Joseph Coniglio

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Gov. Jon Corzine likes Joe Hayden, one of New Jersey's best criminal defense attorneys, for U.S. Attorney. Corzine also likes Sen. Frank Lautenberg's choice, Paul Fishman, and Attorney General Anne Milgram.

Gov. Jon Corzine is meeting with President-elect Barack Obama next week (along with several other area Governors) and could bring up his short list of three candidates for U.S. Attorney: the Governor likes Paul Fishman and Joseph Hayden, and Attorney General Anne Milgram.  And there are two names -- both former federal prosecutors -- sources say, that Corzine opposes to replace Republican Christopher Christie: Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow and Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin.   

It's possible that none of Corzine's three picks will get the job: Milgram would be opposed by some serious Democratic players, and Hayden has some pending legal matters -- he's the attorney for Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero who is under federal indictment and awaiting trial.  Fishman, who reportedly has the backing of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, is an interesting pick for Corzine: he's representing labor leader Carla Katz, the Governor's former girlfriend, in a lawsuit about private emails between the two. 

State Sen. Paul Sarlo could be Dick Codey's choice for Senate Judiciary Chairman

Paul Sarlo, a three-term State Senator with close ties to indicted Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero appears to be the leading candidate for chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to sources close to Senate President Richard Codey, who has not made a final decision on one of the state's most powerful committee chairmanships.  Codey must decide by January who will replace John Adler, who was elected to Congress.

An ethics reform bill that will require greater financial disclosure from legislators has won the support of State Sen. Brian Stack (D-Union City), whose own family's income came under scrutiny last year.

Stack, who’s also the mayor of Union City, hasn’t always been one to vote for ethics reforms legislation. He abstained on the dual office-holding ban, even though it grandfathered in legislators like him, who already held more than one elected office.

The bill Stack just signed on to would require legislators to disclose income that both they and their families receive from public sources or private companies with government contracts,

“We must act quickly and boldly to clean up our own house, to set the highest standards for the entire legislature – and this bill goes a long way toward getting that done,” said Stack in a press release “Legislators are here to serve the people, not their own personal interests. Any income sources relevant to their official duties, as well as the income sources of their immediate family members, should be on the table for the public to see.”

Reacting to news that certain state legislators were given sole discretion on where millions of dollars in state funds were spent, State Sen. Leonard Lance – who was Senate Minority Leader at the time – said it was outrageous, and made other scandals about “Christmas tree” items inserted into the budget look tame.

Lance said he was not a beneficiary of the program.

“We voted against the budget and we were railing against the Christmas tree items. But I think this goes beyond that. I haven’t examined it fully, but…. that’s an extremely bad procedure,” said Lance. “We haven’t been involved in the Christmas Tree process, but if someone outright says I want something for my district and it’s there in black and white, we can have a debate back and forth. But this is even worse because it’s done behind closed doors.”

Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) refused to comment on testimony delivered today by George LeBlanc, a Democratic budget aide, who said legislators abused a state program dedicated to property tax relief.

LeBlanc gave his testimony in the corruption trial of former Sen. Wayne Bryant (D-Camden).

In a brief conversation with PolitickerNJ.com, Codey said his lawyers have advised him against making comments about last year's state budget scandals until after the end of the corruption trial of state Sen. Joseph Coniglio (D-Bergen).

When Joseph Ferriero wrestled the county chairmanship from Gerald Calabrese in June 1998, Bergen County Republicans had a 7-0 majority on the Board of Freeholders, and Republicans in the offices of County Executive, County Clerk, and Sheriff.  The only countywide Democratic official was Michael Dressler, who had won election as Surrogate in 1996.  Republicans held three of the five State Senate seats, and eight of ten State Assembly seats that included parts of Bergen County.

In a campaign largely engineered through Ferriero's strategic and fundraising skills, Democrats scored an upset victory in November '98.  Joseph Ciccone ousted GOP Acting Sheriff Jay Alpert, and Dennis McNerney and Douglas Bern were elected Freeholder.  (Barbara Chadwick, a Freeholder for twenty years, was re-elected, as was County Executive William "Pat" Schuber, who defeated Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg, and County Clerk Kathleen Donovan.)  Ciccone gave Ferriero some of the patronage he needed to build a county organization. And the Freeholder Board moved from 7-0 to 5-2.

Asked today if former State Sen. Joseph Coniglio was cooperating with the federal probe of Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero and Democratic lawyer Dennis Oury, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie declined comment.  That'no surprise -- prosecutors typically refuse to reveal details of a criminal investigation. But if Coniglio is helping the Justice Department with their prosecution of Ferriero and Oury, one sign could be a change in lawyers.  Coniglio and Oury are both represented by Gerald Krovatin.  According to one legal expert, Krovatin would need to drop one of the two clients if their cases become intertwined. 

After a three hour interview with FBI agents investigating a grants consulting company, Bergen County Freeholder David L. Ganz insists he’s not the target of the federal probe.   The U.S. Attorney’s office won’t confirm or deny that – as is their policy – and Ganz said the investigators told him that they just needed him to verify documents relating to grant business in Fair Lawn when Ganz was the mayor.  Still, since Ganz is up for re-election in November (among Democratic candidates, he was the low vote getter in the 2005 general  and the 2008 primary, and lost re-election to his Fair Lawn Borough Council) and some Democratic are concerned that he is the weak link on the Democratic ticket. 

There is some speculation that Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero, although emboldened by deep splits within the county Republican organization, could change candidates before the general  election if he believes his incumbents are in danger of losing.

Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero must be relieved that he broke up with attorney Dennis Oury last year, after published reports today suggest that federal prosecutors subpoenaed records relating to Oury’s legal service in several Bergen towns. Oury had been a close Ferriero ally and Counsel to the Bergen County Democratic Committee, but their relationship deteriorated in 2007 after Oury made a series of mistakes: he invited then-State Sen. Joseph Coniglio – himself the target of a federal criminal probe -- on a trip to Italy; he counseled Coniglio to stay in the Senate race during a time when Ferriero was pushing to get him out; and took considerable heat for his election season comments about a lawsuit he was filing to overturn state pay to play regulations. When Coniglio finally did drop, Oury’s close relationship with Paramus Mayor James Tedesco was the main reason Ferriero and Bergen Democrats opted to go with Bob Gordon for Senate.

The conviction of former Newark Mayor/State Sen. Sharpe James is another victory for U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, the front runner for the 2009 Republican nomination for Governor.  Since becoming federal prosecutor in 2002, Christie has won a conviction or plea agreement against every public official indicted by a federal grand jury.