2012 DEMOCRAT CAMPAIGN FINANCE

    The County Democrats' third quarter ELEC reports are in! Due on October 15, it was received in Trenton on October 24.
    It appears that they have been running their losing County Clerk and Freeholder County Commissioner campaigns out of the county organization accounts, as none of their county candidates ELEC reports show anything of substance. Freeholder County Commissioner candidate Kevin Lavan had only filed a D-1 back in July. William Shea filed his 29-Day Pre-Election (R-1) on October 10; his 11-Day Pre-Election was due on October 26 but is nowhere to be found. The 20-Day Post-Election Reports are due on November 26. The joint candidates committee, Shea & Lavan 2012, has only filed a D-2 and an A-2, both on October 10. Michael Steinhorn, their candidate for County Clerk seems to have been their only candidate who actually filed his reports on time, with a D-1 and an A-1 on Oct. 10, and an 11-Day Pre-Election filed on November 2.
    48 hour notices were required for contribution over $1,200.00 received between October 24 and November 6, none are filed. But then the Democrats in Monmouth County have played fast and loose with the definition of 48 hours before.
    We were wondering whether there would be any changes brought about by their new chairman boss, Vin Gopal, who is not the G. O. P.'s pal. Well, basically, same old stuff: Labor bucks, wheeling and whatnot. In other words, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
    We will know more if they file their fourth quarter reports in January; also from the final county candidates reports.
    Let's look in...

1199 SEIU NYS Political Action Fund gave the Democrats $500.00 on Aug. 22. Last year they gave Amy Mallet's campaign $2,000.00.  Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is known for thuggishness, often supplying goons to physically disrupt events. These are bad dudes. The "NYS" stands for New York State. That is a separate state to the north of New Jersey; again we must reiterate, New York is a separate state. This is an out of state campaign contribution.

The Committee to Elect Sheila Oliver contributed $1,000.00 on Sept, 25. Sheila Y. Oliver is the Speaker of the New Jersey Assembly and represents the 34th District. That's in Essex County.

The Election Fund of Thomas P. Giblin Inc. gave $400.00 on Sept. 17. Thomas P. Giblin is Sheila Oliver's running mate in District 34, and is a mainstay of the Essex County Democrats.
Former Freeholder County Commissioner John D'Amico a/k/a "Flippy", contributed a total of $750.00 in four installments of various amounts. He just won't go away.

June Fallon, wife of former interim Democrat freeholder Charles D. Fallon, gave $400.00 on Sept. 14. Charles Fallon was one of many corrupt public officials busted by then-U. S. Attorney Chris Christie. Fallon, an accountant, had been bribing then-Hudson County Executive Robert C. Janiszewski to the tune of $2,000.00 a year, totaling $8,000.00. In return, Janiszewski would give county contracts to Fallon's accounting firm. Fallon would then do Janiszewski's tax returns so as to hide the bribes. One hand soils the other. Fallon pled guilty and was fined.

Norman Kauff contributed $500.00 on Sept. 17. Kauff was a longtime Scudiery lieutenant and is a major player in Western Monmouth and Bayshore Democrat circles.

Marlboro Councilman Frank LaRocca contributed a total of $420.00 in four installments of various amounts. LaRocca was an unsuccessful candidate for County Democrat Chair Boss against Gopal back in June. Nice to see them getting along. LaRocca is a law partner of Mayor Jon Hornik; let's take the time to give a shout out to all those Republicans for Hornik who we have to thank for this.

Local Union 400 IBEW PAC Fund gave $2,000.00 on August 14, and another $1,500.00 on Sept. 18. They're located on Route 138 in Wall Township.

The Middletown Democratic Party donated a total of $1,850.00 in three installments.

The Monmouth - Ocean Central Labor Council gave $400.00 on Sept. 17.

Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union No. 9 of Manalapan contributed $1,000.00 on August 29.

2011 DEMOCRAT CAMPAIGN FUNDING

As has so often been the case this time of year, nothing of substance has yet shown up on this year's Democrat Party candidate ELEC reports. Nothing new either yet to reflect any changes brought about under the new County Dem chairman boss, Vinod Gopal. However, there's always last year's final reports, which are relevant because two of their losing candidates from last year, William Shea (freeholder county commissioner) and Michael Steinhorn (surrogate 2011, county clerk 2012), are on this year's countywide ballot.

Let's first look at Amy Mallet's final report:

Pallone for Congress gave her $1,000.00 contribution on October 21, 2011, and another $1,000.00 on Nov. 1. After that it's the unions.

NJEA Political Action Committee contributed $1,250.00 on the same date. That's the teachers' union folks.

DRIVE Committee contributed $1,000.00 on Nov. 9. DRIVE is an acronym: Democrat Republican Independent Voter Education; it's the political action committee of the Teamsters Union.

1199 SEIU NYS Political Action Fund gave Mallet's campaign $2,000.00 on Nov. 17. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is known for thuggishness, often supplying goons to physically disrupt events. These are bad dudes. The "NYS" stands for New York State. That is a separate state to the north of New Jersey; again we must reiterate, New York is a separate state. This is an out of state campaign contribution.

Now Bill Shea's report:

NJEA Political Action Committee contributed $1,250.00 on Nov. 7. Again, we must reiterate, this is the teachers' union.
Earlier union bucks to Shea can be found here.


And now, Mr. Steinhorn:

Realtors' Political Action Committee on September 30 gave $1,000.00 and another $1,000.00 on October 4.
Steinhorn's report is the only one certified as a final report.


Now, let's look at the Monmouth County Democrats report:

Election Fund of Joseph Cryan (D-Union), the rootinest, tootinest, double-dippinest undersheriff/assemblyman ever to bedazzle New Jersey contributed $10,000.00 to the County Democrats on October 5. Recall that on September 18, he also contributed 1,000.00 smackers to Amy Mallet's campaign account.
In late 2008 it was the Monmouth County Democrat Freeholder County Commissioner majority who looked to Cryan to fill key appointments.

Annette Quijano Election Fund (D-Union), contributed $5,000.00 on Oct. 26. Quijano is a part of the 20th District Legislative delegation along with Joe Cryan and Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak. (below) Quijano replaced former Assemblyman Neil Cohen, the well-known child-porn impressario, currently on parole from South Woods State Prison.

Election Fund of Raymond J. Lesniak (D-Union), contributed $1,000.00 on Oct. 27.

Union County Democratic Committee , Charlotte DeFilippo, chair, forked over $3,000.00 on Oct. 21. Monmouth and Union County Democrats have had a long and cozy relationship. Not sure whether or not that will continue under Gopal, who is Nopal to the GOP.

Union Township Democratic Municipal Committee, Joseph Cryan, chair, contributed $3,500.00 on Nov. 9, another $3,500.00 on Nov. 25, for a total of $7,000.00.

Election Fund of John S. Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), gave $7,500.00 on Oct. 24. Recall that on February 10 he contributed $1,000.00 and another $2,500.00 on September 15 for an aggregate of $11,000.
Democracy in Motion, the mysterious PAC, gave $5,000.00 on Nov. 2.  On July 8 they had contributed $5,000.00; they gave another $10,000.00 on September 15. They first showed up on the Monmouth County scene back in '09. Their chairman is Michael L. Broderick and their treasurer is Christina Montorio. Both are employed by Teamsters Local 469 in Hazlet, Broderick as Business Agent and Montorio as a Port Representative. They appear to be funded by professional firms; CME Engineering is a major player here, although T & M, Birdsall and various law firms have donated. They even got a check from Gary "Billboard" Taffet, former chief of staff to disgraced Gov. James E. McGreevey. Their disbursements go predominantly to Middlesex County Democrats.

Raritan Bay Leadership Fund contributed $7,000.00 on Dec. 1. Their chairman is former Middlesex County Clerk Raniero Travisano of Sayreville and their treasurer New Brunswick attorney David Lonski. Their contributors and recipients are largely the same as Democracy in Motion.

Together We Can gave 2,500.00 on Nov. 2. Their chairman is former Kevin P. McCabe of Sewaren and their treasurer Woodbridge Township attorney James P. Nolan. McCabe is part of the management team of the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters, Edison. Their contributors and recipients are largely the same as Democracy in Motion and the Raritan Bay Leadership Fund, with the addition of contributors Jamie Fox, DOT Commissioner in the McGreevey administration, and disgraced former Senator Robert Torricelli.

Is it because these contributors are extraordinarily civic-minded Americans who have a deep, abiding interest in local pols doing their jobs of serving their constituency? Might it be that these contributors just love participating in the political process?
Is Union County the Democrats' idea of "where Democrats are doing a better job governing than Republicans?"
Is Middlesex County the Democrats' idea of "where Democrats are doing a better job governing than Republicans?"
Well?????

UNION COUNTY BUCKS COMING IN

Is Union County the Democrats' idea of "where Democrats are doing a better job governing than Republicans?"
Well?
We've been monitoring the Monmouth County Democrats ELEC Reports and sure enough, they are getting some big bucks wheeled in from their Union County bosses.* The Democrats have been very coy with their filings, with separate filings for County Commissioner (neé Freeholder) candidates Amy Mallet and Bill Shea and Surrogate Candidate Michael Steinhorn, as well as a joint Mallet-Shea account. They try to hide behind sworn statements for the candidates and run the show out of the Monmouth County Democrats account. Most of these are from the Monmouth County Democrats account, except for that from Joseph Cryan, who contributed directly to Friends of Freeholder Mallet.
The Dems are obviously utterly unfazed by criticism of their wheeling. It's just what they do.
Checking the 48 hour reports, we find big bucks from two out of three 20th District (Union County) legislators. On October 26 the Assemblywoman Annette Quijano Election Fund contributed $5,000.00. Two days later, on October 28, the Election Fund of Senator Raymond J. Lesniak contributed $10,000.00. The third representative from that district, rootin' tootin' double-dippin' Undersheriff/Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, made his $1,000.00 contribution directly to Amy Mallet's campaign on September 18. Quijano's predecessor, child-porn impressario Neil Cohen has contributed to legislative races in the past.
Union County's neighbor to the north, Essex, has also shown its generosity through the largess of Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-34). On April 12 the Committee to Elect Sheila Oliver gave $1,000.00 and on July 7 she ponied up another $500.00.
Between Union and Monmouth Counties lies Middlesex, always fertile ground for wheeled bucks. On July 8 the mysterious Sayreville-based Democracy in Motion PAC contributed $5,000.00; they gave another $10,000.00 on September 15. This contributor first appeared here in 2009. Also from Sayreville is 19th District Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski; on February 10 the Election Fund of John S. Wisniewski contributed $1,000.00 and another $2,500.00 on September 15.
This is what has surfaced so far. Certainly more will come to light after the election. Meanwhile, we will be delving into their Big Labor contributions.

*Of course, with the Democrats, down is up and up is down and wheeling isn't wheeling, so I guess the money isn't really wheeled. Or something.

NORCROSS SUPPORTED LONEGAN!

Norcross supported Lonegan??? Gadzooks! No way! A few weeks back Fred Driscoll at The State wrote, "We also want to shout out South Jersey Democrat boss David Norcross, who, it was rumored, funneled cash to the Lonegan backed group New Jersey Americans for Prosperity during the 2009 primary. Ha, and AFP has just been characterized as Chris Christie’s right wing attack dog by State Senator and NJ Democrat Chairman John Wisniewski (lawl!)."
South Jersey Democrat boss David Norcross. Now, we've heard of South Jersey Democrat boss George Norcross and his brother labor boss/State Senator Donald Norcross, but David? Who is David Norcross?
It didn't take the Honest Abe Research Foundation long to find out. David A. Norcross of Moorestown is the Republican Norcross. We don't know whether he's related to George and Don, but, as the Norcrosses were an early family in the Camden area and are reasonably numerous in the area today, we would suppose that they may be a very distant relatives.
In the mid 1970's David Norcross was the first executive director of the State Election Law Enforcement Commission. In 1976 he was our candidate for U. S. Senate against Democrat and future Abscam felon Harrison A. Williams. From 1977 to 1981 he served as Republican State Chairman. He also was Republican National Committeeman from New Jersey and has served in other positions at the RNC up to the present. Recently he was state co-chair of the Mitt Romney for President campaign, and was considered in 2008 as a possible replacement for Rep. Jim Saxton in the 3rd Congressional District.
With a pedigree like that, it's not news that Dave Norcross would contribute to Steve Lonegan's group, or any other Republican. Looks like Fred Driscoll got his Norcrosses crossed.

COZY WITH THE UNIONS

D'ya really wanna go there, Flippy?
County Commissioner (neé Freeholder) John D'Amico, Jr. has accused Sheriff Kim Guadagno, candidate for Lt. Governor, of being too cozy with the unions.
The Honest Abe Research Foundation took a look at Sean Byrnes (Lil' Flippy), Democratic candidate for County Commissioner (neé Freeholder), who D'Amico backs, to find out how cozy he is.
So far, his only major contribution is:

$2,600.00 from the Local Union 400 PAC Fund, received on May 29th, 2009. This was filed as a 48 hour filing, received at ELEC by fax on June 9th. May 29th to June 9th. I guess in a party where up is down and down is up and wheeling isn't wheeling, 48 hours (2 days for us) can stretch out to nearly 2 weeks. Amazing.

NOTE: The Honest Abe Research Foundation will continue looking into Sean Byrnes. We told you it's not going away, Lil Flippy. See?

HE'S BAAAAAAAAACK!!!

Yesterday (Wednesday), Art Gallagher over at More Monmouth Musings wrote about Codey.org, a weBSite purported to support the drafting of former Gov. Dick Codey to replace the Bozo-coiffed Gov. Jonathan Stevens Corzine on the ballot. Art found that the site is linked to none other than Union County's own diminutive, goose-stepping, oompaloompaesque publisher, James J. Devine.
We decided to put the Honest Abe Research Foundation to work on this.
A look at the weBSite shows that it is "a project of the Central Jersey Democratic Leadership Committee", a PAC led by Devine, and that it is "Paid for by CJDLC". The CJDLC's main weBSite still advertises tickets for the PAC's "Inaugural Ball" to be held back in January at the Grand Marquis in Old Bridge Township.
A look at ELEC shows that the CJDLC has not filed a report since the third quarter of 2005. Before that, their reporting history was spotty at best.
Just as a little background, Devine and his PAC have marched to not only a different drummer, but a different tuba and glockenspiel player too.
Back in '05, Devine ran a blog supporting the woeful Democratic assembly candidates in the 13th District. That same year, he was responsible for a hate weBSite called HandlinThompson.org. As a part of his fundraising, Devine wrote on the site, "Donations will be deposited into the personal bank account of this website's owner/operator and will be used to defray expenses for research and reporting about the corrupt politicians to whom this site is dedicated. If funding reaches the level required for disclosure under New Jersey law, a political committee will be established specifically for that purpose. Until then, anyone who wishes to know the names of any or all contributors needs simply to ask."
His personal bank account? Gadzooks! Hold on campers, there's more.
They once claimed that the CJDLC was not subject to ELEC reporting as it was organized as a 527 fund, and by June of 2006, the PAC's treasurer, Charles Betancourt, was pleading not guilty to embezzling $53,238.00 from the CJDLC. Strangely, no Charles Betancourt appears in the state Judiciary's Promis/Gavel Public Access system. You would think that they would file ELEC reports after that bit of trouble, but noooooooo.
We know that they began 2005 with a balance of $2,500.54 in the bank, and that they raised $122,950.00 up to the end of the third quarter, and spent $102,628.34 during the same period, leaving a balance of $22,822.20 on September 30, 2005. Then, nothing. No reports for the fourth quarter of 2005 through the first quarter of 2009. Soooooo, we don't know what happened to the $22,822.20, where it went, or what they raised and spent during the past 3+ years. Did Betancourt get any of it, or was his embezzlement earlier than that? Is he still the treasurer?
We don't know how much they raised on the Inaugural event this past January, or what the overhead was. The Codey.org site is set up for fundraising, but that would show up on the second quarter '09 report, which is not due until June 15th, if they see fit to even bother to file it. The Codey.org weBSite, however, was actually created back in 2005, and updated this past February; any expenses incurred would presumably be reportable on a hypothetical first quarter report, if there was one.
The contributors reported back in 2005 are the typical Democratic cast of characters; a lot of developers, some lawyers, and the ever-present CME Associates principals. Recipients of the CJDLC's largese include several Democratic campaigns on the state and local level. We will list them in a subsequent post.
The Central Jersey Democratic Leadership Committee is notable for its weirdness. Devine is never far from controversy. Potential contributors would be wise to stay away from the whole gooey mess.

DEM CAMPAIGN FINANCE

OK, campers, it's time once again to take a trip down The Rabbit Hole to a land where up is down and down is up and wheeling isn't wheeling. That's right, we're going to take a look at the Monmouth County Democrats' 2008 4th quarter ELEC report! Along the way, be sure to munch on lots of mushrooms. You'll need them to believe that wheeling isn't going on.
$230,111.83. And very little of this money comes from here in Monmouth County. Very little.



Healy for Mayor. (Jersey City) $7,000.00 on October 29, and another $1,000.00 on November 3. A total of $8,000.00.

John Hamill, Jr. Also from Jersey City, he also contributed $1,000.00 on November 3.

Rush Holt for Congress. OK, at least he represents part of Monmouth County. $4,000.00 on October 20.

Upendra Chivukula for Assembly. (Somerset County) $1,000.00 on November 3.

New Jersey Democratic State Committee. $37,000.00 on October 24.

Election Fund of Joseph Cryan. (Union County) $15,000.00 in their trick-or-treat bag on October 31. No wonder they're asking this guy who to appoint to county patronage jobs!

Empower Newark. (Essex County) $10,000.00 on October 29. A PAC connected to Mayor Cory Booker. Christina DeSimone of the Rutgers-Newark Observer writes: "A political action committee called Empower Newark has reported a dramatic increase in funds, from $2,343 last year to $364,000 this year. The committee states that its goal is to support politicians who demonstrate a "genuine commitment to Newark." While the committee has donated to both Teresa Ruiz's and Bilal Beasley's Senate campaigns, Empower Newark has also supported candidates with little connection to Newark. Philadelphia mayoral candidate, Dwight Evans, and New York's lieutenant governor, David Paterson have each received $5,000 from the committee. How is this empowering Newark?" I guess Amy Mallet has a genuine commitment to Newark.

Election Fund of Stephen Schueler. Flippy's erstwhile running mate and current Assistant County Counsel Silent Steve. OK, this one is actually in Monmouth County. $3,611.00 on October 10.

Democracy in Motion. (South Amboy, Middlesex County) So far, I haven't found anything more on this PAC, but they contributed $2,500.00 on October 28.

Election Fund of John Wisniewski. (Middlesex County) $2,500.00 on October 28.

Bunion and Malley for Council. (Matawan) Alrighty, another from Monmouth County. This makes about 2 so far. $1,500.00 on December 21. Merry Christmas.

Election Fund of J. Christian Bollwage. (Union County. Again.) The Mayor of Elizabeth wrote a check for $500.00 on October 24.

Jon S. Corzine. The Bozo-coiffed governor himself contributed $25,000.00 on October 22.



Ready to see the labor bucks? I thought so.



Local Union 400 PAC Fund. (Wall) $12,000.00 on October 24.

District Council of Northern New Jersey Ironworkers. (Union County) $37,000.00 on October 28. Wow. Are the Democrats looking to start some projects using iron?

New Jersey State Laborers PAC, Non-Federal Account. (Middlesex County) $25,000.00 on October 13.

Local Union # 164, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers COPE Fund. (Bergen County) $25,000.00 on October 24.

New Jersey Regional Council of Carpenters Non-Partisan PAC. (Middlesex County) $10,000.00 on October 10.

Heavy and General Construction Laborers' Union Local 472 PAC. (Essex County) $8,000.00 on October 10.

PAC, New Jersey State Association of Pipe Trades. (Camden County) $5,000.00 on November 3.

DRIVE Committee. (Washington, DC) The Teamsters' PAC (Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education). $2,500.00 on October 10.

Operating Engineers' Local 825. (Union County) $1,000.00 on October 28.



The Dems are obviously completely unfazed by criticism of their wheeling. It's just what they do. And remember at reorganization where John D'Amico (Flippy) proposed major construction projects. Now you know why.

CAMDEN. IT'S CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

A look at County Commissioner-elect Amy "Hammerhead" Mallet's November 24 ELEC report shows a November 3 contribution of $3,000.00 from the Election Fund of Assemblyman Louis Greenwald. That's Greenwald, D-Camden.
So, we were correct about her George Norcross ties.
She also got $350.00 from Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman's fund. Carteret's in Middlesex County, and then there's $2,000.00 a mysterious PAC, the Coalition for Government Efficiency, based in Eatontown.
And the wheel goes round.

ABOUT THE DEMS' CAMPAIGN BUCKS...

Great research has been done by Art Gallagher and Barry Goldwater into the campaign finances of Democratic freeholder (or is that county commissioner?) candidates Amy Mallet and Very Silent Glenn Mason. They aptly point out the money wheeled* from such sources as Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), as well as a passel of out of county labor unions. This mirrors a post I made back in 2006 revealing unions and wheeling back then.
I wonder now as then the reason for all the labor bucks. The bulk of county employees are represented by two unions: Communications Workers of America Local 1034 (Carla Katz) represents the Public Works and Park System workers, and Policemen's Benevolent Association Local 240 represents the Corrections officers. So far, neither public employee union has contributed to the Dems' war chest this year. Most of the unions donating to the Democrats are not public employee unions. Back in 2006 a comment was posted that the unions were merely contributing to "pro-labor" candidates, but that sounds pretty weak. So why all the bucks?
The money from the lawyers is pretty obvious. Look at the names of the contributing lawyers, and look at who gets County Counsel if the Democrats get the majority, and see if you don't find a match.
As to the out of county political contributions like Wisniewski or Speaker Joe Roberts, that's wheeling in its most basic form. It's just what Democrats do.

*Of course, with the Monmouth County Democrats wheeling isn't wheeling, so I guess the money isn't really wheeled. Or something.

THE COALITION AGAINST CORRUPT POLITICIANS

Anyone who tuned in the "Jersey Guys" radio program on WKXW 101.5 on Wednesday (4/11) would have heard about the Coalition Against Corrupt Politicians, for the purpose of facilitating communication with the U. S. Attorney's Office and bringing crooked politicians to justice. If you listened that night about 6:30 or 7:00 you would have heard County GOP Chairman Adam Puharic getting on board. This is good. Other Monmouth County officials and candidates have also gotten on board.
Adam reiterated his Ethical Road Map, and stated that he would be posting a link to the CACP website on the Monmouth County Republican Committee website. True to his word, the link is up.
What we were wondering, though, was why the County GOP no longer does web postings of its ELEC reports. The June 30 and September 30 2006 reporting cycles were posted, but the December 31 reporting is not. So far, the March 31 report is not posted, but that doesn't even have to be in ELEC until Monday.
Posting of ELEC reports was a good idea on Adam's part last year. We hope that he reconsiders and posts the reports again.

SOME ELEC STUFF

This was originally part of the previous post. We separated it because we believe this issue to be important enough for its own post. HA

We found other things while surfing ELEC. One is that the Aberdeen, Hazlet and Middletown Democrats' reports all seem to be in the same handwriting, although they each have different treasurers. Weird I know. Also, of the ten Bayshore towns, six have not filed ELEC reports for their Democratic County Committee in years. They are Hazlet, Highlands, Holmdel, Keansburg, Keyport and Matawan. So a whole "cottage industry" of fundraising and spending could be going on, below ELEC's radar. In fact it is; sometimes it appears:

• Hazlet: On Oct. 24, 2005 we have a $2,600.00 contribution from a "Democratic Club of Hazlet" to the local Dem campaign. No ELEC reports filed by this club, so we don't know how much money it has, or where it came from.
• Keyport: On Oct. 14, 2005 the "Keyport Democratic Club" gave $5,000.00 to the local Democratic campaign. No ELEC report for that club, either.
• Matawan: This one was a little involved to find, but we found it while looking for payments to Courier. The 2005 Democratic campaign closed out its accounts by contributing to a future 2008 local campaign. OK, it's legal, and there are ELEC reports for the '08 account. There aren't ELEC reports to be found for "Matawan Democrats", which received $500.00 from the 2008 campaign fund.
• Middletown: There appears to be a "Middletown Democratic Social Club", with an address in Long Branch, which shows up on the Middletown Democratic Executive Committee's fourth quarter 2005 ELEC report with a $1,200.00 contribution on October 5. There are no ELEC reports for the Middletown Democratic Social Club.

Compliance with ELEC is very important. It appears however that the Monmouth County Democrats honor this mainly in the breach and otherwise take a very cavalier attitude. This was a survey of ten towns; certainly this behavior will show up elsewhere in the county; we'll be looking, too.

As part of his Ethical Roadmap, Monmouth County Republican Chairman Adam Puharic has established a Compliance Commission for the purpose of providing reference to local GOP organizations for compliance with Campaign Finance Laws. The Democrats ridicule this; they do so at their peril as they are frequently out of compliance.

This is not going away, Vic.

DO PAPERS USUALLY DO THIS? AND SOME ELEC STUFF

On Monday we received a communication addressing a situation in Matawan. The writer alleged that for the second year in a row, Courier has appeared in driveways in Matawan, shortly before Election Day and featuring articles favorable to the local Democrats. The writer went on to say that the local Democrats should report this on their ELEC reports as an in-kind contribution.
Back in January, the Monmouth County Republican Blog reported that the Flynn - DaSaro losing 13th District Legislative Campaign was given an in - kind donation of $2,100.00 from Courier. This was promptly refuted by Courier publisher and sometime - Democrat Jim Purcell; the bill was finally paid to Courier.
While we knew that Courier doesn't do in - kinds (Purcell said!), we thought this did bear some research, and so we directed the Honest Abe Research Foundation to look into this. They went through the Democrats' 2005 ELEC reports of every Bayshore town, including Matawan, and found some interesting stuff.

• Aberdeen: On Oct. 19 and Oct 21, 2005, the local Democratic Executive Committee made two payments of $960.00 each, totaling $1,920.00, to Courier for "Distribution". This was reported by the executive committee as an expenditure made on behalf of the Aberdeen Democratic campaign; the campaign failed to report this as an in - kind from the executive committee.
• Atlantic Highlands: Nothing spectacular. The Dems buy advertisement in Courier, that's about it.
• Hazlet: On a 48 - hour Report dated November 3, 2005, the Hazlet Democratic campaign reported paying $1,940.00 to Courier for "Ads and Paper Delivery". While they did file the 48 - hour report, the Hazlet Dems failed to file their 20 - Day Post - Election financial report. Their 11- day Pre - Election report closes with a balance of $6,230.00 and no expenditures whatsoever reported. While we know about the $1,940.00 paid to Courier, we don't know what they spent the other $4,290.00 on, or if they raised and spent more!
• Highlands: Only 48 - hour reports filed listing contributions to the local Democratic campaign. No expenditures listed.
• Holmdel: No Dem advertisements in Courier. No distribution or delivery of the paper.
• Keansburg: Non - partisan elections.
• Keyport: No advertisements by local Democrats or distribution reported. There was a $2,500.00 contribution from some Raritan Bay Leadership Fund, a New Brunswick - based PAC (Lynch?).
• Matawan: No record of any payments by local Democrats to Courier.
• Middletown: Their ELEC reports show many advertising bills in Courier, and Middletown Democrat boss Joe "King" Caliendo does advertise heavily in that paper. They do not, however, make mention of paying for paper delivery.
• Union Beach: No campaign reports found. Nothing. (Did any Democrats even run there in '05?) Sworn statement filed for Dem County Committee.

Jim Purcell is a frequent visitor to this Blog and we hope he will explain this newspaper delivery matter.

LOOKING FOR TIPS? THE DEMS SHOULD LOOK FOR A CLUE!

A report in the Sunday Asbury Park Press is very telling with regards to the county Democrats. After bad publicity on their County Organization's failure to file ELEC reports, and then the Lenny Inzerillo matter and his withdrawal, you'd think they'd get a clue!
Nope.
Democratic freeholder candidate J. Gregory Gibadlo, who is looking for tips, filed a report with ELEC stating that he plans to raise and spend no more than $3,500.00 for his race. In a countywide race.
Right.
More is raised in a town election; sometimes single contributions exceed $3,500.00!
Speaking of town elections, Highlands GOP council candidate Art Gallagher has blogged that the Highlands Democrats filed no ELEC reports for the October 10th reporting.
Let's look now at Democratic surrogate candidate Beverly Bova-Scarano, who has accepted contributions from convicted former Senate President John Lynch, Jr. Our candidate, Rosemarie Peters, points out the discovery of a mysterious 2002 campaign account, for which no ELEC reports were filed whatsoever!
Really.
These people sure are in disarray. Or are they? Some Republicans have alleged that the Democrats are keeping two sets of books. One for public viewing and a secret account? Imagine that.
Stay tuned. This is not going away.

LENNY SINGS THE BLUES

"The internal dispute in the county Democratic Party likely will do little to improve its chances of breaking the more-than-20-year grip Republicans have held on the freeholder board." ...The Asbury Park Press.

UPDATE!

Today's (August 4th) Asbury Park Press reports that Inzerillo has filed his reports with ELEC. Now Lenny and Vic can stop fighting, sing Kumbaya, and go on to November and give a nice gracious concession speech.

In a severe blow to their hopes to gain a toehold on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Monmouth County Democrats, led by County Chairman Victor Scudiery, have withdrawn their support for candidate Leonard Inzerillo.
Inzerillo, a losing 13th District Assembly candidate in 2003, was criticized in this blog (here and here) for a lack of reports filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC).
Lack of ELEC reporting appears to be a habit with the Democrats; some have even called it policy.
An angry Chairman Scudiery has called for Inzerillo's withdrawal from the race; Inzerillo has refused, accusing Scudiery of bossism.
The Monmouth County Democratic Party. The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. Whatever. One would think that with the blogging explosion here in Monmouth County these people would be monitoring this blog, Seward's and others like ours. It's called opposition research.
As I've said many times before (Everybody, together. With feeling.):

IT'S NOT GOING AWAY, LENNY!

THAT MATAWAN TRAIN STATION, and Related Pay-to Play

The Monmouth County Republican Blog usually avoids delving into local issues, but this one is pretty big and promises to get bigger.
The controversial Matawan/Aberdeen Train Station Redevelopment project has been dogged with delays and accusations of "pay-to-play."
Courier publisher Jim Purcell has done a lot of hard work on this matter and has editorialized on it.
Purcell in turn, has received criticism for his coverage of the issue from this blog as well as More Monmouth Musings.
The criticism is not based on the idea that Purcell is covering the matter; it should be covered. It is based on the fact that related issues up in that part of the county have not been covered.
Let's not give the Democrats a pass here.
The Aberdeen Republicans' website says, "In 2003, (The Aberdeen Democrats) accepted contributions of $4,000 from JPI, developer of Jefferson apartments, now Versailles, and $5,000 from Kara Homes, developer of Aspen Woods on Route 34 and Aberdeen Forge in Freneau."
An article in the Independent back in December exposes a 2001 contribution of $5,000.00 from "Dean Development Co. Inc., a Monroe Township development firm linked to Silver Oak Properties."
Silver Oak is the developer chosen by Aberdeen for the redevelopment project.
The vast editorial staff here at the Monmouth County Republican Blog researched this at ELEC and found it all to be true.

Dean Development, Monroe Twp., contributed $5,000.00 to the Monmouth County Democrats on October 25, 2001. On November 6, 2001, $5,000.00 was contributed by the Monmouth County Democrats to the Aberdeen Democratic Campaign 2001.

Two years later we have the JPI Good Government Fund, Austin, TX, contributing $4,000.00 to the Monmouth County Democrats on October 20, 2003.That same day, Kara Services Co. LLC, East Brunswick, contributed $5,000.00 to the Monmouth County Democrats. On October 27, The Monmouth County Democrats contributed $9,000.00 to Aberdeen Democratic Campaign 2003.

Is it because these developers are extraordinarily civic-minded Americans who have a deep, abiding interest in township committees doing their jobs of serving their constituency? Might it be that these developers just love participating in the political process?
Naaaaaah, looks more like they're "power-washing" the money.
Here at the Monmouth County Republican Blog, we are known to look up an occasional ELEC report, when one is actually filed. We will continue to do this.
We encourage all the papers to cover this and similar issues.

DEM PAC BAGMAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY

The Asbury Park Press reports today that Charles G. Betancourt, former treasurer of the Central Jersey Democratic Leadership Council (CJDLC), has pleaded not guilty in Middlesex County Superior Court to embezzling $53,238.00 from the Democratic PAC.

The CJDLC is a Rahway-based PAC led by the oompaloompaesque Union County publisher and Bill Flynn associate James J. Devine.


Formerly, the CJDLC weBSite claimed the CJDLC is not subject to ELEC reporting as it is organized as a 527 fund. It now states, "Membership fees or gifts to the Central Jersey Democratic Leadership Council are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. They are also not subject to federal or state election law limits."

The CJDLC was a major contributor to the losing 2005 Bill Flynn - Mike DaSaro assembly campaign, and Devine was treasurer of Lenny Inzerillo's unsuccessful 2003 assembly campaign. Both campaigns were in the 13th District.

Ironically, Devine stated on the Handlin-Thompson.org website, "Donations will be deposited into the personal bank account of this website's owner/operator and will be used to defray expenses for research and reporting about the corrupt politicians to whom this site is dedicated." Guess Betancourt decided to take that one to new levels.

Betancourt is still listed as treasurer on the PAC's weBSite.

THE DEMS' FLORIDA CONNECTION

Some interesting contributors to last year's unsuccessful Democrat Rebecca Aaronson & Barbara McMorrow campaign.
Contributions totaling $10,800.00, were made to the campaign during the summer of 2005 from nine sources in Palm Beach County and Broward County.
I get the impression that these contributors are not from someone's retired uncle.
Here they are:

Angelo Scardina,
of Boca Raton; President, Villages of Windsor by Ansca Homes LLC, $2,600.00, June 25, '05.

Richard Finkelstein,
of Ft. Lauderdale; President of Kenco Communities, $1,000.00, June 25, '05.

Stuart Cohen,
of Boca Raton; retired, $2,600.00, June 26, '05.

Bruce Grunot,
of Boca Raton; Paramount Builders Corp, $500.00, June 28, '05.

Triad Title Agency,
of Boca Raton; $500.00, June 29, '05.

Ned Siegel,
of Boca Raton; The Siegel Group, $500.00, June 29, '05.

Stephanie Siegel,
of Boca Raton; "homemaker", $500.00, June 29, '05.

Note: Paramount Builders, Triad Title and The Siegel Group are all located at 5000 T Rex Ave., Boca Raton. Stephanie Siegel is the wife of Ned Siegel.

Joseph Lelonek,
of West Palm Beach; Southland Centers LLC, $1,300.00, July 20, '05.

Robert Bentz,
of West Palm Beach; $1,300.00, July 20, '05.

Note: Both Lelonek and Bentz are reported as "Developers" on this report.

It's interesting as to why these people from so far away are so concerned with Monmouth County Politics.

SEWARD'S RIGHT. JIM PURCELL CAN DO A LOT BETTER

This past Friday, William H. Seward of More Monmouth Musings ran a post criticizing Courier publisher Jim Purcell for an editorial he ran in last week's Courier. (May 4th.) In the editorial, Purcell bashes Freeholder Deputy Director Rob Clifton for accepting a $5,000.00 contribution from the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government, an East Brunswick Township-based PAC led by former State Senator Jack Sinagra (R-Middlesex). After receiving negative press (From Courier) last summer, Clifton returned the contribution.
Much of this is just a re-hash of last summer's articles.
Purcell updates the story by comparing Clifton to indicted former West Long Branch Councilman Joseph DeLisa, who was nailed in Operation Bid-Rig, and is now said to be jammed up with developer Jack Morris and former State Senator John Lynch (D-Middlesex).
As Seward says:
"With that being said, Jim's column this week is garbage. Yellow journalism. Not fit for the National Enquirer or Mr. Whipple's inventory. He rehashes an old story published last July with no new facts and spews innuendo and suspicion on Rob Clifton because a campaign contributor of Rob's is suspected by an Asbury Park Press reporter of being an unnamed developer in former West Long Branch Councilman Joseph DeLisa's Operation Bid Rig indictment."
Exactly.
I agree with Seward, "Jim has been kinder to Republicans and former Republicans who have been indicted. He's even talked about "innocent until proven guilty" in the cases of at least 3 indicted in Operation Bid Rig."
I can see going after a public figure based upon many factors, good government being one of them, but in this case it looks like Jim Purcell simply doesn't like Rob Clifton. That's fine, but dislike does not good journalism make.
Last July, Courier ran a series of well-researched stories by Jackie Corley on the train station redevelopment project involving Matawan and Aberdeen. The problem was, they didn't go far enough. It's not as simple as "Oooh, Rob accepted a campaign contribution." That does not exist in a vacuum. Aberdeen's Democrats have accepted several thousand dollars from several developers doing business in their town. From the Aberdeen GOP website:
"In 2003, they accepted contributions of $4,000 from JPI, developer of Jefferson apartments, now Versailles, and $5,000 from Kara Homes, developer of Aspen Woods on Route 34 and Aberdeen Forge in Freneau. And so far this year they “wheeled” $1,000 to the Hazlet Township Democrat campaign! It’s no wonder the Democrats in Trenton continue to fight meaningful reforms of “pay-to-play” laws and an end to “wheeling”; they subsist upon it."
And the Aberdeen GOP Chairman, Michael Borg, who is a commenter on this blog, has exposed a $5,000.00 contribution to the Aberdeen Democrats from Aberdeen's train station developer! You didn't see that in Courier.
This goes well beyond Matawan and Aberdeen. Getting back to the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government, other beneficiaries of its largesse are the Howell Committee for Good Government (10/27/05 -- $4,000.00), and the Election Fund of Bill Barham (11/01/05 -- $5,000.00), but Purcell never reported that either.
I have come to respect Jim Purcell as a journalist, but to single out Rob Clifton while giving numerous others a pass is just wrong. Just plain wrong. To quote Will Seward, "Jim, you can do better. A lot better."

UPDATE

I just took a look through ELEC today, and here's what I found. The Monmouth GOP Leadership PAC, another of Fred's PACs (This would be No. 11). This PAC lists Neptune Attorney Peter V. Cantalupo, Jr. as its chairman, and Glenn Hopler (of course!) as treasurer.

This PAC included a $2,250.00 contribution from Jack Morris (himself, no PACs this time), a $750.00 contribution from John E. Westlake, only 2 months after his office had been raided by the FBI, and another $750.00 from Solomon Dwek. I'm assuming Dwek's check has cleared.

These contributions were all dated January 26, 2006, the date of the Chairman's Gala. This only strengthens my contention that it's Fred Niemann, not Rob Clifton that's the problem.

Nice people Fred hangs out with.

THE DEMS' ELEC REPORT

OK folks, what you've been waiting for! The Monmouth County Democrats ELEC report. You know, the one that the Asbury Park Press had to remind them of.
Their beginning balance (9/30/05) was $84,922.07; receipts were $546,035.00; disbursements, $597,397.19; balance as of 12/31/05, $33,559.88.
So here's their major contributors, in alphabetical order like on the report:
Aberdeen Democratic Executive Committee, $2,000.00. Looks like they just wheel directly through their local organizations.
Union County Democratic Committee, $1,000.00. Wheeling.
Carpenters _____, $37,000.00. Karen & Richard?
Jon Corzine, $37,000.00. Of Course.
CWA Local 1034, $20,000.00. Where Corzine goes, so goes the CWA. I wonder how many of their rank & file membership know where their dues go?
CWA NJ Political Education Committee, $30,000.
Drazin & Warshaw, PC, $10,425.00.
UFCW, CLC, $37,000.00.
DRIVE Committee, $37,000.00. I believe this would be your basic International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Elect Democrats, $1,100.00. A PAC. Yes, they have them, too.
Election Fund of John S. Wisniewski, $2,875.00. And the wheel goes round.
Election Fund of Sen. Joseph Vitale, $2,000.00. Round and round and round.
Friends of Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Roberts, $37,000.00. Camden County, folks. And right generous of ol' Joe, too.
G. L. Cafesnian, $5,000.00. From Naples, Florida. Florida pops up on their reports from time to time.
David Huemer, $7,500.00. Essex County.
IBEW Local 351 State PAC Fund, $25,000.00. Another labor union.
IBEW COPE, $30,000.00.
Int'l. Union of Operating Engineers, $5,000.00.
Karcher for Senate, $500.00.
Leonard Lieberman, $5,000.00. Hoboken.
Local Union 400, $3,500.00.
Monmouth & Ocean Central Labor Council, $2,495.00.
New Jersey First, $1,000.00. Norcross.
NJ Democratic State Committee, $82,250.00.
New York City District Council of Carpenters, $25,000.00.
Pallone for Congress, $200.00 ($11,200.00 total for year).
Pascrell for Congress, $1,200.00. Passaic County.
SEIU PEA Int'l., $32,000.00.
Plumbers & Pipefitters Local No. 9, $800.00.
Rush Holt for Congress, $850.00.
Alan Sagner, $5,000.00. Essex County. Former NJDOT Commissioner.
Shore PAC, $14,500.00. Another PAC!
Election Fund of Thomas P. Giblin, $450.00. Essex County.
SEIU 1199 NJ, $2,260.00. In-Kind. Election Day work.
NJ Democratic State Committee, $62,290.00. In-Kind. Media buy.

Their disbursements include, among others, $147,602.34 paid out for "consult & canvass", and reported on a 40-page list; a 12-page list reports another $88,914.43. This was spent on paid GOTV volunteers from many places.

UPDATE ON THE 10 PACs.

The State Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) has posted the first quarter reports for the world to see.
The vast editorial staff here at the Monmouth County Republican Blog all got together at lunch today and thought it would be a good idea to post an update on Chairman Niemann's PACs. You know, the ones that he doesn't know anything about. And then defended by calling people al-Qaeda.
Numbers are as of March 31.
Showing a zero balance were the Aberdeen and Holmdel Committees for Good Government. The municipal chairmen in both towns desired that the PACs be shut down.
$1,100.00 was transfered from Aberdeen and $7,200 from Holmdel, both their entire balances, to the Committee for Sensible Growth (Tom Apostle, chair; Glenn Hopler [naturally] treasurer.), which had not filed any report for the fourth quarter '05. Sensible Growth's balance as of 3/31 is $8,380.00.
The Neptune Committee for Good Government balance remains at $5,000.00; no receipts or disbursements for the first quarter.
The Union Beach Committee for Good Government showed a balance of $19,650.00, having raised $6,250.00. There were no disbursements.
Interlaken's PAC reported $8,509.09, having raised $8,000.00 and spent $2,738.11 (Only 865.33 of that was itemized.)
The Long Branch Committee for Good Government had $1,740.00 on hand; they raised $1,250.00 and spent 3,005.
Howell Committee for Good Government has $10,975.52 and had raised $2,100.00. They spent $16,824.48.
I have the disbursement information for Interlaken, Long Branch and Howell Committees for Good Government if anybody's interested.
No word yet on New Millenium Leadership and the Committee for Small Business Development.