Congratulations to Jim Cassella, PolitickerNJ.com's Moron of the Day
By Wally Edge
This is one of the reasons people think some politicians are morons. The Bergen County Utility Authority voted unanimously to give a no-bid consulting contract to Leonard Kaiser, who resigned as BCUA Executive Director last year after FBI agents searched his home. Kaiser was a partner in a government grants business that led to the indictments of former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero and BCDO attorney Dennis Oury.
Asked about the contract by The Record, BCUA Commissioner (and East Rutherford Mayor) James Cassella said: "Len has a lot of knowledge. In fairness to Len, why not give him a little stipend?"
According to The Record, Kaiser’s $75-per-hour consulting contract is worth up to $15,000 in 2009.
Cassella, a Republican, was the GOP nominee for State Assembly against Paul Sarlo in 2001. He later endorsed Sarlo for re-election to the Senate in 2007, and, perhaps by coincidence, got an appointment to the BCUA. Kaiser was a Republican Freeholder and North Arlington Mayor who maneuvered a $150,000-a-year BCUA post in Democratic-controlled Bergen.
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