“Gay” Gov. Jim McGreevey Gives New Jerseyans the Shaft

Men's News Daily ^ | 28 August 2004 | Nicholas Stix

[mrustow]

While the socialist, mainstream media have worked their butts off, painting sympathetic portraits of "gay" New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, who sort of resigned on August 12, but who refuses to leave office, some hard-heads have insisted on committing journalism.

McGreevey, the man who campaigned that he would "change the way things are done in Trenton," has proved to be as corrupt a chief executive as any in the history of a state that my colleague from New Jersey, Alan Caruba, has argued is the most crooked in the country. Caruba wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "If anyone thinks his state is the worst run since pre-Schwarzenegger California, I invite him to measure it against New Jersey." The Wall Street Journal's John Fund, quoting Caruba's line that "something is terribly wrong with voters who have demonstrated a virtual death wish so far as any sensible governance of the state is concerned," dubbed the state, "Louisiana North." Fund could argue, without exaggerating, "Indeed, Mr. McGreevey accomplished the remarkable feat of lowering ethical standards in the state capital."

In McGreevey's resignation speech, he said that ''My truth is that I am a gay American. Shamefully, I engaged in adult consensual affairs with another man, which violates my bonds of matrimony. It was wrong, it was foolish, it was inexcusable.''

That would mean that the following matters, for which McGreevey did not apologize, were neither foolish nor inexcusable:

• Charles Kushner, McGreevey's biggest campaign contributor, "pleaded guilty last week to 18 federal crimes, including an admission that he hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, and then mailed a videotape of the encounter to his own sister in a ploy to stymie their involvement in a federal probe of his political contributions";
• On July 14, McGreevey's commerce secretary, William Watley, resigned "amid reports that he channeled state money to his own businesses and to family members."
• On July 6, fundraiser David D'Amiano "was indicted ... on [11] extortion charges for allegedly demanding and accepting $40,000 in political contributions and cash from a Piscataway farm owner [Mark Halper] to influence state and county officials to more than double an offer," from $3 million to $7.4 million, to buy the farmland's development rights. According to the indictment, before one of Halper's many meetings with the Governor, he was taped telling D'Amiano that Gov. McGreevey was to use the code word "Machiavellian," to signal that the deal was on. Sure enough, McGreevey (aka "State Official 1") said "Machiavelli," which he later insisted was just an allusion from his rich literary life. If convicted, D'Amiano could be sentenced to up to 205 years in prison, and fined $2.75 million;
• The March 15 column of Bob Ingle, Trenton Bureau chief of Gannett's Home News Tribune was entitled, "McGreevey administration heading for scandal record". And that was several indictments and resignations ago. Ingle wrote, "As our Sandy McClure first reported, the feds said some state officials did not cooperate with requests for information when subpoenas were served. 'Some people have not been willing to speak to authorities based on advice of counsel,' a source told McClure. It was not clear who the counsel was. Federal authorities indicated they would not be amused if it were Attorney General Peter 'See No Evil' Harvey or an aide. Wouldn't it be a conflict of interest if the state's attorney general, who is entrusted with upholding the law, put the McGreevey administration's interest above his sworn obligation? Could that be impeachment territory for Harvey?" Note that while McGreevey AG Harvey has not been criminally implicated as being a player in any of the scandals, the state's highest criminal justice official is guilty of being a non-player in law enforcement. To my knowledge, AG Harvey did not crack a single case among the countless scandals that have so far rocked the McGreevey Administration, and has even refused to read State Police reports (see below) suggesting misconduct by McGreevey administration members and members. Such aggressive dereliction of duty may or may not be indictable (that's for the feds to determine) as obstruction of justice, but it's still corruption;
• In a failed experiment in affirmative action, in 2002, McGreevey appointed Hispanic Newark police Director Joseph Santiago superintendent of the State Police, over the protests of law enforcement officials, and in spite of a multitude of red flags (a personal bankruptcy, a conviction for disorderly conduct, and charges by State Police commanders that in Newark he had consorted with mobsters, protected illegal gambling operations, was involved in a "no-show security scheme" and used police officers to build his house) in Santiago's past, only to force Santiago to resign after seven months on the job. Note, however, that Santiago was not forced out due to the red flags, most of which were covered up by McGreevey's cronies, but on a fluke. On September 19, 2002, Supt. Santiago wrote a memo demanding that his subordinates turn over to him the records of the State Police background investigation of him, a demand which, according to Edward M. Neafsey, director of the state Office of Government Integrity (don't laugh!), violated federal and state laws, as well as "the [state] Department of Law and Public Safety's Code of Ethics and the Rules and Regulations of the New Jersey State Police." Only after Santiago's ouster did most of the charges against him come to light. After Supt. Santiago's departure, retired State Police Maj. Frank Simonetta charged, in an interview with Gannett reporter Sandy McClure published on April 12, 2003, that he had tried to hand the State Police reports to Attorney General David Samson and his top deputy, Peter Harvey (see above). "When I told them what I had, they didn't want to see the reports. The attorney general turned to Harvey and said, "Pete, you handle it." And he (Samson) walked out of the room. And Mr. Harvey -- it was like I had a hot brick in my hands -- did not want to see it, would not even look at it";
• In 2002, McGreevey provided his alleged boyfriend, Golan Cipel, a $110,000-per-year job as state homeland security chief, which he was both utterly unqualified and legally forbidden from doing, since as a foreign national, the Israeli Cipel could not get the security clearance required, in order to receive sensitive documents from the feds, or attend FBI meetings;
  · McGreevey then provided Cipel a show-no job as "special counsel," also at $110,000 per annum; after continued media questions about Cipel's "qualifications," McGreevey forced him to resign on August 13, 2002. And yet, before the year was over, Cipel had been hired to two different "private sector" jobs at PR and lobbying firms. That made four well-paying jobs requiring minimal labor for a non-citizen with shaky immigration status in barely nine months. What was it about this alleged poet that made him so darned valuable?;
• "Billboardgate": In 2003, McGreevey chief of staff Gary Taffet and chief counsel Paul Levinsohn were charged with having used their positions with Gov.-elect McGreevey to make highway billboard ad deals during the 2001 gubernatorial campaign for their secret billboard company, and having profited to the tune of $2.2 million on the eve of the governor’s 2002 inauguration. Many of the deals were with large McGreevey campaign contributors, including -- surprise, surprise! -- Charles Kushner. Taffet and Levinsohn were both forced to resign. McGreevey critics such as Assemblyman John Rooney (R-Emerson), suggested that chief counsel to Gov. McGreevey, Paul Josephson (who changes jobs more often than David Wells: He had been McGreevey's campaign attorney, then Levinsohn's top aide, and then Levinsohn's successor as chief counsel), was potentially implicated in both Billboardgate and the Roger Chugh case (see below). As McGreevey campaign attorney, Josephson had allegedly turned a blind eye to Chugh's allegedly illegal conduct. During Josephson's momentary post-inaugural job as liaison to public (highway, turnpike, etc.) authorities, he had reportedly intervened on behalf of Taffet and Levinsohn's business, by blocking attempts by their competitor, Lewis Katz, to get billboard contracts. The various charges and insinuations have so far rolled off Josephson's back, as he has jumped sideways from one high-level job to another, each time things have gotten hot for him. He had to resign his position as chief counsel after less than two months, but was immediately made assistant attorney general and director of the Division of Law in the Department of Law and Public Safety, on March 11, 2003. Josephson bossed 550 civil attorneys while working under acting attorney general Peter Harvey, who according to Courier News columnist Bob Ingle, "couldn't find political corruption with a detailed road map." Josephson left that job on January 28, to become a partner at the powerful Princeton law firm, Hill Wallack. That's six jobs in about two-and-a-half years, but it's nothing compared to Golan Cipel. Meanwhile, in a civil suit filed on June 16, the SEC charged Gary Taffet with insider trading for actions he had allegedly undertaken before he had worked for McGreevey;
• During McGreevey's 2001 campaign, Asian Indian businessmen in Middlesex County have charged, his fundraiser Rajesh "Roger" Chugh (who later worked in the secretary of state's office) engaged in illegal fundraising tactics, including "pressur[ing] them for contributions in the years leading up to the 2001 gubernatorial election, using grandiose promises of gubernatorial appointments, easy negotiation of Woodbridge [whose mayor McGreevey was, while simultaneously serving as a state senator, before being elected governor] oversight boards or threats of retribution";
• McGreevey turned state police helicopters into his personal limousine service, using them for 272 trips, including fourteen for personal business; and
• McGreevey raised taxes, spending, and state debt, and caused the state's bond rating to be downgraded.

In perhaps the unkindest cut of all, McGreevey has refused to vacate the office from which he resigned. In a ruthless bid to maintain Democrat control over the governorship, McGreevey insists that he will not leave office until November 15. Were he to leave before Election Day (November 2), a special election would be held for the people of New Jersey to choose a successor. By sabotaging voters' chance to replace him, McGreevey guarantees that the governorship will remain in Democrat hands until 2006, in the person of Senate President Richard J. Codey, who under New Jersey State law, needn't give up his day job as senate president while governor. A number of press observers are betting that McGreevey is seeking to pave the way for liberal Democrat Sen. Jon Corzine to run for governor in 2005.

McGreevey could potentially be charged in the Cipel and D'Amiano affairs, and subpoenaed in countless other criminal cases.

People who have been caught, or whose leaders have been caught in dubious friendships, often scream, "Guilt by association!" as if this were a magic incantation that would put critics on the defensive. But there is nothing wrong morally with the concept of guilt by association, which by the way, is grounds for putting a parolee back in jail (for "merely" associating with known felons). If a person typically associates with individuals who are shady on their best days, we have good reason to believe that that person is himself an active criminal, about to become a criminal, or at the very least a person of questionable character. To continue to trust or defend that person -- regardless of whether he is under criminal indictment -- would be reckless, and reflect poorly on one's own character.

To give you a notion of the degree to which corruption is accepted and even celebrated in the Garden State, on August 27, when still-Gov. McGreevey came out of seclusion, he enjoyed the warm embrace of the Rev. Reginald Jackson, head of the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey, and his congregation. And Cong. Donald Payne (10th Dist.), a veteran Democrat hack, insisted to WCBS-TV News reporter Magee Hickey, "The citizens of New Jersey are very comfortable with Governor McGreevey remaining in office until November 15."

Nicholas Stix

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New York-based freelancer Nicholas Stix has written for Toogood Reports, Middle American News, the New York Post, Daily News, American Enterprise, Insight, Chronicles, Newsday and many other publications. His recent work is collected at www.geocities.com/nstix and http://www.thecriticalcritic.blogspot.com.

[mrustow]

"Homoerotic Headline"

heck, I just had to have a Jesse Helms/Roger Mapplethorpe "blast from the past" moment!

That's so sweet. But it was Robert.

[VOA]

But it was Robert.

Thanks for the correction...
and no mention of bullwhips!

[mrustow]

>>On July 14, McGreevey's commerce secretary, William Watley, resigned "amid reports that he channeled state money to his own businesses and to family members."<<

How can there be anything wrong with this? The increasingly high cost of election campaigns in the U.S. require some means to pay the bill.

I guess that's why he hasn't been indicted.

/sarcasm

[mrustow]

and no mention of bullwhips!

Oh, no, not the bullwhips!

[mrustow]

BTTT

[Focault's Pendulum]

[mrustow]

Great graphic! Thanks.

[mrustow]

BTTT

[Coleus]

A big fish gets away (McGreevey)