Dennis Oury

U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, right, and FBI Director Weysan Dun.: Politicker file photo 

Newark - Numbers 129 and 130.

Those were the designations U.S. Attorney Chris Christie used to refer to Bergenfield attorney Dennis Oury and Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero.

"You stack those numbers up against the number of municipalities in this state and 130 starts to look pretty small," Christie said of the number of public corruption indictments he’s secured in the last seven years.

The buzz question coming into this press conference here on the seventh floor of the Peter Rodino federal building was why Christie chose to have a press conference concerning the indictment of Ferriero and Oury without possession of the men themselves.

"It was late in the day," said the U.S. attorney. "The indictment was returned at 2:15 p.m. and we reached out to their (Oury’s and Ferriero’s) lawyers immediately. We asked them if their clients were willing to voluntarily surrender and they told us ‘yes.’

U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman called on both Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero and County Democratic Counsel Dennis Oury to resign today in light of their indictments on corruption charges.

“An indictment is not a conviction, but it is a very sad day for Joe Ferriero and Dennis Oury, and the entire BCDO family,” said Rothman (D-Englewood) from his Washington office. “I believe that Joe and Dennis should resign without delay in order to remove any cloud from the BCDO.”

Ferriero exercised a heavy hand in controlling the party, and Rothman has found himself stepping into a power vacuum. He will likely play a pivotal role in choosing Ferriero’s successor if and when he resigns as chairman.

Rothman said that Democrats are currently trying to figure out exactly when a special election will need to be called, but that there’s no rush, since BCDO Vice Chair Kay Nest is “capable of running the party as the party leadership tries to reach consensus as to the best way to move forward.” For now, the party has election lawyers trying to determine what, exactly, is the latest version of the party bylaws – an apparent point of dispute.

NEWARK - U.S. Attorney Chris Christie today announced the indictment of Bergen County Democratic Organization (BCDO) Chair Joseph Ferriero and former Bergenfield Borough Attorney and BCDO counsel Dennis Oury on eight counts of conspiring to defraud the Borough of Bergenfield.

"This is another example of people putting private interests ahead of the public interest," said Christie, referring to the two men who are tomorrow scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate here in Newark.

Never disclosing their owenership of a fledgling company called Governmenal Grants, according to the indictment, Oury and Ferriero allegedly received $25,016.97 and $27,538.04 respectively from the Borough of Bergenfield for helping the town receive a grant and loan package.

The rest of $128,625 the men received from the town they disbursed to "other individuals associated with Governmental Grants," the indictment says.

"No where did Ferriero and Oury disclose their ownership of Governmental Grants," said the U.S. Attorney. "They didn't file disclosure forms. Ferreiro never told anybody. Disclosure would have put their greed into the light of day."

An announcement of Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero's indictment is expected at 3PM

U.S. Attorney Chris Christie will annouce today that Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero and counsel Dennis Oury have been indicted on eight corruption counts.

The indictment charges both men of "conspiring to defraud the Borough of Bergenfield of Oury’s honest services and using the mails in furtherance of that scheme," according to a media advisory from the U.S. Attorney's office.

Oury is the former Bergenfield Borough Attorney, and has been under investigation with Ferriero over a grants writing firm that both had a stake in.

Christie plans to make the announcement during a press conference at 3:00PM.

Democratic lawyer Dennis Oury (left), whose indictment is expected to be announced today, with Freeholder David Ganz
Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin admits that, after a decade of Democratic gains, Bergen County will not likely return to the Republican bastion it once was.

His appeal to the voters in the upcoming freeholder and county clerk races is not to start a movement for total Republican control of the county, but to create a two-party system that he feels has been sorely lacking.  That the federal investigation of his Democratic counterpart, Joseph Ferriero, and Democratic lawyer Dennis Oury may have little effect alone on the local races, but that it underscores the need to bring the Republican Party out of the political wilderness.

“I think it’s very, very unfortunate for the people of Bergen County, and it shows what one party rule leads to. The residents of Bergen deserve a two party government and this has underlined how important that is,” he said.   “The corruption, the pay-to-play in Bergen County is systemic, and the only way to change this is to bring back the two party system. Elect republicans to at least share in the running of government.”

Even if he wanted to, Yudin would be hard pressed at this point to make this election a referendum on Ferriero.  Republican consultant Thom Ammirato has polled Ferriero’s name recognition in races past, and it has not exceeded nine percent – despite the Democratic power broker’s huge influence in the every day workings of county government.

The Record says Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero is the target of a federal probe
Ten years after Joe Ferriero started the Bergen County Democratic Organization’s march toward county-wide domination, his hold on power is quickly slipping away.

Multiple sources report that Ferriero is facing intense pressure from top Democrats in the party to resign permanently from his post as county chairman.  The Record, citing sources, said that Ferriero received a target letter from the U.S. Attorney’s office over an investigation of a grants writing firm he held a stake in.  There are also allegations of an assault during a Labor Day party at his Old Tappan home.  Insiders acknowledge that Ferriero’s grasp on the chairmanship is tenuous at best, and that his days in the position may be numbered in the single digits.

Ferriero has already taken a temporary leave of absence, with Vice Chair Kay Nest taking over his immediate responsibilities.  Already, at least five potential replacements have either been raised as possibilities or have floated their own names to permanently replace him.

Joseph Ferriero will take a leave of absence from his post as Bergen County Democratic Chairman following allegations that he assaulted a woman during a Labor Day barbecue at his Old Tappan home. This is the latest in a series of legal woes for the powerful party leader; last month, FBI agents seized personal records from his law office as part of a federal probe of a grants business he owns with lawyer Dennis Oury. 

The Record is reporting that "federal law-enforcement officials executed a search warrant at the Lyndhurst law offices of Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero this morning, removing at least eight boxes of documents." The report says that "federal agents also were at the Hackensack offices of BCDO attorney Dennis Oury."

"The Bergen Record has reported extensively on the subject, and it would be improper for me to form an opinion on the matter," Bergen County GOP Chairman Bob Yudin told PolitickerNJ.com today. "It's obviously now in a criminal investigation mode and the best we could do is for us all to stand back and let the professionals in the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office do their job and let the chips fall where they fall.  I would just limit my comment to that."

Dennis Oury, a politically active lawyer from Bergen County who is reportedly under federal criminal investigation, was in the news this week: he is the lawyer for the owners of an adult video and novelty business who is suing the Township of Cherry Hill for failing to give them a building permit for a parcel of land behind a Commerce Bank branch on Route 70.

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO THE BERGEN COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE 

Ironically, the very individual responsible for much of the success this party has had in the last decade finds himself the poster child for all that is wrong with politics.

Raising obsence amounts of money should not be more important than developing a message as to why Democrats should be given the honor of governing here in Bergen County. Political power is not an entitlement, but a privilege and this party has forgotten that basic principle! Being effective voices for our party was always more important than how many jobs we could deliver or how many contracts we could provide for donors.