trivia

Gerardo Catena of South Orange was the reputed head of the Genovese crime family from 1957 to 1972. He died in Florida in 2000 at age 98.One of the classic stories of the New Jersey Legislature in 1968 were allegations that a Newark Assemblyman wanted to cancel a hearing on organized crime under pressure from a "lobbyist" representing Geraldo (Jerry) Catena, one of the state's most powerful mob bosses.

Senate Law and Public Safety Committee Chairman Joseph Woodcock held a news conference in December 1968 to say that his aide was told by Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee Chairman Richard Fiore that he was being pressured by Catena to stop legislative proposals to create the State Commission of Investigation, and to legalize wiretapping, and to permit certain witnesses to receive immunity from prosecution.Claire Curran Johnson, a former New York Mirror crime reporter who worked for Woodcock, told investigators for the state Attorney General's office that Fiore, a 36-year-old substitute teacher and Recreation Director for the Newark Board of Education, claimed he wanted to head the Assembly panel "to stop these kind of things."

"There is a lot of pressure. You just don't know how much pressure. Jerry is unhappy about it," Curran quoted Fiore as telling her.

A State Senate race between Linda Greenstein and Bill Baroni would have been the first contest between sitting Democratic and Republican members of the Assembly ran against each other for State Senate since 1963.  In that race, Republican Assemblyman Robert Sarcone defeated Democratic Assembly Speaker Elmer Matthews for Essex County's one Senate seat.  Also in that race: Democratic Assemblyman George Richardson, who ran as an Independent in his unsuccessful bid to become New Jersey's first African American State Senator.

Allen J. Ellender was a loyal lieutenant of Huey Long's Louisiana political machine during a sixty year political career that included 35 years in the United States Senate. He was the Majority Leader of the Louisiana State House of Representatives while Log was Governor, and went to the Senate in 1936 after the Kingfish was assasinated. The old-fashioned Southern Democrat served as Chairman of the Senate Approriations Committee and as Senate President Pro-Tempore -- third in the line of presidential succession.

In 1972, Ellender, 81-years-old and considered to be in good health, was a candidate for re-election to a seventh six-year term. He drew two primary opponents-- 39-year-old moderate J. Bennett Johnston, who had served one term in the Louisiana State Senate before waging an unsuccessful bid for Governor in 1971 -- and political unknown Frank Allen. Few pundits believed Ellender was at any real risk of losing.

But on July 28 -- just 22 days before the Democratic primary -- Ellender complained of stomach pains during a flight back to Washington. He died of a heart attack shortly after.

With half of the Senate Republican Caucus retiring, many of the younger Republicans in the lower house - like Sean Kean, Kevin O'Toole and Bill Baroni -- are running for Senate.  Of the nineteen Republicans seeking re-election to the State Assembly this year, only five are under age fifty: Alison Littell McHose (41), Brian Rumpf (42), Michael Doherty (43), Michael Patrick Carroll (48), and Marcia Karrow (48).

The last time New Jersey voters saw candidates for President, Governor and U.S. Senate on the same ballot was in 1940. Franklin Roosevelt carried New Jersey, defeating Wendell Willkie by 71,528 votes. Democrat Charles Edison, the former U.S. Secretary of the Navy and son of the famous inventor, was elected Governor by a 63,895 vote margin over Robert Hendrickson, a former State Senate President from Gloucester County. In the U.S. Senate race, Republican incumbent William Warren Barbour was easily re-elected, defeating former U.S. Ambassador to Canada James H.R. Cromwell by ten percentage points. Cromwell was best known as the husband of heiress Doris Duke, known as the "Richest Girl in the World."

Back in 1949, just a few months after John V. Kenny ousted the legendary Frank Hague as the political boss of Hudson County, there was a perception that a victory by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Elmer Wene would return Hague to power. So Kenny, the new Mayor of Jersey City, sat on his hands and refused to help his party's candidate. Republican Governor Alfred Driscoll carried Jersey City by 18,000 votes.

The day after the election, Wene's press secretary sent a package to Kenny: a seven-inch carving knife stained with catsup, and a note: "Dear John: I pulled this out of Wene's back this morning. I thought you might need it for future reference."

Florence P. DwyerJohn B. DuffMartin Meehan today became the second congressional candidate to serve as Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. John Duff, who served as Chancellor in the 1970's, was the Democratic candidate for Congress in 1968, losing to Republican incumbent Florence Dwyer by a 72%-28% margin.

Lyndon Johnson and North Jersey Democratic Congressmen

At the request of a reader, The Inside Edge is again posting a photograph of President Lyndon B. Johnson (center) with several Democratic Congressmen from North Jersey. The photo was taken around 1965 or 1966.

 At the request of our readers, another photo trivia quiz:

These three men served a combined 58 years in the State Senate.  Who are they?