John Lynch

Hudson County filed a $26.8 million civil lawsuit against former County Executive Robert Janiszewski in an effort to reimburse taxpayers for the cost of corruption. Assemblyman Richard Merkt says that Attorney General-designate Stuart Rabner should follow Tom DeGise's lead and file a similar civil suit against John Lynch. DeGise, who now holds Janiszewski's old job, filed similar suits against two corrupt ex-Hudson County Freeholders.

"Why should an admitted crook like Lynch get to keep the ill-gotten gains he obtained by betraying those he was supposedly serving? A civil suit to recover stolen booty should be an automatic response any time a public official gets caught with his hand in the public cookie jar," said Merkt.

Bergen Democrats Should Return Dirty Lynch Money

DeCROCE: LATEST PUBLIC CORRUPTION GUILTY PLEA DEMANDS A RENEWED FOCUS ON ETHICS REFORM

REITERATES CALL FOR SPECIAL SESSION TO CONSIDER LEGISLATIVE ETHICS, CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM PROPOSALS

A poll conducted for the Democratic mayoral candidate in North Arlington shows Republican Thomas Kean, Jr. leading Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Menendez by a 47%-29% margin in this Democratic-leaning blue collar town of 15,181 people. The same survey, done by Neighborhood Research, gives Democrat Peter Massa a 31-point lead in the race for Mayor over Republican Peter Norcia, and Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney a ten-point lead against his GOP challenger, Todd Caliguire.

North Arlington's voter registration is 30% Democratic, 18% Republican and 52% Unaffiliated.

In 2005, Jon Corzine won North Arlington by a 56%-40% margin over Douglas Forrester, and in 2004, George W. Bush won the town by six votes over John Kerry. Corzine carried the town narrowly (57 votes) over Bob Franks in 2000, while Al Gore won it by 850 votes. In 2003, State Senator Paul Sarlo won North Arlington by a 54%-46% margin; in the same election, voters picked GOP Assemblyman Paul DiGaetano and Democratic Assemblyman Frederick Scalera. Last year, North Arlington strongly supported the Democratic legislative ticket.

The anticipated guilty plea of John Lynch will end a reign of power that has extended through eight Governors, not including John Bennett. Lynch has spent most of his life in politics: his father, John A. Lynch, was the longtime Mayor of New Brunswick and served as Middlesex County's State Senator from 1955 until his retirement in 1977. (He was the Senate President in 1966, when the Democrats took control for the first time since 1914.) He was elected New Brunswick Democratic Municipal Chairman in 1975, Mayor in 1978, and State Senator in 1981. He was the Majority Leader from 1986 to 1990, the Senate President from 1990 to 1992, and the Minority Leader from 1992 to 1998. He has been the undisputed political boss of Middlesex County -- one of the state's premier Democratic political machines. Since leaving the Senate in 2001 -- reportedly to reap the benefits of his efforts to elect James E. McGreevey as Governor -- Lynch has run one of the largest Democratic political action committees in the state.

CALIGUIRE CALLS ON DONOVAN TO FIRE HER CAMPAIGN MANAGER AND DISAVOW ENDORSEMENT OF RENEGADE BOGOTA COUNCILMAN