"Darrell Marcinek, who oversees conditions on the county's five golf courses, pays nothing for his five-bedroom, three-bath log cabin-style home, tucked away on 35 acres down a winding drive in the county's Sourland Mountain Preserve in Hillsborough. From a spacious front porch, the home offers a commanding view of the surrounding hills, but attendees at a gathering there Friday afternoon refused to allow a reporter to speak directly with Marcinek, repeatedly saying he had no comment on the appraisal. (Star-Ledger, 10/13/07)

“Hours after being sworn in as acting mayor, William 'Speedy' Marsh asked a state judge to delay a decision on how and when he must repay a $363,000 debt to the city "until this little mayoral thing works itself out.  Marsh, the City Council president, took over from former Mayor Bob Levy who resigned Wednesday, citing health problems and a federal investigation into veteran's disability payments he received stemming from his Vietnam war service. With Levy's resignation, which followed his two-week disappearance, Marsh became acting mayor. The $363,000 Marsh must repay the city is his portion of a payout to him and a former mayor to settle a lawsuit they filed claiming they had been fired from board of education jobs due to political retaliation."  (Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/12/07)

“Yet another Jersey City Municipal Court judge has been disrobed.  Vincent Signorile, a full-time judge at the court for more than a decade, took an immediate leave of absence without pay yesterday amid an ongoing state investigation into the improper dismissal of parking tickets.  Signorile's departure makes it five Jersey City justices who have either taken leave or resigned due to the probe that began last month when two court employees were suspended based on allegations they fixed more than 65 of their own tickets." (Jersey Journal, 10/11/07)

"Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli's vacation entourage to Italy late last month included state Sen. Joseph Coniglio -- the Paramus Democrat who is the target of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.

Molinelli, the county's top law enforcement official, confirmed Monday that he and Coniglio were among the nine members of the traveling party, which was organized six months ago by another co-traveler whom he would not name. He said he had considered canceling after learning that Coniglio was invited as a last-minute addition to the group by Hackensack lawyer Dennis Oury.

After all, it might not look good for a lawman to be touring the sites side-by-side with a potential lawbreaker.

But Molinelli said he decided to go after weighing several factors: His office is not running the investigation into Coniglio -- that is the purview of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark. Coniglio flew to Italy and home on flights separate from the group. And Molinelli saw no potential problems when he examined the "ethical guidelines that I'm bound by."

"So I elected to go on the trip,'' Molinelli said in a phone interview."(Charles Stile, The Record,10/09/07)

“The Marlboro home of state Sen. Ellen Karcher (D-Monmouth) is assessed as a working farm because she grows and sells half-a-dozen Christmas trees a year, saving her tens of thousands of dollars in property taxes over the years, according to county and state records. Karcher has been in the Legislature for nearly four years, but did not report the farm income on mandatory financial disclosure forms until five months ago, when she amended three years of reports after questions were raised on a local Web site." (Star-Ledger,10/05/07)

“Amidst a widening probe into allegations of ticket-fixing in Jersey City, another municipal court judge has left the bench.   Victor Sison delivered a terse letter to Mayor Jerramiah Healy and Hudson County Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli yesterday morning announcing he was taking an unpaid leave of absence from his position immediately. His letter does not offer a reason and calls to his New York and New Jersey law offices yesterday afternoon were not returned.  Sison joins colleagues Pauline Sica, Erwin Rosen and Wanda Molina in removing themselves from the bench in the past two weeks. All the cases involve what has been described as the improper handling of parking tickets." (Jersey Journal, 10/04/07)

“By all accounts, Robert Levy,, now the 60-year-old mayor of Atlantic City, was a fine soldier during his two tours of Vietnam. The former lifeguard came home with two Bronze Stars. He was a native son who, before enlisting, had risen above his own family's prejudice to marry a local African-American woman. After his homecoming, he remained in the military until he became eligible to retire, with 20 years of service. But at some point, Levy began to embellish his service record in Vietnam by saying he had been a member of the Green Berets, the elite special force of the Army and stirring figures in the popular imagination. During his campaign for mayor in 2005, the trim 6-footer even campaigned as a former Green Beret. Since then, Levy has been outed by the local newspaper, The Press of Atlantic City, for padding his résumé, and he has admitted the lie. Last Friday, amid reports that the federal government was investigating his military record, he abruptly went on medical leave and dropped out of sight." (Star-Ledger, 10/03/07)

“The McGreevey divorce is coming down to numbers -- two weeks ago it was over how much, and now it's over how far. In the latest skirmish between former Gov. James E. McGreevey and his estranged wife Dina Matos McGreevey, the pair could not agree on where to meet to drop off their child. Dina Matos McGreevey had done the math and was convinced she was doing most of the shuttling of 5-year-old daughter Jacqueline to and from visits with the ex-governor at his house. As a compromise, McGreevey suggested the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Clark, located in between their respective homes. But Matos McGreevey argued the location was too public and too insecure for the exchange.  According to Matos McGreevey, the distance between her home in Springfield and McGreevey's in Plainfield was exactly 9.63 miles. The Barnes and Noble drop-off spot would save McGreevey 3.49 miles and seven minutes, but would add 8.71 miles and 17 minutes to her transportation time." (Star-Ledger, 10/02/07)

“Assemblyman Francis Bodine of Burlington County says he's built a strong reputation for integrity. Now he's trying to see what it's worth in the marketplace.  Two companies pay Bodine a total of $71,000 per year to 'make introductions' to clients that seek government contracts. The Republican-turned-Democrat said he works about 2 1/2 days per week for the Grinspec insurance company at an annual salary of $35,000.  He also is paid $3,000 per month as a consultant for the Adams, Rehmann and Heggan engineering firm. Asked how many hours he works per week, he said, "I don't necessarily put in any.  He attends conferences and advises the firm how much it can spend to lobby lawmakers under the state's new campaign finance laws, he said.

Bodine, 71, shrugs off criticism from his opponents and from newspaper editorial writers. "You guys want to deprive everybody of a way of life," he said. "I mean, good Lord, can't we go out and make an honest living?"” (Guenther, Asbury Park Press)

"Tucker Kelley of Rockaway Township, accused of licking the face of Rockaway Township Councilman Michael Dachiesen during a dispute last winter, was found guilty of harassment and fined $500 on Wednesday." (Star-Ledger, 09/28/07)