Carl Czaplicki

Jersey City Councilman Steve Fulop says he will abstain on the council’s vote to reappoint Carl Czaplicki as the director of the Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce.  

Czaplicki, who was Mayor Jerramiah Healy’s chief of staff before taking on his current position, appears in the federal corruption complaint against political consultant Joseph Cardwell as “JC Official 3.”  

“I don’t think I can vote yes at this time until the situation is cleared,” said Fulop, who thinks that Czaplicki should be left on in an acting capacity.  “There is a cloud looming here, so I think the mayor/council should leave him as is until the situation is cleared further. There is no reason for the mayor to endorse or reject him today in light of the recent events until there is more info.”

Czaplicki has not been charged, but was a close political ally of Cardwell’s and figures prominently in the corruption complaint against him.  In it, Cardwell claims to be the middleman between Czaplicki and the FBI's cooperating witness, Solomon Dwek.

The person identified as “JC Official 3” in the federal complaint against Jersey City political consultant Joe Cardwell is Carl Czaplicki, a former chief of staff to Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy who heads up the city’s Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce.

Two Jersey City sources confirmed that Czaplicki is JC Official 3, who is identified in the complaint as “an official who had responsibility for housing and economic development matters in Jersey City government.”  He served as Healy’s chief of staff from 2004 until his promotion in 2007.

Cardwell, who is close to Czaplicki, allegedly solicited money from a cooperating witness – later identified as developer Solomon Dwek – to expedite “approvals” for a real estate project on Garfield Avenue.  According to the complaint, Cardwell told the witness that JC Official Three was one of his “guys.” 

DENVER -- Already embroiled in the preludes to what’s certain to be a hold-no-punches mayoral battle next year, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy’s allies tonight at the Pepsi Center said they hope to be able to pull an Obama card before the May election.

Healy supported Barack Obama early on, though his endorsement is often overshadowed by Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s endorsement.

Does Healy want Obama to come campaign for him? Of course. But is that actually a realistic possibility if Obama becomes president?

Carl Czaplicki, Healy’s former chief of staff and the current director of the Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce, (and former executive director of the Hudson County Republican organization) thinks it’s not that far-fetched.

“I wouldn’t consider it a long shot. A number of times already he’s shown his willingness to come to New Jersey and Jersey City on two or three occasions,” said Czaplicki, who sat just a couple rows in front of State Sen. Sandra B. Cunningham, another prospective mayoral candidate.