John Molinelli

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli took on vacation to Italy with State Senator Joseph Coniglio, the target of a federal corruption probe, and Dennis Oury, the lawyer for the Bergen County Democratic Organization.

Jon Corzine decided to take a quick trip to Portugal to attend a global warming conference seven days before the mid-term elections. And for writing a personal check to Rocco Ricco, Carla Katz’s ‘ner do well brother-in-law.

Atlantic County Sheriff Jim McGettigan, in his dismal race for County Executive, criticized the county for hiring porn industry lawyer Eric Bernstein (he calls himself a first amendment attorney) as a labor counsel – without revealing that Bernstein represented McGettigan.
And then, after attacking him, he wrote asking for a campaign contribution.

Assemblyman Gordon Johnson gave $1,850 of his own money to a group run by Lyndon LaRouche. Dumber move: he said he didn’t know LaRouche was a racist.

Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow faced assault charges after allegedly shoving a Republican Committeewoman during a rancorous Hunterdon primary.

Toms River Council President Greg McGuckin owed the IRS over $100k, and he didn’t think his opponents in the race for Mayor would find out.

Even though she knew he had been convicted of sexually assaultin  a 13-year-old girl, State Senator-elect Sandra Bolden Cunningham allowed 45-year-old Russell Wallace to work on her campaign.

Republican State Senator Nicholas Asselta spent 39 months of his life believing that Democratic Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew would no  run against him. He lost by 5,000 votes.

Perennial candidate Todd Caliguire designed a mailer that called his Senate primary opponent Kevin O’Toole “the Republican Al Sharpton” —saying that O’Toole’s “Asian/Korean” heritage gave him protection in redistricting.

Prudential executive Gabriella Morris to fill a vacant Republican seat on the Election Law Enforcement Commission. She last a couple of days before Gov Jon Corzine realized he couldn’t name a government affairs executive to regulate lobbyists.

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Loretta Weinberg has signed off on John Molinelli's renomination as Bergen County ProsecutorJust a month and a half ago, the re-nomination of Bergen Prosecutor John Molinelli to another five year term looked to be in jeopardy.

The revelation that he had accompanied outgoing state Sen. Joseph Coniglio on a trip to Italy while the Senator was under federal investigation raised doubts among top Democratic officials whether he should be reconfirmed. Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Henry McNamara and Democratic Sen. Loretta Weinberg had already exercised senatorial courtesy for different reasons, refusing to sign off on Molinelli's nomination.

But today, the prospect of Molinelli securing another term looks much more likely, even if he has several more political obstacles to overcome.

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Next time someone criticizes New York-based network news coverage of local politics in New Jersey, consider this: WNBC-TV’s Brian Thompson covered the mass defection of Lyndhurst Republicans, but The Record – Bergen County’s daily newspaper -- did not.   This cycle, The Record’s columnists, specifically Charles Stile, Alfred Doblin and Herb Jackson, have been at the top of their game, and clearly dominating political coverage.  Stile broke the story that Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli traveled to Italy on a vacation with State Senator Joseph Coniglio, the target of a federal criminal probe.  It took The Record a week to run an editorial on Molinelli, and they never actually covered it as a news story.

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A legislative ethics panel yesterday declined to reopen an ethics complaint against State Senator Joseph Coniglio, the target of a federal corruption probe.  "Senator Coniglio has earned a reputation for honesty and integrity throughout nearly four decades of public service. He has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing and he is determined to clear his name," said Coniglio spokesman Keith Furlong.

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Does John Molinelli, in the news this week for vacationing in Italy with State Senator Joseph Coniglio, the target of a federal criminal investigation, and with Bergen County Democratic Organization counsel Dennis Oury, make the list of the five worst county prosecutors in recent years?

Here are four who clearly make our list:

• Two weeks before James Florio was to take office as Governor in 1990, Camden County Prosecutor Samuel Asbell held a news conference to tell a rather spectacular story: he said two gunmen had ambushed him in what became a high speed New Year’s Day gun battle. Asbell said he shot one of the gunmen with a sawed-off shotgun he carried in his car. He said machine gun fire shattered his car windows. But investigators for the State Police found that Asbell had staged the entire event as a last-ditch effort to keep his job under a Democratic Governor. He resigned and entered a mental health facility for treatment.

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Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli went on vacation to Italy with State Sen. Joe Coniglio, the target of a federal probeBergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli says that he doesn’t expect to experience any political fallout from the news that he took a trip to Italy accompanied by embattled State Senator Joseph Coniglio, the target of a federal corruption probe.

“I got a lot of calls from supporters who wonder why it’s even an issue…. I look at myself in the mirror and say ‘I don’t have an issue with what I did’,” said Molinelli, who paid for the trip with his own money.

But some powerful political insiders disagree -- the news that the county prosecutor took a trip with an elected official under federal investigation may have further jeopardized his chance of being reappointed to the position, according to one high ranking Democratic official.

 

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After Zulima Farber was forced to resign as Attorney General for using bad judgment when she involved herself in a traffic incident that involved her boyfriend.  One of the people who sought the appointment to replace her: Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli.  Molinelli, the former Bergen County Democratic Organization Treasurer, was also reportedly considered for the post after Governor Jon Corzine's election in 2005.

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Someone threw Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli under the bus with the disclosure that he went on a vacation in Italy with Democratic State Senator Joseph Coniglio, the target of a federal criminal probe.  Molinelli, who served as Treasurer of the Bergen County Democratic Organization before his appointment as Prosecutor, is on holdover status since State Senator Loretta Weinberg has not yet signed off on his reappointment.  Published reports of his vacation with Coniglio, who dropped his bid for re-election after the story of the U.S. Attorney’s investigation of his plumbing contract with a local hospital was leaked to the media, could jeopardize Molinelli’s chances to continue as Prosecutor. 

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Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli went on vacation to Italy with State Sen. Joe Coniglio, the target of a federal probeToday’s revelation that Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli traveled to Italy with State Sen. Joe Coniglio, the target of a federal criminal probe, only makes State Sen. Loretta Weinberg feel more uneasy about the prosecutors reappointment.

The Bergen Record’s Charles Stile revealed today that Coniglio and Molinelli were among nine people who traveled to Italy last month. Molinelli told Stile that Coniglio was added to the trip at the last minute, and that he reconsidered going, but decided to anyway.

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