Jonathan Soto

Former School Board President Alex Blanco: Politicker photo

Passaic mayoral candidate Alex Blanco says he is not the high-ranking public official implicated in a new indictment of former Councilman Jonathan Soto.  

Federal prosecutors added to Soto’s indictment yesterday, alleging the former councilman received cash payments from undercover agents posing as health insurance contractors. The government says Soto received money in exchange for exercising his official authority to secure business with the City of Passaic, including the Board of Education.

Blanco, who served as school board president during the time, insisted he never played any role in the case.

"I absolutely deny any involvement in that, and I unequivocally deny that Mr. Soto solicited any payments on my behalf," said Blanco, who called Wednesday’s news regarding Soto "shocking."

U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, right, and FBI Director Weysan Dun last year in Trenton on the day Mims Hackett was arrested.

NEWARK - The steps of City Hall.

That was the image U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie used to tell the bad ending story of former Assemblyman and Orange Mayor Mims Hackett, who twice pleaded guilty today: once in federal court to one count of attempted extortion, and once in state Superior Court to a charge of official misconduct.

Flanked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office by state Attorney General Anne Milgram and state FBI Director Weysan Dun, Christie made special mention of the fact that it was outside City Hall that Hackett took the bribe which started his fall.

"This is a public servant who decided that $5,000 was a good down payment for him to sell his office," said Christie.

The defiant U.S. Attorney recalled critics who questioned his office’s motives when Hackett and ten other elected officials first appeared in court last year to answer to federal corruption charges.

Less than a week after Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera and Councilman Marcellus Jackson were arrested on bribery charges, City Council President Gary Schaer says the Council will hire an independent special counsel to review city contracts over the last two years. Schaer says he wants to hire a lawyer with “significant experience in matters before the U.S. Attorney.”

U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announces criminal charges against 11 public officials, including two legislators
The ironic presence of a framed portrait of Washington crossing the Delaware was not lost on two courtroom artists crouched over their easel with erasers and pastels Thursday. In their rendering, they took some license in centering the framed and famed heroic portrait of 12 men braving the elements over the heads of the 12 men in the docket, who crowded together, resembled another band of ragtag shipmates.

The trouble was they weren’t crossing the Delaware, but stranded this side of the river in handcuffs and leg-irons in Trenton’s Clarkson S. Fisher Federal Building, in the uncomfortable position of fighting off U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie.

Magistrate Judge Tonianne Bongiovanni acknowledged the charges of either conspiracy to extort corrupt payments or attempting to extort corrupt payments that Christie’s office brought against the men - 11 of them elected or former elected officials from Pleasantville to Passaic, among them dual-officeholder Mims Hackett, an Assemblyman and the Mayor of Orange, Assembly Deputy Speaker (and Passaic County Undersheriff Alfred Steele), and Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie continues his war on corruptionU.S. Attorney Christopher Christie today announced indictments against eleven current and former public officials on bribery charges, including Assembly Deputy Speaker Alfred Steele, Assemby State Government Committee Chairman (and Orange Mayor) Mims Hackett, Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera, and Pete Callaway, a member of a prominent and controversial Atlantic County political family.

City Council President Gary S. Schaer said that he became aware of the arrests of Mayor Sammy Rivera, Councilman Marcellus Jackson and former Councilman Jonathan Sorto this morning.

“I have been in contact with the Administration and Business Administrator and I am confident that the business of the City will continue without interruption," Schaer said in a statement. "As City Council President, the Council and I will make every effort to ensure that Passaic residents will continue to receive the City services that they have come to expect.”

The Star-Ledger's Jeff Whelan lists the amounts each of the eleven public officials arrested are accused of taking in bribes:

"The officials are accused of accepting the following amounts, according to sources, who requested anonymity:

James Pressley - $32,000
Jayson Adams - $25,000
Marcellus Jackson - $16,500
Rafael Velez - $14,000
Rev. Alfred E. Steele - $14,000
Maurice "Pete" Callaway - $13,000
Jonathon Soto - $12,500
Keith Reid - $10,000
Mims Hackett, Jr. - $5,000
Samuel Rivera - $5,000
James McCormick- $3,500

Rev. Alfred Steele is the Assembly Deputy Speaker and the Passaic County UndersheriffThe list of eleven public officials arrested today by FBI agents: Assemblymen Alfred Steele and Mims Hackett, Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera, Passaic City Councilman Marcellus Jackson, former Passaic City Councilman Jonathan Soto, Keith Reid, the Chief of Staff to the Newark City Council President, Louis Mister of Pleasantville, and five current and former members of the Pleasantville Board of Education -- Jayson Adams, City Councilman Maurice "Pete" Callaway, James McCormick, James Pressley and Rafael Velez.

Callaway is the brother of former Atlantic City Councilman Craig Callaway, who was sentenced today to 40 months in a federal prison for taking bribes from an undercover FBI agent.

Soto, viewed as a rising star in North Jersey GOP politics when he was elected to the City Council in his early 20's, is the Passaic Republican Municipal Chairman.  He has endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President.

For an interesting take on the Republican race for Passaic County Freeholder, read this entry from the blog of George Ajjan, the GOP candidate for Congress in the 8th district in 2004:

Remember that quote? It's from the movie Twins, starring Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the scene, a so-called "tough guy" comes to pick on DeVito's character, and his brother, played by "the Terminator", teaches the goon a lesson. And while the not-so-tough guy lays there embarrassed, DeVito tells him to a deliver a message to his boss: "He messes with me, he messes with my whole family!"

Which brings me to Passaic County, and the turmoil in the Republican Party, with the 3 original candidates chosen by the previous regime (before Scott Rumana was elected Chairman this June) having dropped out. Jonathan Soto was the latest to leave, announcing it last Friday, ostensibly because of his duties on the Passaic Redevelopment Agency. The background story is that Jonathan began to feel the heat from some of those who foolishly thought they could buy and sell him (to their dismay he got wise and backed Rumana publicly), and decided to back out of the race.

Enter Arturo (Arthur) Soto, Jonathan's brother, to save the day. He has expressed interest in filling his brother's vacancy on the ticket. Art is a technology specialist at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, is married with 2 young sons, and makes an excellent appearance. He plays preppy overtones over Jonathan's urban backbeat. He is articulate and intelligent, and by virtue of his parents' church, offers community support in Passaic City, strengthened by his brother's ongoing role as Municipal Chair.

If the Soto boys get Sammy Rivera behind them, and join forces with congressional candidate Jose Sandoval's Dominican-American machine, they can put on a good show in Passaic and give the Democrats a considerable headache.

Next is Ken del Vecchio, the aspiring film producer and novelist who was referred to by a recent Letter to the Editor as "one of the greatest legal minds in this country" (Roberts and Alito, look out!). Del Vecchio cited his film career and demands in LA as the reason for his decision to withdraw his candidacy. Word on the street is that del Vecchio, who says he was "promised" top billing on the ticket, and was actually listed first in the Primary, got upset when others planned to place Soto's name first. This issue was ultimately settled by a coin toss after a lengthy discussion.

However, I spoke with Ken today and he said, "my ego is far too big to be affected" by something as trivial and inconsequential as ballot placement. He maintains that even had he remained on the top of the ticket, he would still have chosen to withdraw on account of his professional obligations.

Del Vecchio is considered by many to be a proxy for the defeated faction that used to run the Passaic County GOP. According to this line of logic, some suggest that he did not drop out of the race after Rumana's substantial victory because of this proxy status. However, in my discussion with him today, Ken had nothing negative to say about anyone involved and seemed supportive of Rumana's leadership.

A replacement for Del Vecchio is still needed (assuming that Arthur Soto will succeed in filling his brother's slot). There are rumors of an up-county female interested, but I don't have specifics yet.

The bigger question is: how will this all reflect upon Scott Rumana? My guess is that it's ultimately a positive for him. The Democrats have considerably more money and resources than the GOP, and are favored to win all 3 Freeholder seats in November, so the expectations for victory are already low, unfortunately. However, if Kean runs well in Passaic County and sweeps in a GOP Freeholder or 2, Rumana comes out like a knight in shining armor. If all 3 lose, he can easily attribute it to the fact that he was not able to assemble a ticket until late August under uncontrolable circumstances, leaving just over 2 months to run a campaign start to finish.

Another plus is that all of these changes, while ridiculous in appearance, do stoke activity in the newly-elected County Committee. The nomination meetings give them something to do, and make them realize that the position actually has a purpose.

However, Scott needs to assert stronger leadership. A number of elected officials have voiced concern. One said:

"I know he has a difficult job, maybe now he will get a taste of what Mike had to go through, it is a crappy job and no one is ever happy. Now Scott is on the other side. And I supported Scott, but he needs to stop bellyaching and be the leader people think he is and pull it all together. For all of our sakes."

Another elected official who is no lightweight was concerned that there has been no clearly articulated short-term or long-term plan in detail for key Republicans to get behind.

Again, all of these criticisms are healthy. I heard them in the context of positive discussions aimed at improvement. There is a consensus that Rumana can deliver and most importantly, is willing to accept feedback to strengthen the Party. If people didn't have faith that we can really turn things around for the Passaic County GOP, they wouldn't bother to voice their concerns.