Perth Amboy

A day after the feds dropped charges on him to add to already existing state charges, the state Attorney General’s Office today filed more corruption charges against former Perth Amboy Mayor Joe Vas.

In a release, Attorney General Anne Milgram said the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice obtained an indictment charging Vas with conspiring as mayor of Perth Amboy to “obtain illicit gifts and payments from city vendors, and laundering money into his congressional campaign through straw donors.  The Attorney General’s Office previously indicted Vas in March for allegedly stealing city funds as mayor.”

The 54-year old Vas was charged in a 19-count state grand jury indictment along with his longtime aide Melvin Ramos, 53, two corporations that were city vendors, and two owners of one of the corporations.  

A former assemblyman, Vas faces multiple second-degree counts of conspiracy and official misconduct, among other charges.  The charges stem from an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. 

Attorney General Anne Milgram, who is building a case against former Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas, won her second guilty plea form a Perth Amboy official today.

Perth Amboy recreation supervisor Ana Pastrana, 49, pleaded guilty today to using city funds to pay off a credit card in her name that she used for personal expenses for herself and Vas.  In her plea, Pastrana said that Vas directed her to reimburse the card for purchases of sneakers, beachwear and sportswear through a bank account for the city’s Housing Development Corporation.  

“With this second guilty plea, we continue to advance our case against former Perth Amboy mayor Joseph Vas, who we charge conspired with other officials to enrich himself at the expense of his struggling city and its taxpayers,” said Milgram.

Joseph Vas, who won just 39% of the vote last month in his bid for re-election to a sixth term as Mayor of Perth Amboy, was elected Democratic Municipal Chairman last night. Vas, a two-term Assemblyman, defeated Jim Nanton, 35-6. Ray Geneske, the longtime Democratic Chairman and a staunch Vas ally, did not seek re-election.

Mayor-elect Wilda Diaz Joins Coalition of Middlesex County Officials for Andrews

Standing on the steps of City Hall this evening shortly before the start of the cityPerth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas council meeting, Perth Amboy Mayor (and Assemblyman) Joseph Vas announced his intentions to again run for the office of mayor, according to his aide Mel Ramos.

"Being mayor of Perth Amboy is not just about where we have been or what we have accomplished. It is about where we are going, our plans to get there, and having the vision and know-how to get there," said Vas.

"I am committed to continue my vision of change and progress for the betterment of every resident in the City of Perth Amboy, and am as energized today as I was when I first took the oath of office as your Mayor.

Joe Vas' campaign research director, Donna Gefter, filed a lawsuit against Vas for Congress today, alleging that Vas failed to pay her more than $4,000 for opposition research she conducted on former Assembly Speaker Albio Sires. Sires defeated Vas on Tuesday by a 75%-25% margin. The suit, filed in Middlesex County, comes a day after Vas announced that property taxes in Perth Amboy will go up abolut 50%.

Last February, Vas made a big deal about Sires campaign staff checking out his record in Perth Amboy. Vas told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he would prefer to talk about issues than the "politics of personal destruction."

NO SHOW VAS

(West New York) -- In a blatant dereliction of responsibility, Perth Amboy Mayor and Assemblyman Joe Vas has established a pattern of refusing to fulfill his responsibilities as both an elected official and a candidate for Congress in the 13th District. According to news reports, Vas has been a no show at 80% of his Assembly committee hearings, a no show at a meeting with the Department of Community Affairs where his Perth Amboy tax increase was discussed, a no show in approving his municipal budget, a no show in filing to run for a special election to complete now-Senator Bob Menendez's term in the House of Representatives, a no show in filing his personal financial disclosure reports with the Clerk of the House of Representatives on time, and a no show in filing his campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Commission on time.

Vas Misleads About Helping Heroin Dealer Make Bail

(West New York) – In yet another classic example of revisionist history, Perth Amboy Mayor Joe Vas this week claimed that, “the charge that I aided a drug dealer is an outright lie and has been proven one.� [Jersey Journal, 5/18/06] He also accused his primary opponent Albio Sires of waging a “false and misleading… campaign.� [NJN News, 5/17/06] But despite trying to rewrite history to cover up his dismal record, Vas cannot ignore the basic facts that led to his helping a Perth Amboy woman arrested for selling heroin in Camden make bail. Worse yet, the heroin dealer was arrested while out on bail for running a heroin ring out of her home in Perth Amboy.

Another Day, Another Broken Promise
Vas Goes Back on Pledge to Provide Relevant Perth Amboy Financial Data to the State

(West New York) – In what is becoming a consistent pattern of saying one thing and doing another, Perth Amboy Mayor Joe Vas has yet again gone back on his word to provide the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs with relevant financial data needed for the state to approve Perth Amboy’s 2006 budget. As recently as April 24th, Vas pledged to provide DCA with missing revenue figures within fifteen days, as ordered by the state. More than three weeks later, Vas has still not turned over the necessary data, leading the state to demand that he remove $8 million of proposed revenue from his budget. Perth Amboy’s budget, which is now eleven months late, will contain an average tax increases of up to $300 per household as a result of his fiscal mismanagement.

Perth Amboy Councilman and Community Leaders Endorse Albio Sires for Congress
Point to Failure of Vas Tenure As Reason For Sires Support

(Perth Amboy) Pointing to a record of failed leadership by Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas, Perth Amboy Councilman David Szilagyi and community leaders Israel Varela, Carmen Ramirez and Scott Farber today endorsed former Speaker Albio Sires for Congress in the 13th Congressional District. Sires is running against Vas to fill the vacancy created by now-Senator Robert Menendez, who had previously represented the 13th District in Congress.