Joseph Ferriero

If Joe Ferriero wants a little payback before he heads off to prison, he can do it on Tuesday by voting against Chris Christie.

New Jersey state law allows convicted felons to vote up until the time of their sentencing.  Ferriero is among a long list of political leaders who have either been convicted or pleaded guilty but have not yet been sentenced. 

Ferriero, the former Bergen County Democratic Chairman, was convicted last week on one count of extortion and two counts of mail fraud that were brought against him last year by federal prosecutors while Christie was serving as U.S. Attorney. 

Six Jersey City officials and political candidates arrested in July and have already entered guilty plea still have the right vote in the November 3 gubernatorial election - and perhaps use the opportunity to extract a small measure of revenge against Christie, whose office initiated the sting operation that ensnared them.

Solomon Dwek, the real estate developer-turned-FBI informant, would also be allowed to vote - if he was registered.  Monmouth County Superintendent of Elections Hedra Siskel said that she has no record of Dwek on the voter rolls in his home county for at least the last five years -- this, despite the fact that Dwek and his wife have donated tens of thousands of dollars to New Jersey politicians and PACs since 1998. 

New Jersey state law only disqualifies from voting someone who "is serving a sentence or is on parole or probation as the result of a conviction of any indictable offense under the laws of this or another state or of the United States."

There used to be explicit language in the law laying out crimes that disqualified convicts from voting, but those references were deleted in the early 1970s after a three-judge District Court panel ruled that they violated the Equal Protection Clause. 

So does Ferriero plan to vote? 

The two major party candidates for Lt. Governor will campaign at Bergenfield senior centers tomorrow, five days after a jury found former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero guilty of depriving Bergenfield residents of the "honest services" of their borough attorney.   State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), who represents Bergenfield in the State Senate, will be there in the morning; Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno, the GOP candidate, will be there at 2PM. 

Solomon Dwek and a bunch of allegedly corrupt public officials may have indirectly delivered The Record's endorsement to Gov. Jon Corzine.  Sources say that Corzine had settled on State Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) as his running mate before a massive number of arrests on the morning of July 23 made him change his mind and pick State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck).  In their editorial, The Record said that Weinberg's presence on the Democratic ticket tipped the scale in Corzine's favor.

The arrests as part of Operation Bid Rig, which gained national attention that day because it also involved Rabbis and the sale of human body parts, caused Corzine to rethink the Buono selection.  Buono had been a protégé of former Senate President John Lynch (D-New Brunswick), who went to prison on federal corruption charges; Weinberg had a reputation for supporting governmental transparency and was a rival of ex-Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero.

A personal website Joseph Ferriero launched just before the start of his corruption trial today carries a simple message: "Welcome Joe Ferriero friends.  Joe's Site is Temporarily Unavailable. Check back soon."  Ferriero was convicted yesterday on federal conspiracy and mail fraud charges.

Ferriero's website originally carried the slogan "Ferriero: Family First," and featured a photo of Ferriero and the late Ted Kennedy.  In a section called "The Early Years," Ferriero points to building a "neighborhood sandlot baseball field," serving as the "head altar boy" and coming "just four merit badges short of Eagle Scout."

On the day jury selection was set to begin a new biography of the former Bergen County Democratic Chairman appeared on Wikipedia.  The profile cast Ferriero in an extremely positive way, including family photographs, community service awards, and his record in support of diversity, senior citizens, education, the homeless, and lower taxes.

Jon Corzine and Joe Ferriero

GOP Lt. Gov. candidate Kim Guadagno says that Gov. Jon Corzine's attempt to disassociate himself with now-convicted ex-Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero is a joke.

"Try as he might, Jon Corzine can't hide the fact that he and his family gave $441,600 to Joe Ferriero and his Bergen County Democratic Organization," said Guadagno, the Monmouth County Sheriff and a former federal prosecutor.  "Not only did he fuel the activities of a corrupt organization, Governor Corzine failed to take a tough stance when Ferriero was indicted.   For Jon Corzine to imply that his considerable and consistent contributions to Ferriero's political operation were simply to elect federal candidates is laughable and isn't fooling anyone."

Ferriero and Corzine were close political allies, although the disagreed from time to time.  Corzine backed his current running mate, Loretta Weinberg, for a State Senate seat in 2005, despite Ferriero's strong support for another candidate.  And Ferriero played a role in a lawsuit that sought to overturn Corzine's pay to play ban that hampered fundraising for the Bergen County Democratic Organization.

But Ferriero also endorsed Corzine when he ran against Jim Florio in the 2000 Democratic U.S. Senate primary, and his support for Corzine in the 2005 gubernatorial race was a pivotal moment in then-Acting Gov. Richard Codey's decision not to seek the Democratic nomination.

Ferriero also held a lucrative position at a state authority whose commissioners are appointed by the Governor: he was the general counsel to the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission.  In 2007, Weinberg said Ferriero had made about $4.5 million in legal fees from that post.

When you get this close to Election Day, there is no shortage of dumb comments that come from people who are either in public office or likely to win one.  But with Joseph Ferriero no longer in charge, what's coming out of Bergen county is sort of amazing.

The best line of the week came from Assemblyman Frederick Scalera (D-Nutley), who sought to lessen the effect of Ferriero's criminal conviction by noting that he also represents parts of Essex and Passaic counties: "We answer to three county chairs," Scalera said, not considering that some might think he actually answers to the voters.

The biggest stretch of the truth also came from two Democratic Assemblywomen, Connie Wagner (D-Paramus) and Joan Voss (D-Fort Lee).  Their campaign put out a mailer attacking Republican Judith Fisher of being an Internet pornographer.  Their evidence: Fisher and her husband own a firm that produces accounting software for intellectual property management.  One of their customers is Playboy.  Fisher's problem is that she's running in a Democratic district and doesn't have the money to respond - or talk about how Wagner and Voss were hand-picked for their seats by Ferriero, who liked candidates who didn't necessarily think entirely for themselves.

Democratic incumbents Julie O'Brien and Vernon Walton have seized on attacks against tobacco companies as a critical issue in a race for Bergen County Freeholder.  They are blaming GOP challenger John Driscoll, who is a field sales representative for Lorillard Tobacco, for his role in enabling children to smoke cigarettes.  "As a mother and a grandmother I know how hard it is to keep kids away from cigarettes. John Driscoll's efforts aren't helping.  It takes your breath way," O'Brien said.  Maybe it's smart politics that O'Brien has shifted the debate away from property taxes and Ferriero (by the way, he picked her too). 

A Republican Council candidate in North Arlington taped a one-hour conversation with four Democratic leaders, including Mayor Peter Massa, where the Democrats outline a plan to give him "money, appointments and power" in exchange for dropping out the race.  What remains to be seen is whether the bad guy is Republican Chris Johnson, who may have solicited a bribe, or the Democrats, who may have violated the same state law that sent the Mayor of Carney's Point to jail.

Must reads-today:

• “The chairman takes a final bow” by Alfred Doblin.

• The Record editorial on Joseph Ferriero, the former Bergen County Democratic Chairman.

Some Democrats think Joseph Ferriero's criminal conviction puts Bergen County Executive Dennis C. McNerney in danger of losing party support if he seeks re-election to a third term next year.  A Ferriero protégé, McNerney was handpicked by the powerful party leader to run in 2002 - now Democrats, protective of their control over county government, might gently nudge McNerney to retire.

Democrats will be more likely to dump McNerney if they lose Freeholder seats next month, and almost certain to replace him if Republicans win the race for governor.  But even a victory by Gov. Jon Corzine could push McNerney out; then State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), a Ferriero foe, would be Lt. Governor, and her clout among local Democrats would surely increase.  Look for Corzine and Weinberg to play a role in picking a new Democratic County Chairman after Michael Kasparian, who was picked by Ferriero as his replacement last year, steps down next June.

Former Bogota Mayor Steven Lonegan says that today’s conviction of former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero is another reason to defeat a $400 million open space bond issue up for voter approval in November.

“This is just another example of how liberal big government programs like the open space scam are breeding grounds for political corruption,” Lonegan said.

The referendum seeks authorization to issue bonds for Green Acres, water supply and floodplain protection, and for farmland and historic preservation projects.

According to federal prosecutors, Ferriero used his political clout to help Bergenfield win grants and loans worth about $2.8 million that came from state Green Acres and historic preservation bond issues.  A grants writing firm owned partly by Ferriero received $128,625 in fees for securing those funds.

"The jury has spoken," says Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) about his onetime political mentor, former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero.  Ferriero was convicted today on three of eight counts of corruption.

"I think it's a one day news story, and has no impact whatsoever on either the governor's race or the 36th District Assembly race," added Sarlo, who's backing his ticket mates, Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) and Assemblyman Frederick Scalera (D-Nutley).

"We have polled it, and people are concerned about the economy and education. Joe Ferriero has no impact on their lives and now it's time to move forward."