December 2004, the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved $279,700 in contracts with Abbington Associates.

The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders cannot award a contract simply because a company or individuals who operate or are employed by a contribution make significant contributions to a candidate or county party. The bid process, as regulated by state law, is highly involved, with contracts awarded to those companies that the governing body believes will best serve the interests of the municipality or county.

Nevertheless, there are few actual restrictions to campaign contributors, at least on the county level, when it comes to government contracts. Even before recent scandals rocked Monmouth County, McGreevey put in place significant controls to monitor state contracts. Meanwhile, the county has yet to impose similar standards.

Where does money for Monmouth's ruling party come from?

Published in The Bayshore Courier on June 23, 2005.

Where does money for Monmouth's ruling party come from?

By JACKIE CORLEY
Staff Writer

In light of recent grassroots concerns about "Pay-to-Play" legislation and corruption of government officials, area residents can trust most politicians to fully disclose the campaign contributions they receive by filing quarterly election reports.

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) requires elected officials and municipal, county and state committees to report the campaign contributions they take in on a quarterly basis.

One of the top elected officials in the county is state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos Jr., R-Monmouth. As well as being the former chairman of the state Republican organization, Kyrillos is a widely known and respected GOP leader in Monmouth.

Kyrillos received at least $47,200 from developer Jack Morris from April 1999 until April 2004. Kyrillos returned a $5,600 contribution from Morris's company, JSM @ New Durham on October 2, 2001, as well as five $1,800 contributions from the developer and his wife on February 23, 2005. The $14,600 was refunded by Kyrillos's campaign because the amount donated exceeded that allowed by election law, according to ELEC reports.

Morris's company, the Columbia Group, is Matawan's redeveloper for the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station project.

Morris is not the only developer from whom Kyrillos has received campaign contributions. According to ELEC reports, the state senator received at least $85,275 from development companies and $27,375 from companies associated with developers for his 2001 primary and general election campaign funds. He also received at least $45,050 from developers and $26,570 from companies associated with developers for his 2003 primary and general election campaign funds.

Kyrillos is not the only top official in the county who has received ‘developer money’ for recent election campaigns.

During the 2004 freeholder race, Republican assembly candidate Amy Handlin received $14,100 in monetary contributions over $400. Of the $14,100, $5,750 came from developers and companies associated with developers, including a $400 contribution from James Wassel, president of Sandy Hook Partners, LLC, which is working with the Nation Park Service to redevelop Sandy Hook.

Former Matawan Mayor and current Freeholder Rob Clifton received $19,650 in monetary contributions over $400 for the 2004 freeholder race, $2,000 of which came from developers or companies associated with developers.

The 2004 freeholder race was significantly funded by “in-kind contributions,” or money that comes from the state Republican Committee and the Monmouth County Republican Committee, as well as campaign committees for municipal, county and state elected officials.

Much of the money given by the state and county committees is used to directly pay for campaign literature and labor, such as the $1,000 former county employee and FBI “person of interest” Tony “The Rat” Palughi was given to put up campaign signs for the 2004 freeholder and sheriff elections.

Handlin’s 2004 freeholder campaign received $111,265.95 in in-kind contributions, $50,598.12 of which came from the Monmouth County Republican Committee. Clifton’s 2004 freeholder campaign received $114,812.45 in in-kind contributions, $50,598.12 of which came from the Monmouth County Republican Committee.

Since Wall Township resident Fred Niemann, employed as a county counsel, took the reigns as Monmouth County Republican Committee chair in June, 2004, the committee has received $447,314.30 in contributions of $400 or more. Of the nearly $450,000, developers and companies associated with developers contributed at least $65,920. The $65,920 includes a $10,000 donation from Morris’s company, Smith Street Properties, Piscataway.

With state a local election finance laws becoming more and more narrow, elected officials around New Jersey, not just in Monmouth, have become more cognizant of who contributes what to campaigns for would-be office holders and incumbents.


SIDEBAR
DEVELOPERS: For the purposes of this article, developers are defined as companies or individuals who manage or work for companies that construct commercial or residential properties. Real estate companies that sell commercial or residential properties but do not construct such properties were not considered.

COMPANIES ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPERS: For the purposes of this article, “companies associated with developers are defined as contracting, engineering, architectural and construction firms, as well as individuals who manage or work for such firms. The businesses considered “companies associated with developers” benefit financially from commercial or residential property development. Some of these companies are also employed by county and municipal governments for public projects.