-- Passaic County Democrats removed an Arab-American freeholder candidate from their ticket Saturday amid a furor over comments he made four years ago that some interpreted as sympathetic to suicide bombers. "I'm in shock, feeling betrayed," said Sami Merhi, a Lebanese-born businessman from Totowa. "They should be ashamed of themselves." At issue are comments Merhi made at a September 2002 fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson. In his remarks, Merhi condemned the Sept. 11 terrorists as "cold-blooded murderers" and "crazy fanatics." When asked if he would apply the same label to Palestinian suicide bombers who target Israelis, Merhi said,...