Think!

On Monday, February 3 2014, the prosecution and the defense will make their closing arguments before a jury charged with determining the guilt of Trenton Mayor Tony Mack and his brother Ralphiel in the alleged scheme to accept cash bribes from a would be developer of a downtown parking garage.

This is the end result of an FBI sting investigation that fronted the fake development deal to see if the Macks and their friends JoJo Giorgianni and Charles Hall III would take the bait.  Giorgianni and Hall have already entered guilty pleas, leaving the Macks to stand alone.

Some still wonder if this “sting” was actually “entrapment” and/or if this was part of some greater vendetta against the woefully underperforming mayor and his clique of unruly and ill-mannered friends.

We personally think the prosecution has made its case that there was a conspiracy and that the Mack brothers were not only aware of it but participated in it.  The law does not require that either one of them be caught actually taking the bribes, although Ralphiel was found to be in possession of some of the currency that the FBI used in the investigation.

One can never know for sure how a jury will vote. It only takes one reasonable doubt for the whole case to crumble and the defendants set free.

It is significant that this trial will end, however it ends, just as the municipal election campaign season warms up. Just three months after the verdict is delivered Trentonians will go to the polls to select a mayor and city council for the next four years.

Candidates and voters alike need to take some time to reflect on the past three and one half years of the hands down worst administration this city has seen in its over 300 year history.  We all need to review not only what was done but how it was done.

Before casting one vote in the May 13^th municipal election, the public needs to thoroughly and thoughtfully review their choices.  The candidates cannot be judged solely on the cut of their suit or the church they attend.

We need to examine who they associate with; where their campaign money is coming from and how they have conducted themselves in their public and, yes, private lives up to this point.

Engaged citizens must review the information that is available to them via New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission reports.  Does the candidate file complete and accurate reports on time? Are they reporting proper expenditures?

Trentonians must also ask direct questions of those seeking office and not accept the typical, non-committal political double-speak designed to win voter approval but containing no substance.

Mayoral candidates must present measurable, realistic goals and define a plan that they will follow to achieve them.

City council candidates must demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the governing body’s role in city government; its authority and power.

Pay attention to not only what candidates are saying but how they communicate.

We all say we want the best for Trenton, let’s not lower our standards just because we have a personal affinity for an individual who is running for office. 

If we want elected leaders who can think critically, than we must be critical in how we choose them.

The 2010-2014 term has been a waste for the city of Trenton. Corruption scandal aside, we have seen more waste and ineffective, often non-existent, government. It is well documented and openly recognized that the city’s woes did not start at noon on July 1, 2010.  What has transpired since has dragged Trenton down to the lowest point in our memory.

Despite what may be said during the campaign, whoever takes the oath of office on July 1, 2014 will not be able to flip a switch and immediately make everything “OK” again.

So choose wisely, Trenton. Or be prepared for an even rockier next four years.

He just doesn't learn

Latest Mack appointments more of same.

In a classic attempt to circumvent the news cycle, the Mack administration announced late Friday afternoon the "new" administrative lineup.  The changes of note were the appointments of Harold Hall and Carmen Melendez as acting directors of Public Works and Housing and Economic Development respectively.  Walter Denson was moved from the latter department and made acting Law Director/City Attorney.

While all indications are that Mr. Denson is competent and capable, he is by his own admission not experienced in municipal law. Still, he at least has the credentials as an attorney and some track record of success in his background.

The same cannot be said for Mr. Hall or Ms. Melendez.

Mr. Hall, you remember, was collecting overtime and paid comp time as a Division Director (Public Property).  He's also the person ultimately responsible for overseeing the the payroll for the Park Rangers like Mr. Robert Mendez, Mr. Russ Wilson, and the mysterious Mr. James Moses...all of whom seemed to have doctored their time cards, been paid overtime they didn't earn, and/or went on the city payroll before they were given DCA approval.

According to a statement by the DCA's Lisa Ryan and reported in today's Times, Hall's promotion to acting Director of Public Works will not get state approval "since the Division previously requested the mayor demote or fire him.”

Good for the DCA!  They must be completely exhausted from dealing with the petulant Mayor.

If the elevation of Mr. Hall isn't bad enough, there is the story of Ms. Melendez.

Like Hall, she's a long-time ally of the Mayor who was given a nearly $50,000 per year aide's position shortly after Mack took office last year.  Of course, we are to believe that this position had nothing to do with the $3,200 in campaign contributions Ms. Melendez's husband Cesar made to the Mack campaign in May of 2010.

But that is not the real problem with Carmen's bump up to acting director.

Mayor Mack is proposing putting Ms. Melendez in charge of the department responsible for improving the city's economic outlook through creative and effective development.  This is the same key position he tried to fill last year with convicted felon Carleton Badger. 

I guess the Mayor assumes the public has forgotten that ill-advised move and is trying to foist another crony with questionable credentials on us as directory of Housing and Economic Development. Ms. Melendez, while having no convictions on criminal charges in her background (that we know of), has been far from a stellar success.

Besides some failed Real Estate Agency partnerships that have failed, Ms. Melendez appears to have 10's of thousands of dollars worth of judgements and liens outstanding against her. 

Another Mack appointee with dubious finances and a questionable background.

Isn't this where we came in a year ago?

Make it right, Mayor Mack

Monday’s arrest of Paul Sigmund is a very sad turn of events.

 

Let’s be perfectly clear here: Mr. Sigmund obviously has some problems that we all hope he will seek proper treatment for. May he find the will and the way to overcome his personal demons and correct his path. And may his family be able to move through and past this chapter of their lives.

 

While we wish Mr. Sigmund and his family well, there are other more public and pressing matters that must not be swept aside in sentimentality.

 

Mayor Mack’s judgment is once again in question.

 

Are we to believe that the Mayor knew nothing of Mr. Sigmund’s problems before bringing him on board less than two months ago? Rumors and questions about just what was reported in Mr. Sigmund’s required background check have swirled since his appointment as Chief of Staff was announced.

 

 

The New York Times reported that Mack spokesperson Lauren Ira stated that Mr. Sigmund submitted to and passed the required drug test at the time of his hiring.

 

Are we to believe then, that only in the last seven weeks Mr. Sigmund has developed a heroin habit?

 

Last month there was the speeding incident where Mr. Sigmund was stopped for driving a city owned vehicle 35 miles over the speed limit. It was later learned that Mr. Sigmund had neither a valid New Jersey nor California driver’s license.
 

Are we to believe that, as was claimed at the time, the city administration had no knowledge of Mr. Sigmund’s lack of valid driving privileges?

 

Mayor Mack it is time for you to step up and do the right things: 

1. You need to ask for Mr. Sigmund’s resignation immediately.
2. You need to come clean about what you really knew about Mr. Sigmund’s background; his substance abuse problem and his suspended driver’s license.
3. You need to issue an executive order directing all elected and appointed officials of the city of Trenton to immediately submit to a drug test.
4. You need to remember that the first day to submit the paperwork initiating the recall process is just eight days away.

Mayor Mack, your poor judgment has yet again put the city of Trenton in a bad light and the taxpayers on the hook. We are fortunate that the events above did not take a more tragic route where someone was injured or worse while your appointee illegally operated a city owned vehicle while speeding or driving under the influence or both.

 

This may very well be your last chance to make things right.

Failed

The first eight months of Mayor Tony Mack’s administration have been a tragic-comic opera. It is a plot overloaded with bad decisions, missteps, and colorful characters. It has given us the crowd favorite tag line: “Happy Pearl Harbor Day!”
Daily the action unfolds in front of an audience split into two camps: those who still support the Mayor and those who are ready to “give him the hook.”

Those who defend and support the Mayor suggest that the others are being unfair. “He’s only had eight months to undo all of the mess left by the previous Mayor,” they say.

Or they might offer up this, “Where were all these critics while {Doug} Palmer was running this city into the ground?”

Some have even gone so far as to suggest that Mayor Mack’s missteps are the result of him being “dumb, not criminal.”

Loyalty is a good trait…to a point. But when it becomes blind, if not delusional, it is a bad thing.

Past Palmer

Those who think there was no criticism of the previous administration and council either were not paying attention or are in complete denial. From 2003 onward, there was increasing criticism of Palmer’s actions and much was made of his “rubber stamp” council.

True, there was not the same amount of media coverage then as there has been of Mayor Mack. Yet there were people speaking out then who continue to speak up now. (This blog, started in 2006, is but one example).

It was the action and criticism on the part of the public that stopped the ill-conceived Leewood development plan for South Trenton; it was the citizens that passed the city’s Pay-to-Play ordinance that the current Mayor is now running afoul of; it was legal action brought by the citizens that removed Joe Santiago from the police director position for not following the residency law; it was legal action by citizens that got the proposed split and sale of the Trenton Water Works onto the ballot and defeated.

There is no argument and no doubt, that Palmer left a mess in his wake. It is actually amazing that anyone, let alone 10 individuals, would want to run to succeed him, knowing how bad things were. Some might think that Mr. Palmer had “outgrown” the job of Mayor of Trenton. We think he was trying to outrun the collapse of the house of cards he had built here.

Regardless…Palmer is gone; what he did (or did not do) is in the past and it cannot be changed. Certainly, more people voicing publicly what many would only say privately might have helped slow if not avoid the city’s decline. Again, it is in the past and cannot be changed. The point is some noise was made; some criticisms levied, some change occurred.

First steps faulty

Only July 1, 2010, Mayor Mack took the reins of city government and almost immediately displayed a failure to grasp the situation he found himself in.
At a time when the city was facing a huge budget deficit and impending layoffs, Mack dismissed all of Palmer’s cabinet members…and the experience and knowledge that went along with them. Note…we are not suggesting some of them did not need to go, but the wholesale dismissal seemed a little shortsighted, pun not intended.

Knowing there was going to have to be a staff reduction of some sort in the coming months, Mayor Mack padded the payroll with unnecessary hires, filling out the full compliment of aides afforded him under the Faulkner act, paying top dollar to his new appointees, putting on “interns” and paying them through CDBG money that might better have been applied to the real needs of the city. Just a few months later, demotions and layoffs reduced the workforce and the pool of knowledge and experience the Mayor could have drawn upon as he struggled to keep the city afloat.

The nomination of a felon as a department head, the questions surrounding the appointee to the municipal bench, and the game of musical chairs regarding who sits in the Business Administrator seat are all indications of the Mayor’s lack of comprehension as to what his responsibilities are to the city.

It did not take much to figure out why the highly respected and experienced Bill Guhl stepped away from city hall after only a month of volunteering to help Mack get a handle on things. Tony continues to not accept good counsel and helping hands when offered.

Instead, he prefers to hide behind a screen of sycophants and hangers-on while he fiddles and the city burns.

Many people have offered advice and assistance to help the Mayor steer the city forward, but he seems to prefer to consult with the expensive suits from Atlantic City and the company of his lackeys to anybody who really has the best interest of Trenton at heart.

The list of bad choices and inappropriate actions is lengthy. The one consistency of the Mayor’s tenure so far has been his inability to do the right thing.

And there are exceptions to that rule…his appointment of Dan Dodson and Michael McGrath to the board of the Lafayette Yard Development Corporation. This entity actually “owns” the Marriott Hotel and oversees its operation for the taxpayers of the city. From its inception, it functioned in secret with little information flowing to the public “share holders.” That has started to change with Dodson and McGrath on board.

Unfortunately, that is not enough to make up for the rest of the eight months of foolishness coming out of city hall.

Is it the money?

Is it the Mayor’s personal money situation that has made him such easy prey for outside interests? It certainly would not be the first time that a desire for financial security has lead to poor decision making.

And to those who want to excuse Mack’s shortcomings as a function of his mental capacity, well…that just doesn’t wash. If eight months of mistakes are because he is intellectually deficient or mentally incompetent than he is not qualified to serve in the position of Mayor. We all have limitations and Tony’s may preclude him from holding his current job.

This is not to pick on him, put him down, or make fun of him. If he doesn’t have the sense to make the right decisions or won’t compensate by listening to those who do have the ability to determine what the right decision is and accept their suggestions, than he must go.

The taxpayers of the city of Trenton cannot afford to subsidize such ignorance. And anyone who thinks otherwise must also have diminished mental capacity.

Tony Mack has failed in his short time as Mayor of the City of Trenton. There is no way to argue or refute that fact. The citizens who continue to stand by him are failing as well.

Accept that Mr. Mack will probably not finish out his term and let’s start thinking about finding a competent, ethical, intelligent replacement.

You just can't get it right, can you?

A turkey of an idea

Dear Mayor Mack and staff:

 

1. In a city that is broke and broken, do we really need, can we afford, should we have a city sponsored (ie; paid for) parade? It was a bad idea in the waning years of the Palmer administration and yet here you are, the "we're going to do things differently" crew doing just the opposite.
2. Was the Thanksgiving holiday moved from Thursday to Saturday? If it was, it somehow escaped our notice. If it wasn't, then the parade on Saturday is not really a "Thanksgiving DAY Parade, now is it?*
    

Yet again, your lack of common sense is stupefying.

 

 

 

*Before anyone raises the point...we have the same feeling about St. Patrick's Day Parades that are not held on St. Patrick's Day. Regardless of whethere they march in Trenton, Hamilton, Robbinsville, or on the Moon.if it isn't on March 17th, it is NOT a St. Patrick's Day Parade.

That was the week that was

Or was it?

That was the week that was (or TW3) was a comedy show filled with political satire and parody that ran first on the BBC in 1962 and 1963 and then on NBC in 1964-65. The attitude of both the British and American versions was to illuminate the absurdities and foibles of contemporary culture and society by lampooning the establishment.

Last week’s three ring political circus in Trenton had similar, albeit unintended effect on the local government.

It began with the revelation that recently elected Mayor Tony Mack had nominated Carlton Badger, a convicted felon and admitted forger, to be the Director of Housing and Economic Development for the city. Mack tried defending his choice by saying Badger had paid for his past mistakes and should be accorded a second chance.

Few were buying it.

On the same day that the Times reported the above story, both papers ran advertisements that Mack’s Berkeley Avenue home was slated for a Sheriff’s Sale on August 25. The Mayor at first denied that he was in foreclosure. At a press conference two days later he claimed it was personal business and not for public consumption. And over the weekend Mayor Mack assured both the Times and the Trentonian that his finances were under control and “paid in full.”

At the same time, a story in the Bergen Record on Saturday delved deeper into Mack’s financial woes. It seems the Mayor has a history of financial difficulties stretching back several years and involving several properties. This includes two previous foreclosures on his residence.

There are also questions about his foundation, Tony Mack Cares, which hasn’t provided any reports on its operations or filed any tax returns since 2002.

The Mayor’s association with other questionable individuals does nothing to improve his image. The maximum contribution to his campaign (and long-time support) by the infamous Jo Jo Giorgiani and the financial issues of Pete Fields and Carla Hogan, Chairperson and Treasurer respectively, of the “Partners for Progress” Political Action Committee that helped fund the Mack campaign leave many wondering just what is going on.

And then there is the question of the $20,000 loan Mack made to his campaign in April.

Where did the money come from if Mack was already in foreclosure proceedings on his home, in arrears on rent for his business (Broad Street Grill, now closed), and he had no job?

Financial questions aside, Mack’s leadership continued to be questioned after he totally mishandled the dismissal of Deputy Clerk Cordelia Staton. It wasn’t just the rudeness of notifying Ms. Staton she was fired by leaving a letter on her desk chair while she was at lunch that was bad form. Someone, we can only presume the Mayor or one of his aides, called the police to have Ms. Staton physically removed from City Hall.

Mack’s highly public suggestion to city council that perhaps the calling of the police and the presence of local media personnel were planned did nothing for his credibility.

While we believe that Ms. Staton’s appointment in early June was done improperly, that misstep is nothing compared to the way the Mack Administration fumbled the attempt to dismiss her. Her removal now is most assuredly going to result in a lawsuit that will prove costly to the taxpayers of Trenton.

In an effort to defuse and disarm criticism of his personal and political missteps, Mack issued a hastily (and poorly) written press release touting his alleged successes of his first month in office. Unfortunately, the lengthy fluff piece is long on wishful thinking and short on actual substance.

What the events of the past week have demonstrated quite plainly is that Mayor Mack is not up to the task at hand. His decision making leaves much to be desired and shows that he is totally incapable of running the city of Trenton.

The only hope we have is for Mayor Mack to forget about appointing friends and cronies. He must…if he still can…surround himself with truly experienced and talented advisors and do as they direct him to do. Otherwise, he is going to sink the city deeper into debt than his predecessor did. Then will come the firestorm of ethics, if not criminal, violations.

Mack short on wisdom

City Hall a zombie land of hacks and paybacks.

The recent moves in and out of 319 East State Street seem to point out the new mayor’s shortcomings.

Respected and experienced municipal finance guru Bill Guhl suddenly departed last week after less than a month volunteering as the Acting Business Administrator. Indications are that Guhl’s suggestions on how to pull Trenton out of the economic swamp were not only falling on deaf ears, but that there was open resistance from the Mayor’s cronies. While some see Guhl’s departure as a diva-like act, others give him credit for trying but walking away rather than to continue to bang his head on the wall of mayoral indifference.

Next came the announcement that Carleton Badger was named the acting Director of Housing and Economic Development. Mr. Badger, it seems, has had some legal issues in the past that, amongst other things, cost him his real estate license for a time.

Quoted in an article in the Times, Mayor Mack brushes the lapses aside and suggests that Mr. Badger has “paid his debt to society.”

The problem is Mr. Badger didn’t have one ethical misstep. According to the Times, Badger “…has been twice indicted for forgery, pleaded guilty to a theft charge that was brought in 2001, and has a history of bankruptcies and other financial difficulties.”

Further on in the article, LeRoi Banks, a former business partner of Mr. Badgers, indicates that there is more to be learned.

"He took money from me a lot of different ways," Banks said. "This is just the tip of the iceberg."

This doesn’t generate a lot of confidence in the statements that Badger has reformed and has readjusted his ethics.

At the tail end of the same article in the Times comes notice of three new appointments. Preacher and former West Ward Council Candidate John Vaughan has been tapped as an aide to Mayor Mack.

Why are we hiring more aides when we are looking at laying off city employees? Another irrational decision.

And what about the two ladies hired as grant writers? One is Councilwoman Kathy McBride’s daughter. The other is reportedly a bartender at the Mill Hill Saloon.

Obviously, these two individuals are highly qualified for the position. Right.

Another move that has heads shaking and tongues wagging is the lunch-time pink-slipping of former Councilwoman Cordelia Staton from her Deputy Clerk’s position.

We do believe that the 11th hour appointment of Ms. Staton by her former colleagues during the waning days of the previous administration was wrong.

We also believe that the Mack administration could have demonstrated a little more class in the handling of the situation.

Almost makes one wish for the good old days of the Palmer dynasty.

Almost.

Does he think we are that stupid?

Doug tries to foist Colicelli on council and the city again.

Almost a year ago, Trenton's city council pulled the plug on Barry Colicelli's sweetheart deal with the Palmer administration by not renewing his contract. Now he's back again in a resolution to hire his consulting company to be the city's "Youthstat Coordinator."

Colicelli, you may recall, was a former Newark cop and crony of former Police Director Joe Santiago who for three years or so had a contract with the city to be a special advisor to Mr. Palmer in matters pertaining to the city's gang problem. Colicelli's "Target Law Enforcement and Security Consultants, LLC" was given annual contracts worth just shy of $100,000 plus a car, cell phones, computers and furnished offer in city hall.

Finally, members of city council apparently had their fill of funding the position for an outsider when there must be one or more individuals already on the city payroll who could take on the tasks of this "consultant." Further, there might actually be a resident (or two or three) qualified to do the work.

Fortunately for Colicelli and Palmer, there was never any real look at the fact that the former was paid for work done without a contract in place; from apparently duplicated invoices; and without proper checks and balances from within city hall.

Fortunately for the taxpayers, a majority of council saw that it was their duty to not allow these questionable practices to continue siphoning off serious resources from a cash-strapped city.

Now, not even a year later, Colicelli/Target Law Enforcement is up for another contract with the city. While it is apparently a slightly less valuable contract (not to exceed $71,149), it is still questionable as to whether or not it is a reasonable or required expense.

First of all, we have never gotten a satisfactorily reasoned and explained answer to the question of whether or not we already had people on staff who could perform these duties as part of his/her job?

Second, there are questions about the "bidding process" used to fill this position.

Rumors have swirled for the past few weeks that an equally if not more qualified city resident expressed an interest in this consultant contract...and allegedly for a lower amount...but was passed over in favor of Colicelli.

Doug Palmer must thing we have forgotten what happened not even 12 months ago.

He must also be pretty certain that he has a majority of council votes to approve this contract.

After conducting a caucus on the front stoop, we suggest that the citizens of Trenton let their elected officials know that they will not stand for this type of shady dealing.

Once again, it is incumbent upon the residents to remind Mr. Palmer and city council that we are not stupid or forgetful and that we will not tolerate the administration's cavalier attitude towards spending our money on their whims.

Ain't too proud to beg

Palmer pleads case for more handouts from Feds

There he goes again.

Trenton's own Doug Palmer was in Washington yesterday crying poor and asking for the federal government to help city's like Trenton get over their current financial crisis.

Citing "domino" effect trickle down from the mortgage and Wall Street situations, Palmer was at the front of Uncle Sam's Soup Line, hat in hand asking,

"Please, sir. May I have some more?"

Commodore Palmer might have a better chance of getting some help if he hadn't run the city's ship aground with two decades worth of mismanagement.

With the admittedly short funds available to anyone anywhere, why would a rational, reasoned Congress hand over wheelbarrow loads of money to a wasteful and imprudent despot like Palmer?

It's been said before and it will be repeated endlessly until the message gets through: come home, stop playing games with library budgets, cut the fat and waste from your administration and get this city back on course. Then, Doug, maybe people will try to lend a hand.

And remember this, Mr. Palmer, the saying is:
I'm from the government. I'm here to help.
not...
...I am the government. I'm here to help myself.

Show me the money

While the City of Trenton is cleaved in two over the residency (not "the Santiago") flap, another insidious plan is afoot in the state capital.

Seems a late addition to Thursday night's Council docket includes an item asking for the body to approve over $200,000.00 in Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) funding for the restoration work on the "Golden Swan" building(s) at Front and Warren Streets in downtown Trenton.

Now no one is happier to see this historic edifice be spruced up and put back into practical use than the denizens of the Front Stoop. But...and you knew there was a "but"...at what cost?

Let's do a quick review:

The City purchased the "Caola Building" (aka "the Golden Swan)several years ago for $164,000. In 2005, it was sold for $1 (that's right, a buck) to Woodrose Properties whose principle partner is none other than former Senator Robert Torricelli. The project has required a vast infusion of money...some of which reportedly has already come from the City in the way of aid for the demolition of a 20th century addition and some site remediation. And, of course, there was the standard agreement for a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) granted the developer.
(click here to jump back to a previous rant on this subject)

Besides the "Golden Swan" project, Woodrose purchased the former Townhouse Restaurant on W. State Street and the building next door to combine the two into an office building. In 2006, Woodrose asked for and received $89,000 in UEZ money to "install an elevator" in the State Street project to make it fully handicap accessible. And at the time, Council was told the building was "fully leased."

Last time we checked, the building was unoccupied.

Back to tonight...Mr. Torricelli and his cohorts are coming to City Council with their hands out once again. Asking for another $200,000+ to help complete what has been an expensive and extensive restoration process.

Oh, and by the way, this is the same Robert Torricelli who managed to funnel over $10,000 in campaign contributions to Mayor Palmer and the joint campaign committee for Paul Pintella, Manny Segura and Cordelia Staton.

So when you add it all up, the former Senator has invested a little over $10,000 in Trenton by the way of campaign contributions and has received over a quarter of a million dollars in property and funding in return. Plus, he's gotten tax abatements on his projects. And now he's asking for another $200,000 plus in UEZ money.

Wanna bet he gets it?

Smart man that Torricelli. Rich too. And he's not risked hardly a dime of his own money.

While we're worried about where the Police Director lives, our treasury is being pillaged by another crooked Jersey politician and his cronies.

Including a former Senator.