Reacting to the indictment of Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero and county Democratic counsel Dennis Oury, State Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Demarest) was careful not to pass judgment. 

So if Cardinale feels bittersweet feelings about what could amount to the political downfall of Ferriero, who made it his pet project last year to oust Cardinale and his Republican running mates, he’s careful about expressing it.

“I got a great deal of satisfaction out of beating them in the last election.  I’m not going to be putting myself in a position of sitting there as judge and jury,” said Cardinale.  “We have a system of justice and it works.  I think we should all watch that play out.”

Cardinale is among the holdouts from the era when Bergen County was solidly Republican, having served in the legislature since his first Assembly term in 1980.  Now his district – the 39th—is the Republicans’ last legislative bastion wholly within Bergen County's borders.  

Cardinale has long implied that the political dealings of Ferriero and Oury were untoward, but said that if the allegations are true, he’s surprised they slipped up. 

“I’m amazed because I know both of them to be very, very careful lawyers, and for them to have done something that is illegal boggles the mind.  But at times you can get a little carried away with your success, and one can’t deny that they’ve been very successful at raising money and making money for themselves and their political successes,” he said.  “It’s amazing that they’ve made a mistake, if they have made a mistake.”