1999 - Berek Don, a former chairman of the Bergen County Republican Party, pleads guilty to illegally steering $11,000 from David Chang to Torricelli's campaign fund. Lawrence Penna, former chairman of a defunct Hackensack brokerage, pleads guilty to illegally funneling $20,000 to Torricelli's campaign. Carmine Alampi, a former law partner of Don's, pleads guilty to aiding and abetting $2,000 of Don's donations.
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?level_3_id=7&page=5148030
2000 - Charles Koo, president of an Englewood Cliffs company, pleads guilty to funneling $20,000 of Chang's money to Torricelli's campaign. Chang pleads guilty to steering $53,700 in illegal contributions to Torricelli's campaign. Audrey Yu, a donor to Torricelli and an aide to Chang, pleads guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice by preparing a false document during the investigation. French businessman Philippe Hababou pleads guilty to donating foreign funds, reimbursing some donors, and paying tens of thousands of dollars in Torricelli campaign expenses.
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?level_3_id=7&page=5148030
May 2002 - David Chang sentenced to 18 months in prison for obstruction of justice and campaign finance violations related to illegal gifts to Torricelli during the 1996 senate campaign.
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_3_id=19&page=3839565
June 4, 2002 - New Jersey Democrats overwhelmingly select incument Senator Robert Torricelli as their candidate to continue on with his seat, despite charges of ethical violations during his first six-year term.
June 30, 2002 - The Senate Ethics Committee reprimands Torricelli, who is "severely admonished" for accepting gifts from Chang. Torricelli takes the floor of a nearly empty Senate chamber and says: "I agree with the committee's conclusions, fully accept their findings, and take full responsibility. ... I want to apologize to the people of New Jersey."
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?level_3_id=7&page=5148030
July 2002 - An independent poll shows the incumbent Senatorial candidate Torricelli leading challenger Forrester by 20 points.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/06/05/state.primaries/
Mid-Sept 2002 - polls show Torricelli behind by rougly 5 points.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/759291/posts
End-Sept 2002 - polls show Torricelli behind by roughly 13 points.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/760203/posts
Sept 30 2002 - Torricelli drops out of the race, citing as his reason that he doesn't want the Democrats to lose control of the Senate.
Key dates:
Aug. 26, 1951 - Robert Guy Torricelli is born in Paterson. His mother, Betty, is a school librarian and his father, Salvatore, an attorney active in Democratic politics.
March 6, 1978 - Torricelli becomes an associate counsel to Vice President Walter Mondale.
Jan. 19, 1980 - Torricelli marries Susan Holloway, an administrative assistant to Mondale.
March 18, 1980 - Torricelli makes his mark as a political strategist by organizing President Carter's 2-to-1 victory over Ted Kennedy in the Illinois Democratic primary.
Nov. 2, 1982 - Torricelli, running for office for the first time at age 31, is elected to the House after defeating a three-term Republican incumbent in New Jersey's Ninth Congressional District.
June 27, 1989 - Torricelli and his wife file for divorce, which is granted less than four months later. Susan Holloway Torricelli maintains close ties to her former husband as a consultant.
March 22, 1995 - Torricelli accuses the CIA of covering up the killing of an American by one of its informants. House Speaker Newt Gingrich claims Torricelli has violated a secrecy oath and asks him to resign; the House Ethics Committee later votes to take no action against him.
Nov. 5, 1996 - Torricelli wins 53 percent of the vote to become New Jersey senator. He defeats Republican Rep. Dick Zimmer, who received 43 percent, in one of the nation's muddiest and most expensive Senate races.
Jan. 21, 1997 - A federal grand jury issues the first of at least four subpoenas to Cresskill businessman David Chang and his companies.
Dec. 1, 1998 - Torricelli is appointed chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The committee raises a record $85 million for the 2000 elections, helping Democrats tie Republicans for control of the Senate.
Feb. 5, 1999 - A federal grand jury in Newark begins studying allegations of finance problems in Torricelli's campaign.
May 27, 1999 - Berek Don, a former chairman of the Bergen County Republican Party, pleads guilty to illegally steering $11,000 from Chang to Torricelli's campaign fund.
Oct. 5, 1999 - Lawrence Penna, former chairman of a defunct Hackensack brokerage, pleads guilty to illegally funneling $20,000 to Torricelli's campaign.
Nov. 10, 1999 - Torricelli's first book, "In Our Own Words: Extraordinary Speeches of the American Century," is released with a first printing of 50,000 copies. A year later he publishes a second work, "Quotations for Public Speakers."
Dec. 1, 1999 - Carmine Alampi, a former law partner of Don's, pleads guilty to aiding and abetting $2,000 of Don's donations.
Dec. 10, 1999 - Chang is charged with obstructing the grand jury investigation. A week later he is indicted on charges of campaign-finance violations.
June 1, 2000 - Charles Koo, president of an Englewood Cliffs company, pleads guilty to funneling $20,000 of Chang's money to Torricelli's campaign.
June 2, 2000 - Chang pleads guilty to steering $53,700 in illegal contributions to Torricelli's campaign.
June 6, 2000 - Audrey Yu, a donor to Torricelli and an aide to Chang, pleads guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice by preparing a false document during the investigation.
July 19, 2000 - Torricelli announces his intention to run for New Jersey governor. He abandons the effort 12 days later as a result of strong opposition from Woodbridge Mayor Jim McGreevey.
Sept. 28, 2000 - French businessman Philippe Hababou pleads guilty to donating foreign funds, reimbursing some donors, and paying tens of thousands of dollars in Torricelli campaign expenses.
April 18, 2001 - The senator - answering published reports that he accepted gifts of cash, jewelry, and Italian suits from Chang - says he has neither broken the law nor betrayed the trust of the people of New Jersey.
June 7, 2001 - At a Teaneck fund-raising reception, Torricelli tells supporters he has been "publicly raped" by the investigation, and promises to emerge unscathed.
Jan. 3, 2002 - The U.S. Attorney's Office ends its investigation into Torricelli's finances and turns over its files to the Senate Ethics Committee.
April 20, 2002 - Torricelli sells his Englewood home of 17 years for $905,000. He later moves to a $1.225 million, 13-acre farmstead in Delaware Township, Hunterdon County.
June 4, 2002 - Millionaire health-care executive Douglas Forrester wins the Republican nomination to challenge Torricelli in the Senate.
June 30, 2002 - The Senate Ethics Committee renders one of its sternest reprimands in years, and Torricelli is "severely admonished" for accepting gifts from Chang. Torricelli takes the floor of a nearly empty Senate chamber and says: "I agree with the committee's conclusions, fully accept their findings, and take full responsibility. ... I want to apologize to the people of New Jersey."
Aug. 2, 2002 - Torricelli launches what analysts call a public "redemption tour," telling a group of senior citizens in Edison that he is a "simple human being" who made mistakes.
Sept. 26, 2002 - Under court order related to a lawsuit by news organizations, the federal government releases a memo that shows federal prosecutors believed Torricelli took illegal gifts from Chang. But, the memo said, prosecutors abandoned the Torricelli inquiry because of questions over Chang's credibility.
Sept. 30, 2002 - Torricelli withdraws from the Senate race. In a speech, he reflects on his accomplishments, apologizes for his mistakes, and says of his years in public office: "I wouldn't change a bit of it."
Yes, and now the New Jersey electorate has a clear choice. They can chose to support a criminal and vote for the Democrat candidate, or they can vote Republican, or they can vote for the Green Party candidate.
Choices abound!
If the Democrat party didn't want to give the electorate such a clear choice (ethically challenged extortionist v. apparently honest businessman), then they should have worked harder to seat a better candidate in the primary.
Right now the electorate has a choice among three candidates. If the court allows the Democrats to remove Torrielli from the ballot, then there will still be two candidates running.
Will the Democrats argue that there is a constiutional right for the Democrat party to have a "viable" candidate on the ballot, and at the same time argue that they get to determine what "viable" means and when the "viability" means test gets applied?