July 2, 2009 - 8:36am
News

Journal: Florida authorities looking into Lopez

Former council candidate Jimmy King’s complaint against Nidia Lopez has grown some legs in Jersey City and Orlando.

The Jersey Journal reports today that Florida officials are investigating Lopez for claiming a tax break on her Orlando home that required her to be a permanent resident, and that they’re seeking repayment of the money she saved from it.

PolitickerNJ.com first reported on Tuesday that the recently defeated King filed a complaint against Lopez attempting to invalidate her election.  

Lopez was sworn in yesterday.  At the inauguration ceremony, she said that she did not want to talk about the charges because it was a “day for celebration,” but referred inquiries about it to her attorney, William Northgrave.  

Lopez’s husband, Hudson County Director of Family Services Ben Lopez – a former councilman – told The Jersey Journal’s Augie Torres yesterday that the Orlando property was a summer home.  

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy brushed off the complaint yesterday as part of a pattern from the slate of former mayoral candidate Lou Manzo, who had tried to knock him off the ballot with legal challenges over his conduct during his 2006 arrest for disorderly conduct in Bradley Beach.

Matt Friedman is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at matt@politicsnj.com.