Joseph Ferriero

Former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero testified that he "was not happy" after Bergenfield hired a Republican as their top lawyer in January 2001, The Record reported today.   Ferriero said he recalled speaking with then-Mayor Robert Rivas in December 2000, but indicated that he did not recall meeting him for lunch.

Ferriero's displeasure with Rivas likely played into the 2001 race for State Assembly in District 37.  The incumbent, Ken Zisa (D-Hackensack) was giving up his Assembly seat to run for Bergen County Sheriff, and Rivas wanted the Democratic nomination.  Instead, Ferriero picked Gordon Johnson, a career law enforcement official from Englewood.  Rivas ran against the organization in the primary, and lost to Johnson 7,653 to 1,662.  The top vote-getter in that primary was Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), who received 7,976 votes.

Former Bergen County Chairman Joseph Ferriero testified today in his federal corruption trial.  The Record has a trial blog, and the accounts of Ferriero's testimony is a must read.

A PolitickerNJ.com cartoon by Rob Tornoe, after then-U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie announced the indictment of Joseph Ferriero

After a few days off, jurors in the federal corruption trial of former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero are expected to return this morning.  The Record reported yesterday that U.S. District Court Judge Stanley Chesler found conspiracy and fraud charges to be proper, but said that the indictment could have been more carefully prepared.  Ferriero's lawyer made a Rule 29 motion with the hope that Chesler will dismiss the charges. Chesler withheld judgment on that motion.

If the federal corruption trial of Joseph Ferriero ends in an acquittal, many party leaders expect that he will run again for Bergen County Democratic Chairman next June, or earlier.  Ferriero was forced to resign that post following his 2008 indictment.  That could cause quite a civil war just as Democrats are gearing up for the re-election of County Executive Dennis C. McNerney.

The conventional wisdom is that Ferriero's successor, Michael Kasparian, has no plans to seek re-election.  The job is not what he imagined it would be, he has struggled to raise money, and sources say his interest in staying on is limited at best. 

While Ferriero had a lock on the County Committee before his indictment (he won his last race with 80% of the vote), Democratic sources say he would face a real fight to return.  His chances could be reduced is his rival, State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), is elected Lt. Governor.  Weinberg would almost certainly push Jon Corzine to intervene, as she did when she ran for Byron Baer's open State Senate seat against Ken Zisa, Ferriero's choice.

The Record is reporting that Dennis Oury is set to testify in the federal corruption trial of former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero is in its fourth day.  Oury, the former BCDO counsel, was Ferriero's co-defendant before making a surprise guilty plea last week -- just two days before the trial was set to start.

Click here to follow the trial on The Record's Live Blog.

For the second time in eight days, there are reports that U.S. Rep. Steven Rothman (D-Fair Lawn) is using his office to help out to campaign contributors.  Last week, the New York Times reported that Rothman and three other members of the New Jersey delegation asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve a medical device manufactured by one of his donors, even though science professionals at the agency felt the device was ineffective and dangerous.  Today, The Record reported that a witness in the federal corruption trial of former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero testified that Rothman wrote letters at the request of a grants writing firm owned by Ferriero and Dennis Oury, the former counsel to the Bergen County Democratic Organization.  Oury was to be Ferriero's co-defendant, but he pleaded guilty earlier this week.

Rothman was among the largest recipients of campaign contributions made personally by Oury to federal candidates - he took nearly $5,000 in recent years. His office has not responded to numerous inquiries seeking to determine if Rothman would return the money. 

Another Bergen County Democrat, State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), announced that she would contribute the $1,000 she received from Oury to a local charity.  Weinberg did that on the day Oury pleaded guilty.

Bergen County Democrats continue to list Sheriff Leo McGuire as a top candidate for County Executive next year, if Dennis McNerney does not seek re-election to a third term.  McNerney's political future is somewhat dependant on the outcome of former Democratic County Chairman Joseph Ferriero's federal corruption trial.  While McNerney has not been accused on any wrong doing, some insiders say that his extraordinarily close ties to Ferriero might be a reason why Democrats ask him to find another job.

How do Sheriff's fare in their bids for higher office? Typically a Sheriff declines to give up the security of their office -- the last elected county law enforcement officials to lose re-election were Democrat James McGettigan in Atlantic County in 2008, Republican Joel Trella in Bergen County in 2004 and Democrat James Forcinito in Cumberland County in 1999. Despite the traditional popularity of a Sheriff, their successes in running for another office tend to be mixed. Republican Bill McDowell was elected Bergen County Executive in 1986 and Democrat Thomas D'Alessio captured the Essex County Executive post in 1990. Both served just one term: McDowell walked away on his own, D'Alessio taken out in handcuffs.

U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler say that Dennis Oury "may in fact be testifying" in the federal corruption trial of former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero, according to a report in The Record.  Chesler said that "anything discussed in their preparation for the trial would be covered under the attorney-client privilege. Even information that would aid in Ferriero's defense would not be admissible," according to the report.

The federal corruption trial of former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero is scheduled to begin today in Newark.  Jurors were picked last month.  But there is speculation that the one-powerful party leader might seek a deal with prosecutors now that his co-defendant, Dennis Oury, has pleaded guilty.  Neither side will say if Oury, the former counsel to the Bergen County Democratic Organization and allegedly Ferriero's partner in a grants-writing business, will testify.  Ferriero's lawyer, Joseph Hayden, is one of the best white collar criminal defense lawyers in the state; Hayden gets that the U.S. Attorney's office has an undefeated record in political corruption prosecutions.  The sense among mere mortals is that if Oury - a man who must definitely knows stuff - testifies against Ferriero, the chances of a conviction go up.  So it's decision day for Ferriero, if in fact a deal is on the table.