Former Bogota mayor and conservative activist Steve Lonegan said today that the Attorney General’s office is investigating him, and that he thinks it reeks of political retribution.
Lonegan is calling for the legislature to appoint an independent prosecutor to look into the matter and wants the U.S. Attorney to conduct a civil rights investigation on his behalf.
Lonegan, who has spent the last week in the media spotlight after he was arrested for trespassing while protesting against the governor’s asset monetization plan outside of his Cape May County Town Hall meeting at a school in Middle Township, said that arrest was merely “the tip of the iceberg” in a campaign of intimidation on the part of the Corzine administration and Attorney General Anne Milgram.
According to Lonegan, the investigation started at the peak of his own campaign against two ballot measures that went down in defeat in November’s elections.
At a press conference today, Lonegan stood with defense lawyer Miles Feinstein and passed around a subpoena for financial and other records from Botoga Borough Hall -- where Lonegan just finished up his third and final term as mayor – that included employment records from the town’s Department of Public Works.
Although the subpoena did not name Lonegan, Feinstein said that six unnamed Bogota employees and Lonegan associates were interviewed by staff of the Attorney General’s office about issues directly involving Lonegan – both about his work as Mayor of Bogota and his personal life -- and that some of them were brought to testify in front of a grand jury.
Lonegan said that he knows of at least two other subpoenas, although nobody from the Attorney General’s office has contacted him about any investigation, and that he caught wind of it through people he knows who were interviewed.
Milgram spokesman David Wald would not confirm or deny an investigation aimed at Lonegan.
"We don't comment on investigations, and the attorney general has made clear that politics plays absolutely no role in her office and it's something she does not tolerate," he said.
Corzine spokesman Jim Gardner said that he could not speak for the Attorney General’s office, but repeated the Corzine administration’s stance that neither the Governor nor any staffers had anything to do with Lonegan’s arrest last weekend.
“The governor has said repeatedly and quite emphatically on numerous occasions, any and all comments regarding the state finances are welcome, regardless of point of view,” said Gardner, who later added: “The Attorney General’s office works independently and apolitically, and without outside interference.”
The usually outspoken Lonegan let Feinstein do most of the talking.
“The irony from my experience is defense attorneys like this don’t come to you and relate the investigation,” said Feinstein. “Everything here is consistent with an innocent man.”
Feinstein, who Lonegan retained last month after he said he realized the gravity of the investigation, characterized it as a fishing expedition “based on the administration’s policies of him speaking out against this over the years.”
“There were grand jury subpoenas issued, persons spoken to, documents produced, personal pictures of, for example, his house.. .. Harassment of potential witnesses, badmouthing against Steve Lonegan untruthful things, going into his personal life and activities,” said Feinstein.
Lonegan called the investigation “opposition research at taxpayer’s expense,” and challenged Milgram to make public any allegations against him. He also said that he plans to request a one-on-one sit down with Milgram.
“"I'm not afraid of Jon Corzine. I'm not afraid of the Attorney General’s office. They can come up with all kinds of phony claims if they want and intend to do so,” said Lonegan. “I challenge them to come out of the shadows and tell us what they're all about.”
Lonegan is known for his aggressive media strategy, but he denied that today’s press conference was intended to drum up publicity for him or his anti-tax organization, Americans for Prosperity.
“They put me and my personal life under a microscope. I didn’t ask for any of this,” said Lonegan. “If Anne Milgram has something she thinks I’ve done wrong, tell me what it is. Surprise me right here in public,” he said.
With regard to his trespassing arrest, Lonegan said that, if the charges are dropped a public apology will not be enough, but he wants to attend his January 30th hearing before he decides what to do next. A civil suit, he said, is within the realm of possibility.
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Lonegan Changes His Story
Here's what <a href="http://www.politickernj.com/lonegan-arrested-cape-may-outside-corzine-public-meeting-15568">PolitickerNJ reported</a> after Lonegan got arrested:
<blockquote>"The police officer said the governor doesn't want you handing out literature," explained Lonegan, who told AP he did not think that Corzine was responsible for his arrest.</blockquote>
And now that Lonegan sees the media possibilities in this he's changed his tune and the arrest is "just the tip of the iceberg" of the Governor's intimidation.
What a joke.
Governor Corzine doesn't need to worry about intimidating a has-been no-influence headline-hungry ex-politician like Lonegan.
Lonegan wants attention?
Lonegan sued me because I wrote "I think Steve will look good in an orange jumpsuit", I should have said that it would be an improvement, there isn't much that will make him look good.I perused this site recently and find that "Dino Crocetti" has repeatedly accused me of posting under an anonymous screen name. That is an outright lie and another example of the Lonegan spin machine making baseless attacks on anyone who points out his ethical/legal transgressions.Here is my first encounter with Slippery Steve Lonegan. What a tremendous advocate for free speech he was when I had something to say about him.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPmWYS913CwDino Crocetti (aka Dinodad) is Lonegan's psychophant cyberstalking minion and has engaged in a campaign of slanderous harassment in order to discredit me. Notice how Lonegan assumes I have the (falsified) purchase requisition that he signed in my hand. Lonegan's mens rea Did you folks know that your hero had Bogota's DPW clean out his garage after he got caught hiring illegals? The AG has a duty to investigate theft of service and official misconduct. First the Bogota Police are after him (they responded to a suspicious person call) and now it's the AG (he doesn't deny ordering the DPW to clean out his gagrage).Poor Stevie can't take responsibility for his own behavior; Maybe he's just too full of himself!
That's a complete lie
Like everything else that comes out of Brennan's mouth. Bill is clearly in deep need of psychiatric help.
It is not the same dude
I did not see the Gestopo haul you away to jail. All I saw was a man going home to dinner. It seems that you wanted to grandstand for your clients.
"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
--Theodore Roosevelt--
Gestapo?
did you see a man being interrupted and badgered during the public portion of the meeting? Why convene a meeting if dinner is on the table?
This meeting was not a surprise to Lonegan he ran home to avoid the question.
Free speech works both ways.
The other side of free speech is free listening. I defend "everyone's" right to free speech. I also defend everyone's right to free listening! One has the right to choose not to listen, just as much as one has the right to speak what they feel.
I didn't see you get arrested either.
"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
--Theodore Roosevelt--
Don't!
Please don't spin my post as support for Lonegan's arrest, his Constitutional rights were clearly violated and he should pursue every remedy available. I was arrested and convicted for Defiant Trespass at an open public council meeting in Teaneck NJ and the Appellate Division ruled that arrest as lawful. The new age of Constitutional interpretation declared even though I hadn't broken any laws my "privilege" to remain at an open public meeting was revoked when the police asked me to leave. The Supreme Court refused to take the case and it has since been placed in the manual for police officers.
None of that negates the fact that Lonegan is no friend of free speech and will stop at nothing to take the focus off of his misconduct in office.
You don't hire Miles unless you are afraid that you are going to jail!
I accused Lonegan of specfic crimes (falsification of a public record and official misconduct), he badgered, interrupted and left. When I persisted he filed a Startegic Lawsuit Against Public Particiapation in order to cost me money and silence me.
Watch as things unfold over the next few months and then tell me what a great guy Lonegan is.
I am not accusing you of spinning
I am not accusing you of spinning, you are doing a very good job of that on your own.
As far as defiant trespass, which Supreme Court (Federal or State) refused to take the case? And why didn't the ACLU come running to your defense? Further, you say you were at an open public council meeting in Teaneck, N.J. This meeting would have been held under Robert's Rules of Order. No one can under take to dominate any "open" meeting. Sounds like this is what you were trying to accomplish.
Steve is a friend of free speech, it seems you on the other want to make your point no matter what the other side has to think about it. You say you accused Lonegan of specific crimes, but should this not be done by a prosecutor? As an elected official, he has to answer to all sides of every issue, if a gadfly wants to dominate a meeting thereby forcing other sides to not be heard and have their rights preserved, then that gadfly must be made to stand down.
"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
--Theodore Roosevelt--
See for yourself.
http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/decisions/appellate/a1912-00.opn.html
How Loneganesque of you to make assumptions that are not supported by the facts.
"Sounds like" you have blind allegiance to a lying hypocrite who falsified public records in order to circumvent public bidding laws.
"Sounds like" you think it is ok for a mayor to use the DPW as free labor.
The public portion of a meeting is a great place to speak about criminal conduct, on one hand you claim to support free speech and on the other - you imply that my speech didn't belong in a public meeting.
Exactly what meeting did your purported "gadfly" attempt to dominate?
Did you attend any meetings with me?
Did you hear me speak for more than 3 minutes on any subject?
The meeting on you tube shows an agitated Lonegan running away from questions that relate to his criminal conduct.
The ACLU told me that Judge Pressler has such a great reputation that they wouldn't even look at my case, so much for the facts.
I answered your questions how about mine.
What do you think of a mayor who uses public employees as free labor?
What do you think about a mayor who signs a backdated, falsified requisition that claims a civilian a police chief?
I have blind allegiance to no one chump!
It seems that the facts are that the court of appeals agreed that you had disrupted a public meeting. And if the ACLU was not going to get involved, then I am sure they were right. Then instead of staying in Teaneck, you march over to Bogota and try and do the same thing.
You make a lot of accusations, but as a wise person once said, "Where's the beef"? I do not think Steve has been indicted on any of the accusations you are making, has he?
And why, in a thread were Steve's civil rights are being discussed, are you trying to interject these items. Unless you are being asked to do this by someone who is trying to deflect from themself the reason for Steve illegal detention? Maybe you are returning a favor for Jon Corzine?
"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
--Theodore Roosevelt--
Chump? Facts? Goober?
Either you can't read or you won't accept the truth. The fact is I did NOT disrupt a public meeting, I did not commit any crime except refuse to leave when told to do so by the cops.
Your certainty over right and wrong is based entirely on your fear that Lonegan will soon be indicted and arrested for his crimes.
You support my arrest and oppose Lonegan's (trespassing) which is an excellent example of selective enforcement at work.
As low and petty and dishonest as he is I still believe he was wrongly arrested. I was in the exact same situation and you believe I was justly incarcerated.
In case you missed it Disrupting a public meeting was DISMISSED and my civil suit against Teaneck was settled for 2 million dollars.
As for "marching over to Bogota" you have once again distorted facts that you don't have to begin with. Lonegan and Zampetti were harassing the Fraternal Order of Police for 9 years, when they had enough they hired me to fight back. A little pressure and Steve threw his "friend" under the bus in order to take the focus off of his falsified purchase requisition.
Where is the beef Dick? Lonegan's suit against me was thrown out on Summary Judgment because I DID NOT defame his character when I called him a criminal.
Perhaps he'll sue me again, I'll take a new one all the way to trial and he can explain himself to a jury (they won't like it if goes home for dinner with a question pending).
Boo hoo for you and your master.
By the way, how much money did Steve Lonegan get in matching funds for his failed goobernatorial bid?
Seems odd that his largest contributoirs got jobs "working" for his campaign. Sort of like a 3 way split on State money. Great fiscal conservative example.
You don't answer questions either, are you Steve Lonegan's alter ego?
Ask him
Why not ask him how much money he got for his race? Maybe he will sue you again, how would I know. All I see here is a frustrated person who is not getting his way, so he tries to defame another person. Pretty small of you, don't you think?
"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
--Theodore Roosevelt--
Frustrated person...
...not getting his way. I see Lonegan too!
You ask alot of questions but you don't answer any. When you are corrected you don't acknowledge that you were wrong, you move on to another unsupported attack.
Are you sure you aren't Steve Lonegan?
Where is Dinodad when you need him?
Are you taking your medication?
You are now starting to ramble. Are you sure that you have taken your medication today?
How can I answer questions involving Steve? I suggested you ask him?
"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
--Theodore Roosevelt--
Medication?
You wrote:
"It seems that the facts are that the court of appeals agreed that you had disrupted a public meeting." Despite the FACT that I did not disrupt a public meeting. That charge was dismissed as UNCONSTITUTIONAL
You went on to make a logical leap that doesn't have any basis in reality:
" And if the ACLU was not going to get involved, then I am sure they were right."
If the ACLU did not get involved then you are sure they were right? Maybe you are a bit overmedicated, typical Lonegan lover logic at work. You sound infantile.
A wise person once said "Where's the beef"? Do you get all your wise words from 30 second hamburger commercials?
Using your logic Corzine shouldn't be accused of harassing Lonegan
"I do not think Steve (Jon) has been indicted on any of the accusations you are making, has he?
You ask:
"And why, in a thread were Steve's civil rights are being discussed, are you trying to interject these items."
These items are evidence that Lonegan violated my civil rights. Despite the fact that he violated my rights, I have repeatedly stated that he should not have been arrested. I suffered the exact same arrest for defiant trespass and you seem to think it was perfectly ok.
Why was it ok to arrest me for sitting quietly in the front row of a council meeting but not ok to arrest Lonegan for standing outside a meeting with a sign?
I can assure you that Jon Corzine and I have nothing to do with each other, his cozy relationship with the scum of Hudson County makes him a vile figure in my book. The manner in which he permits the NJDOP to be subverted by corrupt politicians has cost him my vote in the next election. The fact that his AG hasn't arrested Lying Lonegan yet is icing on the cake.
LOCK LONEGAN UP FOR FALSIFYING PUBLIC RECORDS!
Unless you are being asked to do this by someone who is trying to deflect from themself the reason for Steve illegal detention? Maybe you are returning a favor for Jon Corzine?
Are you dizzy yet?
The way you are spinning now, you must be dizzy. Your the one that mentioned that the ACLU would not take your case, and that the court said you disrupted a public meeting. You then go on to accuse Steve Lonegan of everything except treason, and bad breath. And now, because Steve did not want to listen to you, but rather go home and have his dinner, he denied you of your civil rights. Brilliant argument, thereby proving that you are a few fries short of a happy meal.
"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
--Theodore Roosevelt--
You are a liar, are you Lonegan?
The Court clearly and emphatically declared that I HAD NOT disrupted a public meeting.
Lonegan was elected Mayor and knew damn well that he had a council meeting to preside over when he left his house, why he turned right around and went home "for dinner" is obvious to all except you and your ilk.
Are we to believe that this wonderful mastermind of neoconservative demagoguery isn't capable of planning his dinner before he calls a public meeting to order?
I went to that meeting with evidence that he had lied to the press, Lonegan had a sudden memory lapse and claimed that he might have been misquoted by the Bergen Record. His signature on a letter to the vendor exposed him as a liar, rather than allow that fact into the record he badgered, interrupted and berated. When that failed he took his bat and ball and went home.
At another meeting he lied about his wife's role in delivering billing records from corrupt lawyer David Corrigan to a Bogota cop in a vacant Teaneck parking lot. When telling this lie he accused me of lying, later he admitted that his wife did exactly as I claimed, so far I haven't received an apology from Lying Lonegan.
When I posted facts about his criminality on nj.com he sued me for defamation even though he knew that everything I said was 100% accurate. He lost that suit, soon he'll be answering those pesky questions in front of a jury. How much do you want to bet that big mouth clams up and lets Miles do his talking after he is indicted?
Why is that anyone who disagrees with you gets painted with your whacko brush? You have initimated that my mental faculties are deficient simply because I disagree with your blind allegiance to a lying criminal. Have you any basis upon which your aspersions are cast?
Who are you?
Wow, you really do need help.
Are monsters under your bed at night also? Have you been "beamed up" to the spacecraft at night?
It seems that you feel the whole world is out to get you. Now I realize why the Bogota police department hired you. They must of needed to hire the handicapped in order to meet a quota. Plus, you must be really funny to watch in realtime.
"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
--Theodore Roosevelt--
Cheap shots, all blanks
When you can't win on the merits you lose with classless insults. Is this your idea of leadership Steve?
I'am not Steve
You must be delusional because I am not Steve.
"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
--Theodore Roosevelt--
In one word, "WOW" J.
In one word,
"WOW"
J. Douglas Fisher
Check Out: http://www.murraysabrin.com