When the New Jersey State Attorney General's office served subpoenas at the Union County Improvement Authority where the Director is the Union County Democrat chairman Charlotte De Filippo just weeks before the general election in 2007, the Star-Ledger chose to suppress the news claiming it is their policy not to interfere with local elections.
As was previously posted on the County watchers: Election Day was November 4th, 2007. Appearing on the “Breaking News Page” of the NJ.com website and calling it “real time” news at 12:02 AM, Friday, November 9, and in the middle of the night, the Star Ledger announced that an investigation had been launched by state officials into the business and personal dealings of Charlotte DeFilippo the Chair of the Union County Democratic Committee and Director of the Union County Improvement Authority. The news article went on to explain that DeFilippo had been served with subpoenas in September and October so one could say that the Star-Ledger was “late in breaking the news”.
In direct contrast to that policy on Friday, May 30, 2008 just 4 days prior to the Primary Election, and today May 31 just 3 days prior to the Primary Election, in which Elizabeth Board of Education board member president, Armando Da Silva, an outspoken opponent of Elizabeth Mayor Bollwage and the Union County Democrat Committee is running for City council, the Star-Ledger chose to break a story and continue by publishing another story the following day about the Corzine Administration sending a team of inspectors to the Elizabeth school district that week after auditors alleged they have found far-reaching spending abuses. Lucille Davy, the state’s Education Commissioner whose husband James was in Governor James McGreevey’s cabinet and currently has a no-bid county consulting contract, issued the subpoena on behalf of the state Board of Education.
Quoted in today’s Ledger article is Kirk Nelson, general counsel for the Elizabeth board “The politicization of the state Board of Education is frightening on the weekend before a municipal election.”
What is more troubleling and of a great public concern is the Star-Ledger is Union County’s only daily newspaper and it appears they are playing politics in support of Senator Raymond Lesniak, Inc.
The Star-Ledger should include the names of those politicians who apparently are influencing their reporting on the mast head along with their editors and publisher.
Although they boast in advertisements that they are the most read newspaper in Union County The Star-Ledger has not had a reporter covering Union County government for over 9 months now.
May 31, 2008
May 29, 2008
Devanney is a god, he can go anywhere he wants on the taxpayers dime
The below is a photo of Senator Raymond Lesniak's nephew (green t-shirt), who is the appointed Union County Manager, George Devanney, leaving the Parisi Gym in Garwood early yesterday morning with Union County Police Chief Daniel Vaniska
Excerpt from the LAWS OF UNION COUNTY,NEW JERSEY ADMINISTRATIVE CODE & POLICIES AND GENERAL LEGISLATION Updated through 2-6-2008:
H. It shall be the policy of the County of Union that the use of a County-assigned vehicle by an employee shall be limited to official County business, and said vehicle shall not be used for personal purposes with the exception of authorized commuting use to and from the employee's workstation. [Added 1-23-1986 by Res. No. 69-86]
Below is a photo of Senator Raymond Lesniak's nephew, who is the appointed Union County Manager, George Devanney, approaching his unmarked County issued Dodge Durango (silver and Union County Police Chief Daniel Vaniska's unmarked county issued vehicle dark blue).
D. The County Manager shall implement this policy by revision and dissemination of new policies and procedures concerning motor vehicles within 60 days of the effective date of this article.
Below is a photo of Senator Raymond Lesniak's nephew, who is the appointed Union County Manager, George Devanney, getting into his unmarked County issued Dodge Durango thereby disregarding the Laws of Union County right in front of the police chief, and a fed-up taxpayer who snapped the photos.
Senator Raymond Lesniak's nephew will be turning in his 2005 Suburban, which was designed for heavy hauling and will be driving a new Chevy Tahoe any day now. According to their website the amenities are plentiful, inside and out. An array of 18" and 20" aluminum wheels announce you've arrived in style. Both large families and image-conscious urban professionals will appreciate the Chevrolet Tahoe for its superb blend of cargo room, towing power, and luxury amenities.
This Youtube promises that "all will worship you and your tahoe":
Excerpt from the LAWS OF UNION COUNTY,NEW JERSEY ADMINISTRATIVE CODE & POLICIES AND GENERAL LEGISLATION Updated through 2-6-2008:
H. It shall be the policy of the County of Union that the use of a County-assigned vehicle by an employee shall be limited to official County business, and said vehicle shall not be used for personal purposes with the exception of authorized commuting use to and from the employee's workstation. [Added 1-23-1986 by Res. No. 69-86]
Below is a photo of Senator Raymond Lesniak's nephew, who is the appointed Union County Manager, George Devanney, approaching his unmarked County issued Dodge Durango (silver and Union County Police Chief Daniel Vaniska's unmarked county issued vehicle dark blue).
D. The County Manager shall implement this policy by revision and dissemination of new policies and procedures concerning motor vehicles within 60 days of the effective date of this article.
Below is a photo of Senator Raymond Lesniak's nephew, who is the appointed Union County Manager, George Devanney, getting into his unmarked County issued Dodge Durango thereby disregarding the Laws of Union County right in front of the police chief, and a fed-up taxpayer who snapped the photos.
Senator Raymond Lesniak's nephew will be turning in his 2005 Suburban, which was designed for heavy hauling and will be driving a new Chevy Tahoe any day now. According to their website the amenities are plentiful, inside and out. An array of 18" and 20" aluminum wheels announce you've arrived in style. Both large families and image-conscious urban professionals will appreciate the Chevrolet Tahoe for its superb blend of cargo room, towing power, and luxury amenities.
This Youtube promises that "all will worship you and your tahoe":
May 26, 2008
Personally, I'd Rather Get the Chocolates
Any day now Union County residents will be getting a special Valentine from the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders. The Valentine will not be arriving in a red satin heart shaped box filled with Russell Stover’s Little Ambassadors nor delivered by the House of Flowers in Linden, one of the freeholders favorite vendors. Rather landing in mailboxes across the county will be the Spring edition of the renowned Union County Alliance’s publication “Directions”.
NOTE: In most past years the news letter would arrive just prior to the primary election and be jammed with the faces of incumbent Democratic elected officials who were seeking reelection. . Mysteriously last year the Spring ’07 edition was rather late and we can only speculate the reasons why the Freeholders would suddenly pass up a free drop of campaign literature. However, judging by their past performance that won’t be happening again this year.
On Valentine’s Day 2008 the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved the annual contract with the UC Alliance for the contract period of January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008 in the amount of $332,125 to provide comprehensive research and communications services.
The contract appears to overlap the preceding one year contract by six months which covered the period of July 1, 2007 through June 20, 2008 in the amount of $265,125. There does not appear to be any resolutions which account for the overlap in coverage or an adjustment of the contract costs. However it should be mentioned that the board also approved $29,000 (resolution 2007-797) for advertising in ’07.
In three years time, since January 2005 the Freeholder Board has forked over One Million, Two Hundred Seventy Eight Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventy Five Dollars, $1,278,875, of taxpayer hard earned money.
And for what? One might ask.
NOTE: In most past years the news letter would arrive just prior to the primary election and be jammed with the faces of incumbent Democratic elected officials who were seeking reelection. . Mysteriously last year the Spring ’07 edition was rather late and we can only speculate the reasons why the Freeholders would suddenly pass up a free drop of campaign literature. However, judging by their past performance that won’t be happening again this year.
On Valentine’s Day 2008 the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved the annual contract with the UC Alliance for the contract period of January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008 in the amount of $332,125 to provide comprehensive research and communications services.
The contract appears to overlap the preceding one year contract by six months which covered the period of July 1, 2007 through June 20, 2008 in the amount of $265,125. There does not appear to be any resolutions which account for the overlap in coverage or an adjustment of the contract costs. However it should be mentioned that the board also approved $29,000 (resolution 2007-797) for advertising in ’07.
In three years time, since January 2005 the Freeholder Board has forked over One Million, Two Hundred Seventy Eight Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventy Five Dollars, $1,278,875, of taxpayer hard earned money.
And for what? One might ask.
Answer: who knows!!
The Freeholders provide approximately 80% of the Alliance’s funding so one could think that they would be some type of an extension of government and thus subject to OPRA. The Alliance claims they are not and are unwilling to release requested documents regarding their activities and associated expenditures. (That is another story for another day and can be read about here in a previous blog or two or three.)
Curious as to what they have been up to lately and how they have been spending our money we decided to check it out. A visit to their website, just click here, http://www.ucalliance.com/index.htm provided absolutely no clues at all. Except for a change in their address, and advertising rates for the “ upcoming” Spring 2005 edition, the site has remained unchanged since 2004.
It is unbelievable that the UC Alliance has taken over $1.2 million of the taxpayers’ money in the course of the last three years and all that can be shown for that investment is two over blown newsletters annually in time for Election Days and an outdated website.
Happy Valentines Day from the Freeholders to the Residents of Union County……personally, I would rather get the chocolates.
The Freeholders provide approximately 80% of the Alliance’s funding so one could think that they would be some type of an extension of government and thus subject to OPRA. The Alliance claims they are not and are unwilling to release requested documents regarding their activities and associated expenditures. (That is another story for another day and can be read about here in a previous blog or two or three.)
Curious as to what they have been up to lately and how they have been spending our money we decided to check it out. A visit to their website, just click here, http://www.ucalliance.com/index.htm provided absolutely no clues at all. Except for a change in their address, and advertising rates for the “ upcoming” Spring 2005 edition, the site has remained unchanged since 2004.
It is unbelievable that the UC Alliance has taken over $1.2 million of the taxpayers’ money in the course of the last three years and all that can be shown for that investment is two over blown newsletters annually in time for Election Days and an outdated website.
Happy Valentines Day from the Freeholders to the Residents of Union County……personally, I would rather get the chocolates.
May 22, 2008
In loving memory of my son Geoffrey Gelfand
Submitted by: Dexter Gelfand
On April 15, my son Geoffrey Gelfand passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He experienced much unnecessary and unfortunate suffering at the hands of the powers that be during his imprisonment in Union County Jail in 2004. He was frequently denied medication for his removed thyroid, to the point where he was debilitated mentally and physically as often as not, and as his disease returned to his throat, causing bleeding, and pain to the point where eating was so difficult that he'd lose as much as 30 pounds a month. His jailers denied proper medical examination and treatment despite his pain and suffering, which was quite alarming to his cell mates.
The jail's idea of medical responsibility was to give him access to a doctor who told him "You're fine". Well, he wasn't fine at all. When he complained about pain and bleeding from his throat, this "doctor" callously responded, "You didn't care about that when you were out on the street, did you?", ordered no tests, and sent him back to his cell to suffer.
By the grace of God, after 6 months of degradation and suffering, my son Geoffrey was transferred to state prison. By this point his condition was so obviously dire that within 48 hours of the transfer he was mercifully brought to a hospital intensive care unit. I received a phone call from the prison to give me the horrifying news: my son had a new incidence of cancer. Had he remained in Union County jail, it would not have been long at all before he'd have expired. Ultimately, delay in treating his tumor necessitated his losing his voice box. He spent his last 2-1/2 years unable to speak.
Geoffrey spent the last months of his life preparing for his passage-more precisely, preparing others. He carefully planned out gifting his loved ones, spending time with them, saying all that he wanted to say, giving and leaving something for everyone. He spent much of his last year trying to prepare his father to be able to accept his coming passing. Despite his pain and fear, he was magnificently thoughtful of those he loved.
His character dwarfed that of the petty and small minded children charged with responsibilities at the Union County Jail. I hope each person who made that choice to be so inhuman to my son and others reads this story, and through some small miracle, in some slight way, feels just a little ping of conscience about what a vicious and hurtful being they have reduced their self to. Maybe, just a little bit, they will think about this the next time they find their self in a position to treat a defenseless prisoner with or without consideration for that person's well being.
On April 15, my son Geoffrey Gelfand passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He experienced much unnecessary and unfortunate suffering at the hands of the powers that be during his imprisonment in Union County Jail in 2004. He was frequently denied medication for his removed thyroid, to the point where he was debilitated mentally and physically as often as not, and as his disease returned to his throat, causing bleeding, and pain to the point where eating was so difficult that he'd lose as much as 30 pounds a month. His jailers denied proper medical examination and treatment despite his pain and suffering, which was quite alarming to his cell mates.
The jail's idea of medical responsibility was to give him access to a doctor who told him "You're fine". Well, he wasn't fine at all. When he complained about pain and bleeding from his throat, this "doctor" callously responded, "You didn't care about that when you were out on the street, did you?", ordered no tests, and sent him back to his cell to suffer.
By the grace of God, after 6 months of degradation and suffering, my son Geoffrey was transferred to state prison. By this point his condition was so obviously dire that within 48 hours of the transfer he was mercifully brought to a hospital intensive care unit. I received a phone call from the prison to give me the horrifying news: my son had a new incidence of cancer. Had he remained in Union County jail, it would not have been long at all before he'd have expired. Ultimately, delay in treating his tumor necessitated his losing his voice box. He spent his last 2-1/2 years unable to speak.
Geoffrey spent the last months of his life preparing for his passage-more precisely, preparing others. He carefully planned out gifting his loved ones, spending time with them, saying all that he wanted to say, giving and leaving something for everyone. He spent much of his last year trying to prepare his father to be able to accept his coming passing. Despite his pain and fear, he was magnificently thoughtful of those he loved.
His character dwarfed that of the petty and small minded children charged with responsibilities at the Union County Jail. I hope each person who made that choice to be so inhuman to my son and others reads this story, and through some small miracle, in some slight way, feels just a little ping of conscience about what a vicious and hurtful being they have reduced their self to. Maybe, just a little bit, they will think about this the next time they find their self in a position to treat a defenseless prisoner with or without consideration for that person's well being.
May 19, 2008
Water, Water Everywhere - Not Just in Cranford
Isn’t it a pity that the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders can silently erect a footbridge for the convenience of concert performers and their roadies in the blink of an eye yet a footbridge to ensure the daily safety of Cranford’s school kids apparently takes an act of God?
Isn’t it a pity that the Board of Chosen Freeholders justify dragging their feet when it comes to their complicity in Cranford’s flooding problems by putting the blame on Cranford’s governing body?
And isn’t it a pity that even though there is a Freeholder hailing from Cranford itself that that Freeholder, even when she was board chairwoman and up for reelection, didn’t position herself as a champion for the interests of central Union County residents, after all the water doesn’t stay in Cranford alone.
One has to wonder exactly why she recently decided to go on the attack against her home town rather than hold accountable the highest paid county employee for his lack of common courtesy to simply return a telephone call or two to an elected Cranford official. County Manager George Devanney has taken this tact before when he ignored the repeated telephone messages and requests for a call back from a Summit Councilwoman who was hot on the trail of information for the “Summit Report” on the relationship of county services received vs. county taxes levied against the municipality.
The county manager seems to repeatedly forget exactly what his role in county government really is, very simply put he is an employee, and an over paid one at that. That he has the audacity to not return the phone calls of elected municipal officials is cause for concern because he has admitted, in the Summit situation at least, that it was politically motivated . Devanney has inferred that there was no love lost between the all Democratic county administration and the Republican Common Council, but was confident that now that there was a Democratic Mayor in Summit that relationship and communications were sure to improve.
Perhaps Devanney has taken it upon himself to act as a self appointed monitor of which municipalities gain favor and which ones don’t. It is a sure bet that in the corporate world any CEO would receive his walking papers for not taking calls from a major investor. Residents of Summit and Cranford contribute a healthy chunk to the county coffers and therefore could certainly be considered major investors.
It is interesting that Freeholder Kowalski, rather than Chairman Estrada released a statement on behalf of the rest of the board and it is very obvious that the county information department drafted it for her.
As a life long Cranford resident Kowalski would be well acquainted with the history of flooding in the town. She certainly should be able to recall the flooding of her youth when in 1968, Springfield Ave, Nomahagen Park and parts of the Boulevard near the skeet range were under water as were many other parts of Central Union County near the county parks.
Surely she realizes the impact that Hurricane Floyd and the Tax Day Storm had on not only Cranford but her neighbors down river. But the tone of the statement almost makes her appear foolish and uninformed when she scolds her own mayor and governing body for not going through the proper channels. Perhaps Devanney in his infinite wisdom squelched any communications to open those channels and decided to put Cranford in its place.
Did it ever occur to the Freeholder that perhaps she could be pro-active? Did she at any point in this saga pick up the telephone or shoot the governing body an Email asking “yo, what is up here?” Does she read the local newspapers? Was she ever the least bit curious about what was going on, was she ever prompted to put a fire under anyone by following up with her state and federal representatives asking where does the county fit in?
An internet search for information on Rahway River Flooding turns up a plethora of government studies, reports and analysis going back decades from everyone from the Army Corp of Engineers to the DEP. There are those who would be surprised to learn that the City of Rahway uses the Rahway River that causes flooding in Cranford as its source of city drinking water. Also, in the early eighties that drinking water was contaminated with chemicals from manufacturing plants located on Fadem Road just off Route 22 in Springfield. That the same Rahway River that hosted canoe races caused flooding so bad in Rahway that they had to declare their public library a total loss and build a new one.
Cranford officials have long recognized that the flooding is a regional issue and not just confined to their town but where have the county freeholders been all of these years. One has to wonder why two long time freeholders Chester Holmes and Rick Procter both from Rahway have remained silent on the flooding issue even though they have also been heavily impacted in that city costing the taxpayers money. Could the anchor of the downtown revitalization, the Union County Performing Arts Center paid for by the county, somehow hold the answer?
To his credit Cranford Mayor Bob Puhak is trying to be optimistic now that he has recovered from getting Kowalski’s ill guided missive. Cranford would do well to proceed with caution when working with the county and it is imperative that they keep the residents and neighboring communities appraised of any discussions and progress that is made as the county has a knack of placing the blame for their own short comings and screw-ups on everyone else. And that would be a pity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahway_River
http://www.nan.usace.army.mil/project/newjers/factsh/pdf/rahwayba.pdf
Isn’t it a pity that the Board of Chosen Freeholders justify dragging their feet when it comes to their complicity in Cranford’s flooding problems by putting the blame on Cranford’s governing body?
And isn’t it a pity that even though there is a Freeholder hailing from Cranford itself that that Freeholder, even when she was board chairwoman and up for reelection, didn’t position herself as a champion for the interests of central Union County residents, after all the water doesn’t stay in Cranford alone.
One has to wonder exactly why she recently decided to go on the attack against her home town rather than hold accountable the highest paid county employee for his lack of common courtesy to simply return a telephone call or two to an elected Cranford official. County Manager George Devanney has taken this tact before when he ignored the repeated telephone messages and requests for a call back from a Summit Councilwoman who was hot on the trail of information for the “Summit Report” on the relationship of county services received vs. county taxes levied against the municipality.
The county manager seems to repeatedly forget exactly what his role in county government really is, very simply put he is an employee, and an over paid one at that. That he has the audacity to not return the phone calls of elected municipal officials is cause for concern because he has admitted, in the Summit situation at least, that it was politically motivated . Devanney has inferred that there was no love lost between the all Democratic county administration and the Republican Common Council, but was confident that now that there was a Democratic Mayor in Summit that relationship and communications were sure to improve.
Perhaps Devanney has taken it upon himself to act as a self appointed monitor of which municipalities gain favor and which ones don’t. It is a sure bet that in the corporate world any CEO would receive his walking papers for not taking calls from a major investor. Residents of Summit and Cranford contribute a healthy chunk to the county coffers and therefore could certainly be considered major investors.
It is interesting that Freeholder Kowalski, rather than Chairman Estrada released a statement on behalf of the rest of the board and it is very obvious that the county information department drafted it for her.
As a life long Cranford resident Kowalski would be well acquainted with the history of flooding in the town. She certainly should be able to recall the flooding of her youth when in 1968, Springfield Ave, Nomahagen Park and parts of the Boulevard near the skeet range were under water as were many other parts of Central Union County near the county parks.
Surely she realizes the impact that Hurricane Floyd and the Tax Day Storm had on not only Cranford but her neighbors down river. But the tone of the statement almost makes her appear foolish and uninformed when she scolds her own mayor and governing body for not going through the proper channels. Perhaps Devanney in his infinite wisdom squelched any communications to open those channels and decided to put Cranford in its place.
Did it ever occur to the Freeholder that perhaps she could be pro-active? Did she at any point in this saga pick up the telephone or shoot the governing body an Email asking “yo, what is up here?” Does she read the local newspapers? Was she ever the least bit curious about what was going on, was she ever prompted to put a fire under anyone by following up with her state and federal representatives asking where does the county fit in?
An internet search for information on Rahway River Flooding turns up a plethora of government studies, reports and analysis going back decades from everyone from the Army Corp of Engineers to the DEP. There are those who would be surprised to learn that the City of Rahway uses the Rahway River that causes flooding in Cranford as its source of city drinking water. Also, in the early eighties that drinking water was contaminated with chemicals from manufacturing plants located on Fadem Road just off Route 22 in Springfield. That the same Rahway River that hosted canoe races caused flooding so bad in Rahway that they had to declare their public library a total loss and build a new one.
Cranford officials have long recognized that the flooding is a regional issue and not just confined to their town but where have the county freeholders been all of these years. One has to wonder why two long time freeholders Chester Holmes and Rick Procter both from Rahway have remained silent on the flooding issue even though they have also been heavily impacted in that city costing the taxpayers money. Could the anchor of the downtown revitalization, the Union County Performing Arts Center paid for by the county, somehow hold the answer?
To his credit Cranford Mayor Bob Puhak is trying to be optimistic now that he has recovered from getting Kowalski’s ill guided missive. Cranford would do well to proceed with caution when working with the county and it is imperative that they keep the residents and neighboring communities appraised of any discussions and progress that is made as the county has a knack of placing the blame for their own short comings and screw-ups on everyone else. And that would be a pity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahway_River
http://www.nan.usace.army.mil/project/newjers/factsh/pdf/rahwayba.pdf
May 12, 2008
Sinclair suicide still haunts taxpayers
On March 24, 2008 another employee lawsuit was filed in Superior Court. Here are some excerpts of the complaint:
11. On May 10, 2003, Mr. Hamilton witnessed the suicide of a teenaged resident. This event left Mr. Hamilton psychologically scarred, and required extensive psychological care.
12. During this event, Mr. Hamilton entered the cell, loosened a sheet that had been tied around the teen’s neck, lowered the boy, removed the noose from around his neck, and immediately reported the incident and requested assistance for the resident as there was no onsite medical staff.
13. Mr. Hamilton reported to the shift commander, Senior Officer Louis Gray, that the room where the youth resident was being held was dangerous because it was a “suicide threat,” but because the facility was over crowded, the county disregarded safety protocol.
14. In fact, the youth’s parent’s sued the county as a result of this incident and revoked monies for the facilities wrongdoing.
19. …due to the work environment and the witnessing of the suicide, Mr. Hamilton took a leave of absence.
28. When Mr. Hamilton returned from his 10 ½ month leave of absence, he was placed back on the 7:00 am to 3:00 pm shift, however due to his depression, and the medication he was taking, he had great difficulties making the 7:00 am shift.
29. At this point, the county issued Mr. Hamilton a notice of discipline for “lateness.”
34. Mr. Hamilton again requested for a shift change, and formally applied for said shift change, but was again denied.
36. In 2006, after Mr. Hamilton returned to duty, and during said time, he witnessed an incident which involved a sexual relationship between a guard, and a youth resident which comprised of a daily fraternization and even sex.
37. Based upon a search of the youth’s room, Mr. Hamilton found handwritten letters that had lipstick and perfume, as well as typed written letters from the guard.
38. Mr. Hamilton submitted a report detailing his findings to Senior Officer Brian Koon.
39. Mr. Hamilton’s accurate report detailed the sexual relationship, which was also corroborated by other guards as well as evidence found in the youth’s room.
41. The acts of the guard where clearly illegal and of serious public importance and were being swept under the rug because of her close relationship with superiors.
43. The allegations of the sexual affair resulted in an investigation which found that Mr. Hamilton’s allegations were accurate.
Read complaint HERE
11. On May 10, 2003, Mr. Hamilton witnessed the suicide of a teenaged resident. This event left Mr. Hamilton psychologically scarred, and required extensive psychological care.
12. During this event, Mr. Hamilton entered the cell, loosened a sheet that had been tied around the teen’s neck, lowered the boy, removed the noose from around his neck, and immediately reported the incident and requested assistance for the resident as there was no onsite medical staff.
13. Mr. Hamilton reported to the shift commander, Senior Officer Louis Gray, that the room where the youth resident was being held was dangerous because it was a “suicide threat,” but because the facility was over crowded, the county disregarded safety protocol.
14. In fact, the youth’s parent’s sued the county as a result of this incident and revoked monies for the facilities wrongdoing.
19. …due to the work environment and the witnessing of the suicide, Mr. Hamilton took a leave of absence.
28. When Mr. Hamilton returned from his 10 ½ month leave of absence, he was placed back on the 7:00 am to 3:00 pm shift, however due to his depression, and the medication he was taking, he had great difficulties making the 7:00 am shift.
29. At this point, the county issued Mr. Hamilton a notice of discipline for “lateness.”
34. Mr. Hamilton again requested for a shift change, and formally applied for said shift change, but was again denied.
36. In 2006, after Mr. Hamilton returned to duty, and during said time, he witnessed an incident which involved a sexual relationship between a guard, and a youth resident which comprised of a daily fraternization and even sex.
37. Based upon a search of the youth’s room, Mr. Hamilton found handwritten letters that had lipstick and perfume, as well as typed written letters from the guard.
38. Mr. Hamilton submitted a report detailing his findings to Senior Officer Brian Koon.
39. Mr. Hamilton’s accurate report detailed the sexual relationship, which was also corroborated by other guards as well as evidence found in the youth’s room.
41. The acts of the guard where clearly illegal and of serious public importance and were being swept under the rug because of her close relationship with superiors.
43. The allegations of the sexual affair resulted in an investigation which found that Mr. Hamilton’s allegations were accurate.
Read complaint HERE
May 07, 2008
Employee lawsuit reveals ....
1. County sham seasonal employee hiring practices
2. County park lands are largely going unprotected from encroachment (too many votes to lose?)
3. Encroachers are pursued “selectively by the county depending on the identity of the encroacher”
4. County lost 5 million dollars in Green Acres funding because of mismanagement “Union County has the worst encroachment situation in the state” stated a Green Acres official.
Sham employee numbers
In a lawsuit filed in Superior Court on January 24, 2008, former county employee Catherine Alexander charges the county regularly avoids the law prohibiting the employment of a seasonal employee for longer than six months, the county engaged in a sham procedure by which they fired Alexander every six months and immediately rehired her without even notifying her and without her losing any time from work.
The complaint states “Union County has repeatedly engaged in a pattern and practice of illegally placing full-time employees in the “seasonal” category in order to avoid civil service tenure rights and to cheat them out of benefits.”
Seasonal employees also aren’t included in an employee “head count”. Remember that sham hiring freeze?
County lost over five million dollars in Green Acres funds
Alexander was singularly responsible to investigate and correct encroachments of publicly owned parklands of the county. Alexander was surprised and deeply concerned by the number and extent of the encroachments – literally in the hundreds. It was her job to identify, confirm and rectify each encroachment, appraising the county to take the necessary law enforcement and legal actions to ensure that the public parklands were stewarded according to the public trust and County and New Jersey Laws.
1,000 acres of the 6,000 acres of the county park system are currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The remaining acres have either been nominated or are considered eligible to be nominated to NRHP. However, Alexander was concerned that since an eligibility criterion for NRHP listing was the integrity of the originally designed boundaries, many acres could be rejected from the historic record that would otherwise have been accepted.
Alexander helped the county counsel’s office prepare two ordinances, the Tree Protection Ordinance and Encroachment of County Property ordinance which were passed in 2003. Alexander states in her complaint that she learned that actions against known encroachers in a growing number of egregious cases were pursued selectively by the county depending on the identify of the encroacher. Most wrongdoers were never pursued at all. (Imagine all of those votes they could lose). Not a single summons was issued by the County pursuant to the two Ordinances designed to fight the ever increasing encroachment problem.
After becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of action by the county she then contacted the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Green Acres, Bureau of land Stewardship, which oversees the open spaces within the State. Since Green Acres provides millions of State money to Union County in furtherance of Green Acres programs, it has the power to oversee the county in its proper use and maintenance of the parklands by imposing certain regulation and responsibilities.
On or about August, 2006 Alexander spoke with an employee of Green Acres and he advised that each and every encroachment, particularly once identified by the county, had to be addressed regardless of its size and the identity of the encroacher. The matter was turned over to Mike Hennahan, a Green Acres employee who concentrated on encroachment problems, after investigating county parkland boundaries and the encroachments Mr. Heenahan expressed his opinion that Union County had the worst encroachment situation in the state.
Upon information and belief, Green Acres subsequently withheld over five million dollars from Union County for its indifference to correcting its hundreds of encroachments of public parklands.
Alexander refused to bow to pressure to resign, and was terminated on April 20, 2007.
View complaint in its entirety HERE
2. County park lands are largely going unprotected from encroachment (too many votes to lose?)
3. Encroachers are pursued “selectively by the county depending on the identity of the encroacher”
4. County lost 5 million dollars in Green Acres funding because of mismanagement “Union County has the worst encroachment situation in the state” stated a Green Acres official.
Sham employee numbers
In a lawsuit filed in Superior Court on January 24, 2008, former county employee Catherine Alexander charges the county regularly avoids the law prohibiting the employment of a seasonal employee for longer than six months, the county engaged in a sham procedure by which they fired Alexander every six months and immediately rehired her without even notifying her and without her losing any time from work.
The complaint states “Union County has repeatedly engaged in a pattern and practice of illegally placing full-time employees in the “seasonal” category in order to avoid civil service tenure rights and to cheat them out of benefits.”
Seasonal employees also aren’t included in an employee “head count”. Remember that sham hiring freeze?
County lost over five million dollars in Green Acres funds
Alexander was singularly responsible to investigate and correct encroachments of publicly owned parklands of the county. Alexander was surprised and deeply concerned by the number and extent of the encroachments – literally in the hundreds. It was her job to identify, confirm and rectify each encroachment, appraising the county to take the necessary law enforcement and legal actions to ensure that the public parklands were stewarded according to the public trust and County and New Jersey Laws.
1,000 acres of the 6,000 acres of the county park system are currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The remaining acres have either been nominated or are considered eligible to be nominated to NRHP. However, Alexander was concerned that since an eligibility criterion for NRHP listing was the integrity of the originally designed boundaries, many acres could be rejected from the historic record that would otherwise have been accepted.
Alexander helped the county counsel’s office prepare two ordinances, the Tree Protection Ordinance and Encroachment of County Property ordinance which were passed in 2003. Alexander states in her complaint that she learned that actions against known encroachers in a growing number of egregious cases were pursued selectively by the county depending on the identify of the encroacher. Most wrongdoers were never pursued at all. (Imagine all of those votes they could lose). Not a single summons was issued by the County pursuant to the two Ordinances designed to fight the ever increasing encroachment problem.
After becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of action by the county she then contacted the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Green Acres, Bureau of land Stewardship, which oversees the open spaces within the State. Since Green Acres provides millions of State money to Union County in furtherance of Green Acres programs, it has the power to oversee the county in its proper use and maintenance of the parklands by imposing certain regulation and responsibilities.
On or about August, 2006 Alexander spoke with an employee of Green Acres and he advised that each and every encroachment, particularly once identified by the county, had to be addressed regardless of its size and the identity of the encroacher. The matter was turned over to Mike Hennahan, a Green Acres employee who concentrated on encroachment problems, after investigating county parkland boundaries and the encroachments Mr. Heenahan expressed his opinion that Union County had the worst encroachment situation in the state.
Upon information and belief, Green Acres subsequently withheld over five million dollars from Union County for its indifference to correcting its hundreds of encroachments of public parklands.
Alexander refused to bow to pressure to resign, and was terminated on April 20, 2007.
View complaint in its entirety HERE
May 04, 2008
How Will Hospital Closing Impact Union County & Who Is Stepping Up to the Plate For the People
Monday afternoon I set up a fresh pot of coffee and went to my computer to review Emails while I waited for the java to finish dripping. My Black and Decker pot makes some gurgling sounds heard throughout the apartment, the signal that the brewing has finished, at that precise moment my screen went black and the kitchen down the hall went dark. My immediate thought was “Rats”; my husband will kill me for overloading the circuits yet again. An occurrence that usually takes place in the summer when the air conditioners are all humming and one has to turn one unit off to brew a pot of coffee or use a blow dryer, I snapped to reality when it sunk in that this was not the case. That got me off the hook as the culprit and saved my husband a trip from our third floor walkup to the basement to reset the breakers. Determining that it was either our entire building or our part of town, and that surely the electric would be on again shortly, I looked out the window, coffee cup in hand, to watch the spectacle on the street below.
Living on North Ave. (Route 28) has always been interesting to say the least but with a power outage and no traffic signals operational the next hour and a half of surveying the stalled traffic at what is a peak commuting hour got me to thinking about those services which we have come to rely on everyday as just being there and being necessary. The day before the power outage that stalled traffic from Westfield thru Roselle Park I had been talking to some individuals at a street fair who are fighting the closure of Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield. A fixture for some 130 yrs, the hospital has been providing those services that area residents rely on everyday to keep their lives running smoothly and like the traffic jam on North Avenue created by the power outage, one has to question what will happen if the hospital closes in June, and how will that closure impact on not only the residents but on the other hospitals in the region. The group has been telling the story of the multi-faceted Muhlenberg situation and they are attempting to get investors to buy shares in an effort to purchase the hospital and keep it operational. They also are calling for assistance from legislators to use their influence and resources to help keep this much needed community asset offering its varied services to the public.
Healthcare and the associated financial matters of hospitals in New Jersey are in the news daily as several facilities have recently closed citing money troubles specifically the cost of mandated charity care on their bottom line. Gov. Corzine recently announced cuts in state funding to hospitals as he attempts to jam his state budget through the legislature without making any real cuts in expenses in state government operating costs. And, hospitals have morphed into cash generating companies as divisions of healthcare conglomerates expected to perform. In the case of Muhlenberg owned by the Solaris Health System, a community based non profit created in 1997; they have cited $17 million in operating losses due to reduced reimbursements by Medicare, Medicaid and state charity care as the reasons for closing the facility. Solaris also operates JFK Hospital in Edison, click here to learn more about Solaris and their services. http://www.solarishs.org/about-us/
Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center has been described as a 396-bed acute care facility that provides inpatient and outpatient services in all major medical specialties. Other specialized services include a complete array of cardiac services (including emergency angioplasty), a Bar iatric Surgery Center, Vein Center, Lithotripsy Center, Wound Care Center, hem dialysis, home care, hospice and adult medical day care. It is the sort of resource that communities dream of having available for their emergencies as well as routine care. In addition to their many community wellness programs, they host New Jersey’s premier cancer center.
As with anything that affects the community politics is part of the mix with the Muhlenberg closing, there have been calls from the public that local, county and state legislators haven’t done enough to prevent the closing and that may well be the case. Located in Plainfield, in New Jersey’s 22nd legislative district, the Queen City is home to Assemblyman Gerry Green. Green is the chair of the local Democratic Committee and is said to control what happens in Plainfield. At this point in time he seems to have himself stuck in an extremely awkward position as on one hand he would be expected to advocate for the residents of the city and work to keep the beleaguered hospital afloat. But, on the other hand he would also, if only subconsciously, be trying to please his campaign contributors. It has been said that Green along with his protégé, Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, haven’t come through for their constituents who will have to travel to Rahway Hospital, JFK Edison or Overlook in Summit for their medical care, these facilities are not easily accessible using public transportation.
Assemblyman Green’s running mate in the last couple of elections, Assemblywoman and Congressional candidate Linda Stender has been conspicuously silent on the issue of the hospital’s closing, leaving one to ponder what is up with her. Stender and Green have been the beneficiaries of campaign contributions from executives at Solaris to the tune of $1700, with the bulk of the money donated in 2007. Further, Stender received another $500 in Sept. 2007 for her upcoming congressional campaign from Mr. John McGee CEO of Solaris Health Systems. Could their loyalty to a financial supporter be getting in the way of their making a major stink over the hospital’s closing? Assemblyman Green has almost begrudgingly succumbed to local pressure and taken action and assembled a task force to formulate recommendations to handle the fall out and possibility an arrangement to save/merge services. See Courier News article of May 2, 2008 http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/NEWS/805020384/1018/NEWS0401
According to the March 6th agenda meeting of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders vice Chair Al Mirabella asked for an update regarding the announcement that Muhlenberg would be closing, at that time the closure was projected to be August. Rookie Freeholder Ryland Van Blake, a Plainfield resident, “implored the Board to help keep the doors open and lend support in any way possible.” Chairman Angel Estrada “commented that there is nothing that can be done on the County level to help Muhlenberg keep its doors open”. He added that the Board could certainly pass a resolution asking the State to develop a regional plan addressing the hospital closing and the pending closings, and Van Black said he would speak with Assemblyman Green to see what support the County can lend. Minutes of the March 20th meeting show that the freeholders discussed potential litigation regarding the Muhlenberg Hospital in Executive Session, could there be something there but later in the month resolution #2008-356 opposing the closing of Muhlenberg Regional Hospital in Plainfield was approved with copies to be sent to the Plainfield Mayor and Council at the request of Van Blake.
The County’s Office of Emergency Management Director, Frank Guzzo, made an important observation at the March 6th Freeholder meeting when he commented that “this closing affects the county’s disaster preparedness plans, which will have to be reviewed and revised.” County residents could have cause for concern as this is the second hospital closing in Union County in approximately a year and it was pointed out that Raritan Bay Hospital in Perth Amboy will also be closing its doors.
Just recently a candidate for the Plainfield City Council, Olive Lynch, assembled a meeting of elected officials from surrounding communities which will feel the full impact of the hospitals closing, neither Green nor Robinson-Briggs showed up. According to the Blog “Plainfield Today”, click here for the complete story and other tidbits on the closure http://ptoday.blogspot.com/index.html Attendees were given an eye-opening presentation on Solaris' moves over the years of profitable operations out of Muhlenberg to JFK -- radiology, pathology, and ob-gyn. Plans to move cardiac rehab to JFK were stymied by massive opposition from Muhlenberg's cardiac rehab user community. In addition, it was reported Solaris has sold off its dialysis unit (the property subdivision was previously reported here) and, most recently, its cardiac catheterization lab.
As one participant said, "Basically, what we have here is a non-profit entity behaving like a corporate raider."
Where is Muhlenberg Now?
The hospital closing appears to be moving forward rapidly, originally slated for closure in August some employees have been informed that they can expect to loose their jobs in June. Some services have already been moved to JFK and Solaris has also quietly subdivided and is disposing an adjoining piece of real estate. Jerry Green is scrambling to make up for lost time by attempting to get some kind of legislation through in a manic effort to save face and votes next time he is up for reelection and Robinson-Briggs has for all intents and purposes done nothing. Assemblywoman Linda Stender has remained quiet and her cronies on the UC Freeholder Board have taken a hands off approach by simply passing a resolution opposing the closure and sending it off to of all people Robinson-Briggs, like that will help when there is a disaster in the county requiring extensive medical expertise to treat the masses.
There does appear to be a glimmer of hope coming out of Green’s “Accidental Task Force” as Somerset Medical Center, Somerville may consider a partnership with some other investor to save the hospitals acute care services. Or perhaps the citizens group which has sought outside help and presented the full picture can pull off a save in the eleventh hour. It is hard to imagine the region without Muhlenberg Hospital and just like the power outage we will never really understand the full impact of the closure of the medical center until it takes place and than it will be too late.
Click here to see what Solaris recently sold off http://www.njbiz.com/article.asp?aID=95189056.3167993.953979.3715435.0495351.926&aID2=73374
Click here for the full story on Robinson-Briggs no show
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