Life in Violin's New Jersey

“Already scooped you Stovie. On the one of the Democrats are loosers threads.”

“Was it posted before 12:40:34 PM
9/06/07? ;-)”

“After the Brokeback Governor left to become an Episcopal Priest (LOL) they had to find someone new to BLOW IT in NJ>”

“Christie's doing a great job. I always figured corruption was costing us a bundle here.”

“The local Democrats are pretty corrupt in my State. I've voted Republican and third party plenty of times because of it. We had four consecutive Republican Governors mostly because people (including me)were so sick of the corrupt Dems. The first one, William Weld, was a former prosecutor and seemed to keep things clean. Efficiency gained and corruption declined. However, corruption and inefficiency made a comeback under the next three governors and we now have a Democratic governor. Of course the Republicans never managed to have a speaker of the house who was the brother of a notorius gang boss and fugitive (Billy Bulger, brother of Whitey Bulger) so in Massachusetts, the Dems have a edge over the Reps in corruption.

I was particularly disappointed with Governor Romney, who I think is a pretty honest guy, but seemed distracted or asleep at the wheel. Maybe he was too absorbed with his Presidential aspirations.”

“I'm just glad we don't have a corruption problem here in Ohio like they have in Jersey.”

“The trouble is the often Double Standard in some media. There are some who will ride a politician out of town and a case or two later it will be reported on Page 13 and dropped.”

“Still sore about that wide-stanced, foot tapper?


I know this story was on page one of New Jersey's largest paper this morning as was the mass arrest of mostly Republican officials in Monmouth County a while back. The double standard seems to be in who rushed to post which story here.”

“LOL..wait for it guys Vile and SH Idiot Threader will be figuring how the JUDEN and the World Capitalists have made this happen....(LOL)

Oh vile baby...check the posts I have made as many jokes about mr. Happy Feet as anyone.”

“Is EVERYONE in NJ on the take?
That's what one party rule will do for you.
Poor little victim Vile sure can see corruption everywhere but in his own State and Party.
LOL”

“I'm a registered independent and vote that way.

My county Democratic Party is rotten to the core. I always vote against them.

NJ is not exclusively Dem. Get your facts straight.”

“Violin voting Repub, what a laugh!!!!
Now tell us the one about The Three Bears.”

“LOL..warning sign near Vile's property

”

““Is EVERYONE in NJ on the take?"

I doubt it, but I'm sure everyone in Mississippi is takin' it in the end.”

“you could get the answer but Vito want's $20 to clear up his memory.....”

“http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/09/28/national/a155000D00.DTL

NJ Mayor on Corruption Charges
By JEFFREY GOLD, Associated Press Writer

Friday, September 28, 2007

(09-28) 15:50 PDT Newark, N.J. (AP) --


A town's mayor and his wife surrendered to the FBI on Friday and were charged with diverting campaign funds and taking cash in exchange for aiding a bar owner.


David Delle Donna, mayor of Guttenberg, is the latest of several New Jersey mayors to face charges in recent years in a state plagued by government corruption. Mayors of Asbury Park, Camden, Hoboken and Paterson have been sent to prison. The former longtime mayor of Newark, the state's largest city, is under indictment.


Delle Donna, 49, a Democrat who has been mayor since 2002, and his wife, Anna, 58, were arrested at the FBI office in Newark, federal prosecutors said. Anna Delle Donna has been a member of the town's planning board since 2002.


Both face a two-count federal indictment that was unsealed with their arrest: one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion. Each count carries as many as 20 years in prison and fines as high as $250,000.


Both were released on $100,000 bond set by U.S. Magistrate Claire C. Cecchi. Neither spoke, except to acknowledge that they understood their rights and had obtained lawyers.


The lawyers told the magistrate their clients pleaded not guilty. The mayor's lawer, Ralph J. Lamparello, and his wife's lawyer, Brian J. Neary, declined to comment afterward.


According to the indictment, the Delle Donnas accepted money to help a bar owner smooth over problems with the police and the town council and to help the owner get a zoning variance for a residential property. The owner was not identified in the indictment.


Delle Donna, a supervisor at a heating, ventilation and air conditioning company, had maintained he would be exonerated after FBI raids at his home and town offices in January.


Guttenberg, on the Hudson River across from Manhattan, has about 10,700 residents.


Eleven public officials were arrested Sept. 5, including two state legislators, two mayors and three city councilmen. They were charged with taking money to influence who received public contracts, according to federal criminal complaints.


In July, former Newark Mayor Sharpe James was indicted. James, who remains a Democratic state senator, is accused of using city-issued credit cards to pay for personal trips and expenses while mayor.”

““Vile must be so ashamed. Oh, that's right, libbie nut cases have no shame.

***********************************

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003650533

Is Mayor's Disappearance Tied to Scoop About False Green Beret Claim?

By Joe Strupp

Published: October 03, 2007 1:30 PM ET

NEW YORK Did The Press of Atlantic City, N.J., help drive Mayor Bob Levy into hiding? The mayor, whose falsified claim that he was a Green Beret in Vietnam was exposed by the paper last year, has been essentially missing since Friday. Some wonder if that story, which has not been disputed, sent him on the road to troubled times.

Levy's office reported Friday that he had taken a medical leave, his third this year, but did not disclose why or where he went. Many in the casino capital of the east point to his odd behavior ever since the Press revealed that he had lied on campaign literature about being in the special forces unit during his Army career.

Now in this city known for its share of political corruption, including a recent city council bribery scandal, a politician lying on his resume might not be considered the spark for a political meltdown.

But ever since the paper revealed Levy's lie, reporters say he has slowly withdrawn from political life and remained unreachable by journalists.

"The mayor has been unable to get a hold of for most of the last year," said Press Editor Paul Merkoski. "He would show up at some public functions and dash out."

Since the paper disclosed his falsified military claim, a recall campaign has started and an investigation launched by the Department of Veterans Affairs to see if Levy improperly used the claim to gain benefits.

"Since he was elected, the city has essentially been run by the business administrator and that hasn't changed," said reporter Derek Harper, a six-year Press veteran who broke the original story. "He's a nice guy who just got in over his head."

Harper's part in Levy's downfall began two years ago when Levy, a former emergency management coordinator for the city, ran for mayor and won. Harper covered his campaign in which Levy claimed in literature that he had served as a Green Beret in Vietnam.

In 2006, months after his election, a veterans group in nearby Egg Harbor contacted Levy in an attempt to have him speak to the group that included other special forces veterans, Harper said. When Levy repeatedly declined, the group's leader said he became suspicious and approached Harper, whom he knew from earlier stories.

"He asked around in this group for people who were in special forces and they had no member who knew," Harper recalled, noting he tried to set up a meeting with Levy to discuss it for weeks.

"From there, it was a kind of a weird situation," Harper said. "He would not call me back." Finally, during a September 2006 meeting, Harper asked Levy directly about his Green Beret service and he said the mayor declined to answer. "He said 'let all of the detectives waste their time'," Harper recalls.

That sent Harper on a document search through online resources and, eventually, a request to the Department of Veterans Affairs that resulted in no record of Levy having been in the special forces unit. When Harper called the mayor for comment, he says his office faxed a letter threatening a lawsuit if such a story were published.

Finally, in November, Levy met with the paper and admitted that he had lied about his Green Beret service. The paper, most appropriately, published a lengthy story on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11, 2006.

"We held off until we talked to him, maybe two weeks," Editor Merkoski recalls. "He would not talk about it. We finally got him and he admitted it."

Both Merkoski and Harper said the initial reaction was tepid, given Atlantic City's corrupt history and the mild severity of the lie. But, as time went on, both said Levy's behavior became more withdrawn.

"He took a medical leave in December, then in June, but his office gave reasons for both," Harper said. "Then in January, the federal investigation started and they called asking me for records. I didn’t have anything to give."

Several months later, a recall petition was approved and began circulating, but has yet to be submitted.

But the final twist came last Friday when the mayor's office reported he was on another medical leave, but did not disclose his whereabouts or the reasons. Council members are trying to find a way to have Levy removed or replaced, Merkoski said.

Numerous news outlets, such as the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Star-Ledger of Newark, have cited the Press revelation in stories this week on Levy's disappearance.

For the newspaper, coverage has been walking a tightrope, Merkoski said. The paper is aggressively reporting, but realizing the impact its coverage has had.

"There might be a point now where you have to be a little sensitive," Merkoski said. "We have cartoons we have held back, like him on a milk carton missing, because we don't know where he is or what his condition is."

The editor adds that the paper realized early on it would affect the mayor's future with the revelation, but deemed it important. "We wrestled with it, but we kept going after it because there was a possible story," he said. "It is an unsettling feeling having a reporter pursue something in which [the mayor] lied about his military career."

As for Harper, he approaches it like a reporter needing to reveal the truth: "I felt that I've done my job and this is something that was going to get exposed one way or another."””

“Don't you have a mall to shuffle around in or something?”

“More Phony Solders...............

Are there ANY dims in New Jersey not corrupt liars, violin?”

“http://www.nj.com/corruption/

Tisk Tisk”

“http://uspolitics.einnews.com/news/new-jersey-corruption

Dang!”

“http://cbs3.com/topstories/local_story_276225636.html

Mayor Goes AWOL; Mystery Man Appoints Self
More Strange News

(CBS 3) ATLANTIC CITY Frustrated and confused Atlantic City residents have lately been asking “Where is the Mayor?”

Bob Levy, the Mayor of the New Jersey gambling mecca, went missing last week without notice, leaving a power vacuum in his absence.

A local business administrator, Domenic Cappella, recently proclaimed he was personally appointed acting Mayor by Levy himself before his strange disappearance, but has no proof of any agreement.

Residents demanded answers to the Mayoral mystery during a city council meeting Wednesday night.

Unfortunately, City Council members could shed little light on Levy’s whereabouts.

“I would say AWOL, absolutely without leave. We don’t have an official word that has been delivered to city council on where the mayor is,” a city councilman said.

Levy’s disappearance could not come at a worse time, as rumors of upcoming arrests and resignations are flying during an FBI investigation into the city’s government.

Levy's attorney said his client is on extended medical leave, but would not give any further details.

"If you are sick, if you are in the hospital, let the public know, let the council know," City Councilman Tim Mancuso said.

Business Administrator Domenic Cappella said on September 26, Levy personally appointed him acting mayor, but could provide no concrete proof or explanation of their discussion.

“Before he was hospitalized, he made it known that I should be carrying on day to day business,” Cappella said.

But City Council members disagree, saying the only proof of Cappella’s alleged appointment is a memo written by Cappella designating himself.

“So for him to designate himself as the acting mayor is no different than if I were to designate myself as the acting mayor,” said attorney James Leonard Jr. “It’s completely without merit. It’s completely fraudulent and it’s not going to stand.”

Regardless of City Council’s opposition, Cappella said that he will not step down as he has a record of leadership.

“Ten years experience as an administrator, I run a $193 million budget, 1,500 employees, dealing with seven unions, saved the city tons of money,” Cappella said. “Let's put our differences to the side, let's move the city forward.”

After the tense and argumentative meeting Wednesday evening, the issue of who is in charge remains unsolved.

The City Council president did say he would take over the mayor's duties if the state were to say that it is legal.

Mayor Levy’s whereabouts are still unknown.”

“LOL...but he's a libbie...and he still supports the troops....”

“If you think it's only New Jersey, believe me the rake is on the take anywhere you go. We may be losing our rights on lots of things, but crime still pays.”

“We lost rights? I hadn't noticed. I think you made that up.”

“It's a joke son. Laugh, dammit!”

“The fed won't do it's job and keeps the states and locals from doing it for them.”

“EFF Defends Critic from Local Government's Heavy-Handed Tactics
Manalapan, NJ - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked a Superior Court judge in New Jersey today to preserve the free speech rights of an anonymous blogger facing legal threats from local government officials.

The blogger, writing as "daTruthSquad" on a site hosted on Google's Blogspot service, has criticized a controversial lawsuit filed by the township of Manalapan, as well as the officials who decided to pursue the case. The township subpoenaed Google for "daTruthSquad's" identity -- as well as for any emails, blog drafts, and other information Google has about the blogger -- claiming that the defendant in the case is actually writing the posts. The defendant, however, has already sworn under penalty of perjury that he is not "daTruthSquad."

"Bloggers, as well as everyone else, have a First Amendment right to speak anonymously," said EFF Staff Attorney Matt Zimmerman. "Litigants don't get a blank check to pry into the private lives of critics when they say things the litigants don't like. The fact that it is the government trying to abuse the discovery process makes this attempted invasion of privacy all the more repugnant."

In a motion to quash the subpoena filed today, EFF asked the court to block the township's attempt to uncover the identity of "daTruthSquad" and allow the blogger to continue to write about this or any other issue without being forced to identity him or herself.

"Attempts to intimidate critics into silence need to be confronted whenever and wherever they occur," said Zimmerman. "Governmental entities simply cannot be permitted to investigate critics because they dare to voice disapproval of public officials. It remains our sincere hope that the Township will abandon this intolerable legal strategy."

For the full motion to quash:
http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/manalapan/motiontoquashmpa-signed.pdf

For more on this case:
http://www.eff.org/cases/manalapan-v-moskovitz”

“http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/17/death.penalty/index.html

That is one scary looking mo-fo.”

“"The Garden State on Monday became the first state in more than three decades to abolish the death penalty..."

Here's my question, and it shouldn't matter whether you're a "way-out-there" right-winger or left-winger...:

Why should we not execute these folks? Someone like this jerk who rapes & kills a 7 year old?

Would you liberal Dem types rather we spend $50,000 a year (or thereabouts, depending upon the state) to keep this slimeball alive & behind bars, and provide him with all the healthcare that disadvantaged folks in our country may not have?

Why?”

“Because I'd rather my government not have the power of life and death over its citizens.”

“It doesn't have that power over any citizen that doesn't kill other citizens...

Would you rather that every citizen has the power to kill other citizens if they want? Without appropriate penalty for doing that, sounds like that what you're suggesting!”

“Seriously? That's what it sounds like?

I think I'll have to withdraw from this debate, then. I seem to be typing in something other than English.”

“If there's no death penalty for murdering people, what are you going to suggest for these folks.... 30 days probation?

Why should we spend a million dollars keeping that murdering a-hole in prison for the rest of his life vs. spending that same $$ helping people who really need it?

Please justify keeping the murdering slimebucket alive, I just don't get your perspective at all?

It seems to me that if you were a good Democrat / Socialist & really cared about helping out people, then you'd agree that it's crazy to NOT execute these a-holes ASAP so we wouldn't be wasting our tax $$ on them!! :)
last edited: 12/17/07 3:06:56 PM”

“If there's no death penalty for murdering people, what are you going to suggest for these folks.... 30 days probation?

These are my options?

Life in prison without parole is as much as I am comfortable giving government (you remember government - the organization conservatives are uncomfortable giving the power to increase taxes) the power to have over life and death.

If you're uncomfortable with how much it costs to keep a person in jail, I would personally suggest you lobby for prison reform. If, on the other hand, you have a moral problem with not killing a person found guilty of a heinous crime, then we have a moral disagreement.

I find it to be more offensive to my sense of justice to kill the person guilty of murder than to keep him locked up for life.”

“This was an edit after I had loaded the page:

It seems to me that if you were a good Democrat / Socialist & really cared about helping out people, then you'd agree that it's crazy to NOT execute these a-holes ASAP so we wouldn't be wasting our tax $$ on them!!

I guess I'm not a good democrat socialist. I do, however, care about helping out people, and there are a number of obvious reasons not to allow government the power to execute its people.”

“there are a number of obvious reasons not to allow government the power to execute its people

Name 1? I'm referring to their power to execute slime-buckets like the guy referred to initially in this post.

Why shouldn't we execute this guy?”

“If that had been my child, the government would not need to execute him.

That said, it's not about him. It's about the government and how they determine who can be executed.

BTW, The California death penalty system costs taxpayers $114 million per year beyond the costs of keeping convicts locked up for life.
Taxpayers have paid more than $250 million for each of the state’s executions. source:(L.A. Times, March 6, 2005)”

“There's a lot of interpretation that needs to be applied to those figures:


(The California death penalty system costs taxpayers more than $114 million a year beyond the cost of simply keeping the convicts locked up for life. (This figure does not take into account additional court costs for post-conviction hearings in state and federal courts, estimated to exceed several million dollars.)


With 11 executions spread over 27 years, on a per execution basis, California and federal taxpayers have paid more than $250 million for each execution.


It costs approximately $90,000 more a year to house an inmate on death row, than in the general prison population or $57.5 million annually.
(WE SHOULD'T HAVE TO HOUSE THESE CRIMINALS FOR ANY EXTENDED TIME - UN-NECSSARY EXPENSE!)


The Attorney General devotes about 15% of his budget, or $11 million annually to death penalty cases. THIS IS ALL ATTRIBUTED TO THE COSTS TO FIGHT THE OPPONENTS OF THE DEATH PENALTY - THEY DRIVE UP THE COSTS THEN B!TCH ABOUT THEM!


The California Supreme Court spends $11.8 million on appointed counsel for death row inmates. NO COMMENT, I KNOW WE'RE OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE THEM COUNSEL, AND WE SHOULD, BUT IT SHOULDN'T COST THIS MUCH!


The Office of the State Public Defender and the Habeas Corpus Resource Center spend a total of $22.3 million on defense for indigent defendants facing death.
SO... ANOTHER 22 MILLION PROTECTING INDIGENTS?

The federal court system spends approximately $12 million on defending death row inmates in federal court.


No figures were given for the amount spent by the offices of County District Attorneys on the prosecution of capital cases, however these expenses are presumed to be in the tens of millions of dollars each year.


BOTTOM LINE: IT'S OUR CONVOLUTED/COMPLEX SYSTEM THAT DRIVES UP COSTS.
last edited: 12/17/07 3:37:21 PM”

“And it's been repeatedly shown, it's cheaper to house a prisoner than to kill one.”

“Wanderer, that system is really the crux of the issue.

You're okay with killing a few innocent people to make sure that we keep our costs down and kill all the people who need killing?”

“Exactly. Mistakens are made. Proponents of the death penalty are generally able to accept those mistakes as part of the system.

Opponents are not.”

“"Revenge is mine, sayeth ....." dang, I can't remember who that quote is attributed to. Well, carry on with your discussion.”

“When did they let Dunadan back in here? I thought they banished him from everywhere - including the LOtR movies!”

“Hey, did you think my performance in the movie was manly enough?”

“Wanderer - of course you can hold up people who you can say deserve to die.

But you can also hold up a few people who have been wrongly convicted.

Setting aside the deterrent argument for a while - with the doubts over a lot of convictions - the question is are you willing to sacrifice the lives of a certain number of innocent people so you can carry out societal vengeance on others.”

“Teach me to leave the posting window open for a while before posting.”

“I'm talking about the obvious murderers, many who actually admit that they committed the crime...

Can anyone name someone who was executed & later proven to be innocent?”

“are you willing to sacrifice the lives of a certain number of innocent people so you can carry out societal vengeance on others.�
Y2

Y2, it's not "societal vengeance", it's the LAW. If you're a slime-bucket excuse for a human being & kill someone, then you will end up paying the price. Take a life, and it will cost you your life.

Pretty simple concept, actually.

And, once again, I'll ask for the names of wrongly executed individuals! Seems like no one has any!”