Mayor With a Past Has a Future in Prison

 

WHEN a federal judge sentenced former Mayor Samuel Rivera to 21 months in federal prison on Aug. 15, an era ended in this tattered city of nearly 70,000, leaving many here debating Mr. Rivera’s tumultuous past and wondering what is to come.

To many, Mr. Rivera, 61, had been an improbable choice as mayor; he was an explosive man who had been implicated in the deaths of two young men. But to others in this city of shifting demographics, he was the forceful leader they needed to fight crime.

“He was a good politician in his first four years,” said Gary Schaer, the former City Council president who became acting mayor when Mr. Rivera resigned. “But in the last three years, he became inebriated with his own power, he forgot himself.”

In a crowded Passaic field, Morales says she has fire in the belly

DENVER – You can’t stray far from New Jersey’s ward politics here, not if you’re at the Hotel Inverness, where Ritzy Morales told PolitickerNJ.com that she definitely intends to run for mayor of Passaic.

A longtime director of constituent services for U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), Morales, 41, said she plans to submit 700 petitions to the municipal clerk in advance of the Sept. 12th filing deadline, and expects to have at least 400-500 of them certified to earn well over the required 200.

“The public has known me for a long time,” said Morales, born in Paterson and a resident of Passaic for ten years. “I have strong values, and I wouldn’t even accept a cup of coffee from someone as mayor, because of the negativity left by Sammy Rivera. I would definitely stop corruption.”

A judge sentenced Rivera on corruption charges earlier this month. Now Morales is one of seven people jockeying to win a special election on Nov. 4th to fill in for the disgraced former mayor. The field consists of School Board member Alex Blanco, city supervisor Vincent Capuana, councilman Jose Garcia, Councilwoman Maritza Colon-Montanez, real estate developer Jose Sandoval, bail-bondsman Carl Ellen, and Morales.

Latinos make up the biggest voting bloc at 52-54%, with the two biggest sub-communities split between Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. Puerto Ricans have the upper-hand numbers-wise – 2,000 to 800-900 registered Dominican voters – but they still don’t quite have the rock solid Election Day numbers that orthodox Jews possess: 1,800-2,200 votes.

“I see a lot of potential in Passaic, and a lot of growth opportunity to unite all of the communities in the city,” said Morales.

She’ll be in a dogfight for Puerto Rican base votes with Colon-Montanez. The latter will have another scrap on her hands in addition to Morales, meanwhile, as Colon-Montanez will be trying to shore up the remnants of Rivera’s political apparatus, even as Capuana tries to do the same thing from within the base camp of the old city guard.

A Dominican who is making his own big play to unite all parties, Sandoval is nonetheless a Republican who has fought the power on numerous occasions and lost. Ellen has the challenge of outleaping the reality of 12% African-American voter registration in Passaic, and appealing to base and new voters.

Then there’s Blanco, who is said to be close to Acting Mayor Gary Schaer, an orthodox Jew who with his endorsement can deliver a plurality of his own ethnic community. But Schaer remains coy about his pick, and Morales hopes she can gain his support.

She acknowledges that one of her chief challenges will be striking down her opponents’ attempts to depict her as an inner sanctum Pascrell plant.

She’ll have to fight the campaign mail piece, perhaps, that suggests she was tossed into the race simply to drain votes from fellow Puerto Rican Colon-Montanez so that Blanco – in the event he’s the back room establishment pick settled on by Schaer, Pascrell and Passaic County Democratic Chairman John Currie – can rely on a split Puerto Rican vote, and himself unite Dominicans, Jews and others, to scratch out a win.

But Morales insists there’s no stalking horse back story to her candidacy. She wants to win.

“I have a loyalty to Bill and to the party, but I am an independent person,” said Morales. “They affiliate me with Bill. Bill has taught me how to be independent, and he taught me how to care about people. This was a hard decision for me to make. When I spoke with the congressman, he definitely opened the door to allow me to do this. But ultimately this is for me to decide. I have a fire inside my belly to help people.”                By Max Pizarro  Politickernj.com

Morning misery on Route 21

PASSAIC — A three-car accident Thursday morning caused a tractor-trailer to jackknife and shut down Route 21 south and sent one man to the hospital, police said.

The crash took place around 6:30 a.m. just past Exit 10B to River Drive.

Passaic police Detective Andy White described the accident this way: Rafael Perez, 49, of Clifton was driving a Honda Pilot in the middle lane of the highway when he entered the left lane, where Hawthorne resident Michael Alberta, 26, was driving a Ford Explorer.

The Honda caused Alberta to lose control of his car, White said, which led Perez to swerve and hit the guardrail. Perez’s Honda then spun out into the right lane of the highway, where Melesio Garcia, 39, of Clifton was driving a tractor-trailer.

Garcia swerved to avoid hitting the Honda, and in doing so lost control of the vehicle. The tractor-trailer spun into the left lane and jackknifed on the median.

Perez was taken to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Paterson with non-life-threatening injuries, White said.

Passaic police shut down parts of Route 21 south for nearly three hours and diverted all traffic on the northbound side of the highway off at the Passaic Park exit.

Police reopened the highway around 9:30 a.m. Myheraldnews.com

N.J. police stockpile assault weapons

BERGEN COUNTY, N.J. — North Jersey police are stockpiling some of the most sophisticated tactical and assault weapons on the market, but some residents question the need for such firepower in sleepy suburban towns.

Nearly half the agencies in a Record survey of 44 police departments said they own tactical weapons or plan to purchase them in the near future. Most departments are buying semiautomatic guns capable of one to three shots per trigger pull, while a handful of departments have fully automatic weapons capable of firing 10 bullets a second. A few have military-grade M16s or urban rifles that can blast through body armor.

“You’re not looking at major crime in these towns,” said Eric Krasnov, a 26-year-old from Harrington Park who works in Tenafly.

St Mary’s is trying to close the very well needed psych unit.

Editors notePCJN has learnt that the St Marys psych unit is very well needed. And also would like the resident’s of passaic county to know that, the psych unit last week was completely full. So where would these 38 beds go? Also many of the Patients at st Mary’s psych facility are voluntarily going to the psych facility however if they have to travel they probably would not go. And many of the low income families would not be able to visit there loved ones. Which is very important for such patients

 The overburdened mental health system in North Jersey is closely monitoring the proposed closure of the 38-bed psychiatric unit at St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic County, assessing the potential domino effect on other providers if the state approves the closure, officials said yesterday.

Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pequannock and Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville are two likely destinations for many patients, said officials, who noted such a move would make it less-than-convenient for some Passaic County families to visit loved ones who are hospitalized.

St. Mary’s has a pending application with the state Department of Health and Senior Services to close its 40-year-old psychiatric unit. Hospital officials said they don’t have adequate funds to continue the operation.

A video of Rivera taking bribe hits Web.

A 40-second video showing former Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera accepting a bribe from FBI operatives has made its way onto the Internet.

U.S. District Court Judge Freda Wolfson released the footage to a reporter on Friday after sentencing Rivera to 21 months in prison and a $4,000 fine, after he pleaded guilty to extortion.

The video, first posted on The Star-Ledger’s Web site, shows Rivera seated in a parked car, chatting with one of the FBI’s cooperating witnesses, and accepting $5,000 cash and brochures from the fake company they allegedly represented.

Although the cooperating witnesses’ face is blurred in the video, Rivera is seen wearing a T-shirt, shaking hands with the man and exchanging quick pleasantries after accepting the bribe. Some of the conversation on the video is inaudible.

“As I told you I’m going to give you some brochures,” the FBI agent says to Rivera. “It’s only $5,000, but it’s a start. And I appreciate your help.”

Then, the agent adds, “Listen, that idea about the Passaic water, that’s fantastic.”

To which Rivera replied, “We have everybody there, everybody.”

“Well, they’ve got a big house on top of the hill,” the agent answered, chuckling.

Rivera then looks at the cooperating witness and smiles.

“Between him and I … easy, easy,” Rivera said.

“Sammy, I really appreciate it,” the cooperating witness said. “Thank you for your time.”

“Take care, baby,” Rivera said as he got out of the vehicle.

Greg Reinert, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, said the video was part of the federal prosecution’s sentencing brief.

The defense submitted its own video from family members asking the judge for leniency against the 61-year-old former Passaic mayor.

Prosecutors alleged that Rivera accepted the bribe and the promise of $50,000 to be sent to an overseas bank account from the cooperating witnesses, who posed as insurance brokers wanting contracts from the city.

The witnesses said they worked for Coastal Solutions LLC, a fake business. Rivera, in exchange, promised to use his influence with the City Council to get the brokers lucrative city contracts.

Rivera, as mayor of one of the cities that owned the Passaic Valley Water Commission, also bragged that he could get the brokers contracts with that agency.

The video is just one of hundreds of recorded tapes made during the FBI’s six-month corruption investigation, dubbed “Operation Broken Boards.”

The FBI probe led to the arrests last September of 11 public officials and a private citizen in New Jersey, including four from Passaic County – former Assemblyman Alfred Steele, D-Paterson, former Passaic City Councilmen Marcellus Jackson and Jonathan Soto.

Soto has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial, which is scheduled for the fall. NorthJersey.com

Ex-Mayor of Passaic Gets Nearly 2 Years in Prison

TRENTON (AP) — Samuel Rivera, the former mayor of Passaic, N.J., was sentenced on Friday to nearly two years in prison and fined $4,000 for accepting cash bribes in exchange for influencing city contracts.

Mr. Rivera, who was caught in a corruption scheme that netted 11 public officials, resigned last year after pleading guilty to attempted extortion.

Mr. Rivera, 61, admitted taking $5,000 in exchange for using his official influence to help a company become the city’s insurance broker. The company turned out to be an F.B.I. front.

The only explanation Mr. Rivera offered on Friday for his role in the scheme was “poor judgment.”

A former police officer, Mr. Rivera is among nearly two dozen New Jersey mayors charged with corruption since 2000.

Among the most well known is Sharpe James, the former mayor of Newark, who is set to surrender to prison officials next month. Mr. James was ordered to serve a 27-month sentence and pay a $100,000 fine for his role in the sale of city-owned properties at a discount.

We at PCJN wish our former Mayor the best of luck. And we acknowledge all the great things he has done for our city.

Holocaust Survivors’ funding falls victim to budget crunch

Jewish activists are lamenting the death of a bill in the State Legislature that would have provided $500,000 for services to Holocaust survivors.

The combined monies were intended for programs administered chiefly by local Jewish federations, including counseling, case management, home care, and semi-monthly survivors’ gatherings called Cafe Europa.

“The funding was contained in a supplemental appropriations bill,” said State Sen. Robert Gordon (D-Dist. 38), one of the bill’s prime sponsors. He said he wasn’t sure just how it was removed but did say it fell victim to the state’s financial crunch.

“The state is broke,” explained Gordon. “We are going to wind up closing hospitals. That is how dire things are. Things I submitted years ago that would have gone through without batting an eye were just slashed out of the budget.”

The New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations, which would have distributed the funds to individual federations, began seeking the appropriation in April.

Ex-Passaic mayor awaits sentencing for corruption

TRENTON, N.J. - Former Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court in Trenton Friday.

Rivera resigned last year after he pleaded guilty to attempted extortion. He faces up to two years behind bars.

Rivera admitted he accepted $5,000 in cash to influence government contracts.

The former mayor was snared in an investigation that began in 2006 amid evidence of corruption in the Pleasantville school district near Atlantic City. The FBI established an undercover insurance company that employed two cooperating witnesses and undercover agents. News Source  Newsday/pcjn

$200K-plus

By HEATHER APPEL, STAFF WRITER | 08/14/08 04:02 AM http://Myheraldnews.com

About 40 in Paterson made at least $90,000 Three Passaic County public schools chiefs earned more than $200,000 a year as of January 2008, according to a list released Wednesday by the state Department of Education that details the salaries and benefit packages for every administrator statewide.

The report also shows that a Bergen County superintendent is one of two in New Jersey whose compensation topped the $300,000 mark.

The data was released just three months after Keansburg Schools Superintendent Barbara Trzeszkowski, 60, retired with a $740,000 severance package, which included compensation for years of unused vacation and sick days.

The state Attorney General’s Office has since filed suit in Superior Court to declare the severance payout “null and void.”

THE KOSHER PHONE: The Yeshivas want them. Does your child have one?

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(We also ship anywhere in the continental US.)

Finally, a Phone that is Kosher enough for you and your family!

Many Yeshivas are taking cautionary measures to ensure their students stay in Yeshiva is safeguarded from outside disturbances. Parents are encouraged to ensure their children only carry the Kosher Phone to eliminate the use of the internet and messaging. Various Yeshivas are implementing a KOSHER PHONE ONLY POLICY so check with your child’s school before the school year begins.

The Kosher Phone has competitive plans to choose from including Family Plans, and a free phone is provided with all two year activations. Additional discounts are available for students. At “One Hour Cellular” we are committed to serving the needs of the community. Stop in or call for more information on the “Kosher Phone.” Take control of your child’s cell phone experience.

Wishing you a very healthy and safe summer, we look forward to speaking with you soon. 

We at PCJN highly recommend this phone for the safety of your children’s neshamas. Also note this is not a paid advertisement.          News Source Shmais.com/Pcjn

FBI (New York) #1 most wanted female in the world in custody

NEW YORK- Michael J. Garcia, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Mark J. Mershon, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Raymond W. Kelly, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York, announced today the arrest of Aafia Siddiqui on charges related to her attempted murder and assault of United States officers and employees in Afghanistan. Siddiqui arrived in New York this evening and will be presented tomorrow before a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. According to the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:

On July 17, 2008, officers of the Ghazni Province Afghanistan National Police (“ANP”) observed Siddiqui outside the Ghazni governor’s compound. ANP officers questioned Siddiqui, regarded her as suspicious, and searched her handbag. In it, they found numerous documents describing the creation of explosives, as well as excerpts from the Anarchist’s Arsenal. Siddiqui’s papers included descriptions of various landmarks in the United States, including in New York City. Siddiqui was also in possession of substances that were sealed in bottles and glass jars.

On July 18, 2008, a party of United States personnel, including two FBI special agents, a United States Army Warrant Officer, a United States Army Captain, and United States military interpreters, arrived at the Afghan facility where Siddiqui was being held. The personnel entered a second floor meeting room — unaware that Siddiqui was being held there, unsecured, behind a curtain.

The Warrant Officer took a seat and placed his United States Army M-4 rifle on the floor next to the curtain. Shortly after the meeting began, the Captain heard a woman yell from the curtain and, when he turned, saw Siddiqui holding the Warrant Officer’s rifle and pointing it directly at the Captain. Siddiqui said, “May the blood of [unintelligible] be directly on your [unintelligible, possibly head or hands].” The interpreter seated closest to Siddiqui lunged at her and pushed the rifle away as Siddiqui pulled the trigger. Siddiqui fired at least two shots but no one was hit. The Warrant Officer returned fire with a 9 mm service pistol and fired approximately two rounds at Siddiqui’s torso, hitting her at least once.

Despite being shot, Siddiqui struggled with the officers when they tried to subdue her; she struck and kicked them while shouting in English that she wanted to kill Americans. After being subdued, Siddiqui temporarily lost consciousness. The agents and officers then rendered medical aid to Siddiqui.

Campers jump at chance to help at the YM-YWHA Jewish Community Center

CLIFTON — Alex Braun, 4, usually jumps rope just for fun.

But Friday afternoon, Alex was among about 100 children ages 3 to 12 who participated in a “Jump-A-Thon” to raise money for Parents of Autistic Children, a non-profit autism advocacy group.

The children were all campers at four summer camps housed at the YM-YWHA Jewish Community Center on Scoles Avenue.

“We raised money to buy Band-Aids for the kids who have boo-boos,” Alex said.

During the event, which took place on a field near the community center, camp counselors counted how many jumps their charges could complete in 10 or 20 minutes, depending on their age. Parents and other supporters pledged to donate between 25 cents and $1 per jump.

Sarah DePeri, 10, of Clifton, said she jumped 110 times in 10 minutes. Why?

“Because we wanted to help raise money for the sick people,” she said.

Gary Weitzen, executive director of the Brick-based Parents of Autistic Children, attended the Jump-A-Thon and handed out hats and wristbands to the children.

Camp officials said they didn’t know how much money was raised Friday. Last year, the Jump-A-Thon raised $5,300.

“They all enjoyed it,” said Mike Vallila, director of YM-YWHA’s KinderCamp and K’ Ton Ton summer camps. “They had a good time.”

Alex Cabrera, 10, said he wanted to get involved because one of his close friends is autistic. His favorite part of the Jump-A-Thon?

“Falling on the floor all sweaty,” he said.

Reach Jennifer H. Cunningham at 973-569-7162 or cunningham@northjersey.com.

Clifton woman arrested in $10 million con

 By Herald News 08/12/08 11:35 AM

Federal authorities arrested a Clifton woman Tuesday morning on a charge that she stole $10 million through a Ponzi scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark said in a press release.

Marcia Sladich, 50, was arrested at her home by FBI special agents and U.S. Postal Service inspectors, authorities said. She was charged with one count of mail fraud. She allegedly solicited hundreds of investors, many of whom belonged to her church, to invest in Kay Services, LLC, a purported real estate investment firm she operated, authorities said. But Sladich did not make investments on behalf of her investors, authorities said. Instead, she allegedly spent the money for her own personal use, including at least $400,000 in real estate purchases in Florida and Brazil, according to the federal complaint against her.

To keep her scheme going, Sladich used new investor money to make required payments to existing investors, authorities said. Sladich’s attorney, Ravinder Bhalla of Hoboken, said his client plans to plead not guilty to the fraud charge when she is arraigned Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Newark.

– Ed Beeson

Chinese teens in passaic see benefits of Olympics

Visit Passaic as part of 2-week tour

The students, boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 16, traveled to the Northeast to take in American culture and learn about education.

With the Olympics in full swing, some students were more than happy to see China hosting the mega international event and were OK with the fact that they weren’t home to experience it.

“It can introduce China to the people all over the world,” 15-year-old Lu Fong said, “to let people know more about China, and a chance to know that China is making progress.”

Meanwhile, classmate Xiao Feng said the group watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic last week in hotel rooms in Washington, D.C., and sang songs together.

“We are so excited and proud of our country,” said the smiling 13-year-old Feng. “We love China.”

The New Jersey chapter of America Asia Amity Association hosted the teenagers during their 15-day-tour, which included visits to New York, Washington, Boston, Irvington and Philadelphia.

NY/NJ Port Authority workers get free E-ZPass

TRENTON, N.J. -New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s office on Monday repeated calls for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to discontinue giving free E-ZPass tags to employees and retirees.

“The governor thinks this is an inappropriate practice, that E-ZPass should be used for business purposes. This is something that should be corrected,” said Corzine spokesman Jim Gardner.

Nearly 7,600 Port Authority employees and retirees have free E-ZPass tags for all trips across Hudson River and Staten Island crossings operated by the agency.

The perk was disclosed in The Sunday Star-Ledger of Newark, which reported that the benefit cost the Port Authority roughly $1 million over the last year.

Passaic Resident Taxed for Basements and Attics they are Not Allowed to Live in, Gary Schaer Thinks it’s Fair.

By MEREDITH MANDELL, STAFF WRITER | 08/08/08 04:02 AM

Dorothy Blostein sits in her attic on Ascension Street in Passaic. She has lived here for 44 years and says a recent reassessment that includes her attic is unfair. (KEVIN R. WEXLER/Staff Photographer)

City reassesses space in 1,000 homes

PASSAIC — Roughly 1,000 city homeowners will be paying hundreds more in their quarterly tax bills this year because the city has adjusted its assessment for basements and attics that have been untaxed for more than a decade.

Tax bills sent out in July reflect the changes, and some residents are complaining that the city failed to give them advance notice.

City Tax Assessor Thomas Poalillo said that, because of a computer error, for 16 years about 1,000 homeowners had been paying a lower amount in taxes than they should have as a result of their property being incorrectly assessed.

Poalillo said Appraisal Consultants, the company that did the city’s last revaluation in 1992, put the wrong amount of livable space these residents have into the city’s tax assessments computer database.

Poalillo said that last year he decided to correct the error by 2008 and add these people’s attics and basements as part of their assessments.

“From 1992 to 2008, these people weren’t paying taxes on the correct assessment,” he said.

“It’s my job to treat everyone equally. Now everyone is being assessed correctly. Now everyone is on the same playing field.”

Dorothy Blostein has been living in her two-story house at 168 Ascension St. for 44 years and said she never has been assessed for her attic.

The assessment on her home went up $15,000 this year, which translates into a tax increase of $909 a year under the current tax rate.

Standing on the stairs of her dusty wooden attic on Thursday, the 79-year-old Blostein said she was shocked in July when she received her third- and fourth-quarter bills for 2008.

“You can see it’s not finished,” Blostein said, looking at the various objects she keeps in her attic: suitcases, a box of photo albums, an old computer and speakers. “It’s just junk,” she said, her voice beginning to rise.

Schaer wants bus shelters, Rivera had opposed them because “they attract nuisances such as the homeless, public urination and graffiti,” and Jewish residents concerned about inappropriate ads.

by PCJN Staff, with some quotes and information from a Herald news article by Karen Keller.

Passaic, NJ — Acting Mayor Gary Schaer would like a private company to install bus shelters in Passaic, in return for advertising rights. Of the city’s 119 NJ Transit bus stops, only three have shelters. Schaer himself takes a public bus from the intersection of Van Houten and Main avenues to his finance job in Manhattan at least twice a week.

Schaer, also a state assemblyman, pushed for the concept in January, But Samuel Rivera, then the mayor, said he didn’t want shelters. Rivera said he believes they attract nuisances such as the homeless, public urination and graffiti.

Many residents rely on buses in Passaic, where 31 percent of city residents over age 16 do not have access to a car, according to the Census. Statewide, 6 percent of adults don’t have car access.

With the rising cost of gas, that figure is likely to increase.

“The cost of gasoline is such that (riding the bus) is the way everyone is going,” Schaer said.

Many residents of Passaic have expressed concern about the shelters. Shelters in other cities are known to attract undesirables, litter, and even used drug needles. Jewish residents are also concerned about the appropriateness of the ads, in terms of modesty. Often, oversized images of barely-clad females can be seen at bus shelters throughout city’s that have them. A local Passaic Rabbi, on condition of anonymity told a PCJN staff member, “better to get wet in the rain occasionally, than have ourselves and our children exposed to constant schmutz (filth)!”

On the blog PassaicJews, poster Kalman Eller writes: “Any way to make sure that the ads are not a-la-Times Square?”

A quick search of the words “bus shelter ad” on Google Image Search, reveals images of a number of highly inappropriate ads on the first results page alone.

Passaic Numero Uno for Mexican firms

By KAREN KELLER, STAFF WRITER | 08/10/08 04:00 Am

Bianca Gonzalez talks about her business, Nicomex, in Passaic. First Street in Passaic, with its increasing number of Mexican food distributors, has become the largest hub for Mexican goods in the tri-state area. (Photos by David Bergeland/Staff Photographer)

Food distribution sales now in ‘tens of millions’

PASSAIC — The city’s First Street business district has a decidedly Mexican flavor these days.

With recent openings, Passaic is now the largest hub of Mexican food distributors on the East Coast. Roughly 20 such businesses have opened in the city in recent years, likely lured here because Passaic has the largest Mexican-born population in New Jersey, entrepreneurs said.

Puebla Foods was the first company to settle here, in the late 1970s. Juarez Wholesale opened just two weeks ago. The warehouses sell products that Mexican hearts and bellies yearn for, such as a chocolate-based mole sauce, cactus leaves and even Mexican-made marshmallows.

Everyone has a personal favorite.

“Chiles!” said Eric Suarez, 21, a customer in the parking lot of GroMex, the largest distributor in Passaic, as he loaded boxes into a truck destined for a local corner store. “Mexicans want them really spicy, burning!” he explained.

Ray Carrera, president of the city’s 25-member United Mexican Chamber of Commerce, founded in 2006, savors the blossoming industry — literally and intellectually. Carrera grew up in Lodi and remembers being one of just a few Mexicans in North Jersey, feeling out of place among ethnic groups such as the Italians and Irish.

Now, nearly one out of every five Passaic city residents is Mexican.

“I feel right at home,” said Carrera, who now lives in Passaic.

Carrera isn’t worried that the sluggish national economy and tighter immigration laws will threaten the industry. Business is guaranteed to increase based on the current population, he said.

“It’s growing merely because the Mexicans are having kids,” Carrera said.

He estimated the annual sales of the local Mexican foods distributors at “tens of millions of dollars.”

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, the national Hispanic population, already the largest minority group, will triple in size and account for most of the nation’s population growth from 2005 through 2050.

Mexicans comprise the largest Hispanic group in the U.S., with 11.6 million in 2006, or a third of all Hispanics.

Passaic “Hotel” — a drug den, and “low-life” residence to close.

Click here for a gallery of images from the derelict Passaic “Hotel”

By KAREN KELLER, HERALD NEWS STAFF WRITER | 08/03/08 02:02 AM

PASSAIC — Ernest Robert Parsons, Jr., 34, has lived with his mother in the same room of the Passaic Hotel since he was 4 years old.

It has no kitchen, which means they’ve eaten a lot of cold cuts.

Their neighbors have included prostitutes, drug dealers and those people whose last high stopped their pulse.

The short-on-luck and seekers of illicit fixes come to the Passaic Hotel because it’s cheap: Thirty-five bucks pays for a bed in a small room, or three hours in a big room.

But the city’s only hotel, open for business since before the Great Depression, is also a place many call home: some, for years, others, for as long as their government voucher lasts. Most of the 34 rooms have no bathroom. There is no room service. But the three-story hotel is safer and allows for more independence than homeless shelters, and it almost always has a vacancy.

Now the Passaic Hotel, like some of its residents, has run out of options.

Next year, the state plans to knock it down. In its place will rise a preschool and administrative offices.

NYU Grad Students Propose Turning Passaic’s Tallest Building — Currently an Abandoned Eyesore — Into High-Class Apartments.

By MEREDITH MANDELL, HERALD NEWS STAFF WRITER

Michael Stanco discusses a sales strategy for Passaic’s Bank Tower on Thursday as part of a final project in a real estate development class at NYU. (LESLIE BARBARO/Staff Photographer)

NYU students see future in Bank Tower

If a group of NYU students had it their way, they would convert the city’s tallest building, now filled with asbestos, pigeons and mold, into a luxury residential tower for yuppies.

Four graduate business students presented a redevelopment plan for the Bank Tower at 663 Main Ave. Thursday evening, as part of their final class project for professor Michael Zampetti’s real estate development class at New York University. The class is a requirement to graduate from the university’s Schack Institute of Real Estate.

The students proposed converting the dilapidated former bank and office building into 54-unit luxury one- and two-bedroom residential rental units with a 24-hour concierge, gym, library and recreation room. The ground floor of the 11-story building would include an anchor retailer, a fast-food restaurant and a dry cleaner.

The group’s project would target young professionals. After five years, the owners would sell the units as condos. Based on market research, the students estimated the units could rent for between $1,100 and $2,800 including utilities, and sell for $182,000 to $394,000.

Scott Masonis, 33, who works part time at Deutsche Bank, said out of the four sites in the tri-state area the students could choose to study, Passaic’s bank building seemed to be the toughest. Masonis is the group’s team leader.

Passaic Police Brutality Case Settled

By MEREDITH MANDELL, STAFF WRITER | 08/07/08 04:01 AM <!–| 155 hits –>

Man alleges city police officers beat him in 2006

PASSAIC — The City Council has approved settling a lawsuit involving a city resident who claims three Passaic police officers brutally beat him.

The terms of the settlement with Manuel Escalante, approved unanimously at Tuesday night’s council meeting, were not disclosed.

Escalante filed a civil-rights action against the city in U.S. District Court alleging city police officers violated his constitutional rights and that the Police Department improperly investigated citizen complaints of police misconduct and inadequately trained and supervised its officers.

Thomas Walters, of the law firm Bolan Jahnsen & Reardon, who represented the city, said the settlement does not mean that the officers are guilty.

“There is no admission of liability on the part of any defendants,” he said.

City Business Administrator Greg Hill said he could not comment on the specifics of Escalante’s case since the settlement was confidential.

Escalante alleged that two years ago he was inside a bar when three Passaic police officers — Enrique Torres, Joseph Crisostomo and James Lane — entered, supposedly looking for someone with a handgun. The officers then arrested him for aggravated assault and resisting arrest. Escalante said that one of them beat his head with a flashlight as he tried to defend himself. Escalante said he had open head wounds but the officers did not allow him to stay overnight in the hospital for observation.

Escalante also alleged that the police officers tried to cover up their excessive use of force by conspiring to falsify documents, procure false statements and plant evidence against him.

Deadly Crash in Clifton (Herald article says Route 46, then says Route 3, you figure it out!)

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 NorthJersey.com MICHAEL J. FEENEY STAFF WRITER

A man was killed in a car crash on Route 46 in Clifton after his SUV hit a tree early this morning, police said.

The unidentified victim crashed his 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer on Route 3, near Grove Street around 1:30 a.m., said police Lt. John Link. There were no other passengers or vehicles involved in the accident.

The vehicle, heading westbound on Route 3, struck a curb, continued onto a grass area and crashed into a tree, Link said. It was raining at the time of the accident, Link said, but it wasn’t known if that played a factor.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, the lieutenant said. His identity is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification.

The highway was closed for about four hours this morning but has since been reopened.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Anyone with information regarding the crash is asked to call Clifton police at 973-470-5906.

E-mail: feeney@northjersey.com

Israel – Organization to Start Training Rabbis on Marriage Counseling

Israel – A newly launched course trains rabbis to engage in family and marital counseling and give advice on marital problems in order to help the religious sector deal with these rather sensitive issues.

The course focuses on psychological aspects and family relationships, said Rina Wasserman, Vice Chairperson of Emunah (Religious Women’s Organization) Israel, which has initiated the course.

“Many people have no authority to give answers on those issues, yet they do, and this may harm the person seeking the advice. Sometimes they (the advice givers) themselves aren’t familiar with the subject. We must extend the limits of Halacha and those fluent in it to intimate matters too. The goal is to provide an immediate response to the religious community’s problems.”

The first course in training rabbis to become marriage counselors has recently ended, equipping 25 Orthodox rabbis with professional tools to offer couples’ therapy and counseling. During the course, the rabbis took a couples’ workshop with their wives, acquiring techniques related to counseling and learning how to handle questions in this field.

Wasserman, who handles Emunah’s family services and is in charge of running the course, explained that many religious couples rely on their rabbis to answer their intimacy problems, and therefore their advice must be extensive: “We would like to have the rabbis acknowledge the professional, counseling and academic systems so that they can refer people to get professional help when the problem requires a more profound intervention.”

“We are no longer living in an era where problems are kept at home,” Wasserman concludes. “The communities’ rabbis are catalysts for change within the family, and one should praise rabbis who are willing to take up such sensitive matters.” -vosizneias.com

[Editors Note: Without naming any individuals, there are unfortunately those within the Passaic Jewish community who give advice and counseling on marital issues without any training or real understanding of how to deal with such issues -- often with disastrous results.

We recommend that those individuals stop giving such counseling, and leave it to those who are trained and competent.]

Teaneck to give vets parking-lot perks

TEANECK – The township will establish courtesy parking spaces for veterans in two of its municipal lots. (Former Mayor) Councilman Elie Katz , who came up with the idea, said the gesture is a way of thanking veterans for their service.

“It is because of our veterans that we as Americans can enjoy all of our rights and liberties,” he said. Signs will ask drivers to reserve the spaces for veterans. NorthJersey.com

Police subdue man with two machetes and Police Officer in Passaic gets hit.

A police officer convinced a man waving two machetes to put both weapons down and surrender following a brief chase, authorities said today.

“These officers did an outstanding job — they showed a lot of restraint,”  said West Milford Police Chief Paul Costello.

Police received a call around 7:30 last night from a family member who said Erich Bujese, 43, of Otterhole Road, was threatening to harm himself and other family members.

Costello said his department alerted nearby towns and Bujese’s 1997 Ford Ranger pickup was spotted heading toward West Milford by Greenwood Lake, N.Y., police.

West Milford Officer Jill Brickman tried to pull Bujese over on Lakeside Road, but he kept driving toward Ringwood, police said.

Officers pursued Bujese until he pulled into a boat launch area for Monksville Reservoir and got out of the truck holding both machetes, each with an 18-inch blade.

“Officer Joseph Nevin was able to persuade Mr. Bujese to put down the machetes and hand over his driver’s license,” Costello said. “When he put down the machetes to get his license, he was subdued by the officers.”

Bujese was brought to St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic for observation.

There, Costello reported, Bujese took a swing at and hit Officer Greg Post Jr., who didn’t require treatment.

Bujese is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, driving under the influence, eluding police officers, menacing and threatening a police officer, resisting arrest, and a list of motor vehicle infractions. He is being held at the Passaic County Jail on $50,000 bail.

NJ Attorney General ticketed for speeding

TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey’s top law enforcement officer will soon have a blemish on her driving record.

Attorney General Anne Milgram was ticketed for speeding Friday.

Milgram was driving her 1994 Honda Accord on Route 1 South when she was clocked at 69 mph in a 50 mph zone. She was pulled over in North Brunswick.

Milgram said she plans to pay the $176 fine. She’ll also receive four points against her license. “I made a mistake and know what I did was wrong. I take responsibility for driving too fast,” she said in a statement issued by her office.

Milgram was the first assistant attorney general when former Attorney General Zulima Farber was forced from office after six months on the job amid a ticket scandal involving Farber’s boyfriend.

Farber, who resigned in August 2006, showed up at the scene after her longtime boyfriend was pulled over for failing to wear a seat belt and ticketed for having a suspended license and driving an improperly registered vehicle.

A special prosecutor found that Farber didn’t commit a crime by going to the scene, but she was found to have violated ethics provisions barring state officials from accepting favors because of their position. Farber resigned the day the report was issued.

Farber herself had 12 speeding tickets, four bench warrants issued for her after she failed to show up for court appearances and three license suspensions.

The Attorney General’s Office said this is Milgram’s first speeding ticket. Newsday.com

Imam finds passionate ally in Rabbi

Friendship on display during deportation hearings

One witness’s testimony riveted the courtroom at the deportation trial of a Muslim spiritual leader accused by U.S. officials of having had ties to Hamas.

It was the account of David Senter, an Orthodox-trained rabbi from Pompton Lakes, in defense of Imam Mohammad Qatanani as a man of peace and love and an asset to America.

Senter’s words, tearful at times, and the mere sight of him — a man in a yarmulke speaking out for a Palestinian imam accused of ties to Israel’s avowed enemy — brought a hush to the courtroom.

“For many in my community, it was unexpected support they saw,” Qatanani, 44, said recently in his office at the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson.

Immigration Court Judge Alberto Riefkohl is expected to decide next month whether to grant Qatanani, who came to this country in 1996 on a religious visa, permanent U.S. residency. If Riefkohl rejects Qatanani’s petition, immigration officials could deport him.

Senter’s testimony cemented a friendship between the two men that began four years ago at an interfaith meeting filled with doubt and reluctance.

Their roots, after all, are in territories that are at war with each other, tainted with the blood of so many — soldiers, civilians, paramilitaries, freedom fighters, terrorists, fathers, mothers, children.

Senter, who grew up in Jersey City, lived on the West Bank as a young man, constructing homes in what Palestinians condemn as occupied lands, and ready to use the Uzi on his shoulder.

“I had some positive experiences, and some negative experiences, with Arabs” said Senter, rabbi of the conservative Congregation Beth Shalom and a staunch supporter of Israel.

Qatanani grew up on the West Bank and, like many Palestinians, harbored resentment toward Israel. When he was 10 years old, Qatanani recalled, his father took him to a house in Jafa, a port city on the Mediterranean.

“He said ‘This was our house,’ and he was crying,” Qatanani said, with visible anguish. “A Jewish family was living there. Israel just took our homes.”

The vestiges of their ancestral enmities followed them to North Jersey decades later.

At their first meeting, they approached each other tepidly.

“I’d had interfaith dialogue with Jews before,” Qatanani said. But those meetings tended to stay cordial, diplomatic. “When I met [Senter] for the first time, it was new. There is the history — always — of the Muslims and Jews. In the history of Palestine, there’s the conflict, the misunderstandings.”

Senter is blunt about that first meeting.

“I was frightened when I first saw him,” said Senter, 47. “He had the cap and the robe; he was the image I had seen on TV of Hamas leaders talking about the rockets they’d fired at Israel. I shook his hand, but reluctantly.”

At the time, Qatanani was gaining a statewide reputation as a pillar of moderation in the Muslim community. He was one of the first imams in the nation to publicly condemn terrorism after the 2001 attacks. He urged his congregation to be less insular and to become part of the larger American community.

The image that initially haunted Senter hovered over the imam’s four-day trial in Immigration Court in Newark in May and June. Prosecutors for the Department of Homeland Security contrasted the popular reputation of Qatanani as a peace-loving interfaith leader with a portrait of a man with a dark, lesser-known past.

The imam, his wife and three of his six children (the others were born in the U.S.) face deportation because immigration officials say Qatanani lied on his 1999 green card application when he said he’d never been arrested or convicted of a crime.

Immigration officials say Israeli authorities told them that Qatanani had been detained for three months and convicted of having had ties to the militant group Hamas, which Israel and the United States have designated as a terrorist organization.

During his trial, and in numerous press interviews, Qatanani denied ever having ties to Hamas. He said he didn’t disclose the detention in his green card application because the Israelis had never told him he was convicted of a crime. He said Israelis routinely detained Palestinian men at the time and added that he’d been tortured for much of his three-month detention.

“When I first heard about the torture, I couldn’t believe it,” Senter said. “That kind of treatment is clearly not a Jewish value. My first thought was ‘It can’t be true.’ ”

But then an expert on the Israeli judicial system testified that the harsh treatment described by Qatanani had been commonly applied at the time. The expert noted that the Israeli authorities’ interrogation tactics were outlawed by the Israeli Supreme Court in 1999.

“I thought, ‘My God, this really happened,’ ” Senter said.

But he reconciled the painful realization.

“Israel is a self-correcting society,” he said. “The Supreme Court outlawed the torture.”

In the imam’s fight against deportation, Senter has emerged as one of his most passionate allies.

In the courtroom, before the trial, Senter, a towering figure at 6-foot-4, grasped the hands of the imam, a diminutive man who is slightly over 5 feet, and said a prayer for him in Hebrew, then in English.

On the witness stand, and in press releases, he condemned a government prosecutor’s reference to a Quran passage that the imam had uttered in a sermon.

“Quoting the Quran out of context in an effort to discredit the imam is frightening,” Senter wrote in an e-mail to the press. “The same thing can be done with the Torah or Christian Scripture in an effort to cast a shadow on any religious leader. I was shocked that a representative of the U.S. government would use the tactics of hatemongers in an effort to tip the scales of justice. Islam and the Quran are not on trial.”

They clung to and nurtured their friendship, despite great odds. Each faced criticism from their congregants as their interfaith efforts with each other’s house of worship grew.

“Our community was not ready for a dialogue with Jews,” Qatanani said. “People said: ‘How can you trust people who took our homes, who took Palestine?’

“They said Jews would never accept Muslims or Islam.”

Senter, whose synagogue begins services with a prayer for the Israeli Defense Forces, encountered similar skepticism. And though both men say their congregations have come a long way in supporting their friendship, and bonds have formed among some congregants, not everyone goes along with it.

Senter, in particular, was a target of angry words after his vehement support for the imam during the trial.

A Pittsburgh man wrote that Senter’s support of Qatanani was “… hurting your reputation and is damaging to the entire Jewish Nation. Please refrain from these continued public statements which bring shame on our community and our people.”

In a recent synagogue newsletter, Senter responded to his critics by saying: “Are there those who will look at him and automatically believe that the things being said about him are true? Absolutely. These people may constitute a significant grouping within the Jewish community.

“I, however, have a personal and professional relationship with this man.

He has put himself on the line personally and professionally to say that Jews and Muslims can and should peacefully co-exist. … Could I turn my back on him? Sure I could. I would be no better than the Christian clergy in Nazi Germany.”

The two men have gotten used to the stares they get when they — Senter, in his yarmulke, and Qatanani in his kufi and flowing Islamic robe — enter restaurants together to catch up with each other’s lives.

Senter has spoken at the mosque about the importance of forging bonds, but also about his support of the state of Israel and its right to defend itself. The imam has spoken at the synagogue.

“We used to not speak about politics,” Senter said. “I thought, we’re never going to agree, so why discuss it? But our friendship got to the point where we could disagree and still be fine.”

“I really care about him. He is a true friend,” said Qatanani.

They hope their ability to connect despite their differences will serve as a lesson.

“In the Middle East, there are some real boundaries that keep people apart,” Senter said. “Here, in this country, the only boundaries that exist are in our minds.” myheraldsnews.com

U.S. scientist in anthrax case reportedly kills himself

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A senior U.S. government scientist who helped investigate a series of deadly anthrax attacks in 2001 has died from an apparent suicide, just as the Justice Department was about to charge him with carrying out the attacks, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday. The newspaper identified the man as Bruce Ivins, 62, and said he had worked for the last 18 years at government biodefence research laboratories in Maryland. It quoted people familiar with Ivins, his suspicious death and the FBI investigation.

 It said Ivins had been informed of his impending prosecution shortly before his death on Tuesday after swallowing a massive dose of pain killers.

The anthrax was sent through the mail to media organizations and politicians shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The attacks killed five people, crippled national mail service, shut down a Senate office building and spread fear of further terrorism.Viewed as a skilled microbiologist, Ivins helped the FBI analyze materials recovered from one of the anthrax-tainted envelopes sent to a U.S. senator’s office in Washington, the newspaper said.

Trial of ex-official in Passaic postponed

  TRENTON– A judge on Thursday agreed to postpone the corruption trial of Jonathan Soto, a former Passaic city councilman, until the fall so that his lawyer can have more time to review the government’s evidence.

Soto, 33, is facing a 15-count indictment, including charges that he took $22,000 in bribes and solicited narcotics from undercover FBI operatives.

Soto appeared at an early afternoon hearing at U.S. District Court. Following a series of closed-door meetings between Judge Ann Thompson, Soto’s lawyer, Jose L. Ongay, and U.S. Attorneys David Bocian and Hope Olds, the judge agreed to allow Soto’s lawyer more time to review the hundreds of documents and tape recordings the government is using as evidence against his client.

Soto, dressed in a charcoal gray suit, remained silent throughout the five minute hearing.

Two weeks before, Ongay wrote the court asking for more time because he plans to file a motion to dismiss the charges due to “entrapment.” In addition, Ongay said he has not met enough times with his client, who has missed five appointments with him because of “health problems.”

Soto and Ongay quickly exited the courtroom after the hearing and declined to comment. Bocian, the U.S. attorney, also declined to comment.

After his arrest in September, a judge ordered Soto to get treatment for drug abuse and to receive mental-health counseling as a condition of his bail.

According to the March indictment, Soto told FBI agents in recorded conversations that he “wanted to go smoke.” The indictment did not specify what controlled substance Soto was referring to.

Soto’s father, Arturo Soto, 64, said in a telephone interview after the hearing that his son was never addicted to drugs. When asked what the court meant by “health problems,” Arturo Soto said, “That’s the first I’ve heard of it. No, no, no way. Maybe cause he’s gained weight. He’s heavy, you know.”

FBI agents arrested Soto, along with former Mayor Samuel Rivera and former Councilman Marcellus Jackson last September.

They were accused of taking bribes from undercover FBI agents in exchange for helping to get public contracts for a fake insurance company called Coastal Solutions LLC.

The three were among 11 public officials nabbed on corruption charges in a statewide FBI sting dubbed “Operation Broken Boards.”

Rivera and Jackson have already pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

Soto, a teacher at Lincoln Middle School in Passaic, has been suspended without pay since his indictment in March.

He has avoided speaking publicly and has kept a low profile. He is active in church, at Principe de Paz, where his father is pastor.

And he worked briefly as an election poll worker during the Democratic primary in February.

The next hearing is set for Sept. 12.

Soto’s trial is scheduled to begin October 27.  Myheraldnews.com