We are all in danger

On the evening before Christie fired her and called her unstable, Bridget Kelly received an unsolicited phone call from an Attorney named Walter Timpone. Timpone (Christie's friend) told Bridget that there would be a job waiting and she had nothing to worry about 

The night before she was terminated, however, Kelly said she got an unsolicited call from a prominent criminal defense attorney who briefly served as her first lawyer.

"He was told to contact me," she testified. She never mentioned his name, but she was first represented by Walter Timpone, nominated earlier this year by Christie and later confirmed as a justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Kelly testified that the attorney told her that everything was going to be fine. "That a job would be found for me. And that it would be okay," she said.  

In 2002, the very same Walter Timpone was deemed unfit to serve as First Assistant to then US Attorney Chris Christie because he lied to the FBI about his friendship with US Senator Robert Torricelli (a convict). 

Timpone was representing someone the FBI had asked to wear a wire in order to gather evidence against his close friend Torricelli.  FBI surveillance captured Timpone paying a personal visit to Torricelli's home shortly after they asked his client to wear a wire. FBI investigators believed that Timpone tipped off his friend (Torricelli) about the potential confidential informant and they brought him in for interrogation.  When questioned by the FBI about his relationship with Torricelli, Timpone lied to them. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/12/nyregion/problem-arises-in-candidacy-for-top-aide-to-prosecutor.html?_r=0

When Christie became governor, he appointed Walter Timpone to serve as a Commissioner on the Election Law Enforcement Commission where he could use his legal acumen to process and adjudicate election law complaints.  

In violation of ethics rules Timpone contemporaneously served as criminal defense counsel for Bridget Kelly and as Commissioner for ELEC. Prior to that violation, Timpone ignored an ethics opinion in order to help a connected politician violate campaign finance laws.

In 2013 Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo was facing ELEC charges.  Joe D had previously given Timpone's nephew a job at the Essex County Citizen service office, Timpone did not recuse himself and voted in Joe D's favor despite that conflict and in violation of an ethics opinion specifically advising him to recuse.

Months later a Commissioner died and Timpone's vote on the Joe D matter was necessary in order for a quorum to be present - that's when he "remembered" he had a conflict and recused himself.  The recusal resulted in a dismissal for his friend because there was not a quorum.  Joe D is a democrat who endorsed Christie.

As a punishment for breaching ethics rules, Christie nominated Timpone to the Supreme Court where he faced questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Senator Loretta Weinberg.  During a telephone interview with Weinberg; Timpone lied and told her that as soon as he heard that a matter involved Joe D he recused himself.  

The next day the Appellate Division issued a ruling that described how Timpone had voted initially and then recused and that the recusal resulted in a dismissal for Christie's friend.  The Senate had already vote 31-0 to approve a serial liar and habitual violator of the public trust; Senate President Steve Sweeney would not take any action to undo the vote that was based on a lie..

• “He told me, on the phone, that he recused himself from the moment he heard the name of the county executive,” Weinberg, a Bergen County Democrat, said after the vote. “That is not true. He did not recuse himself. And, in fact, he voted — according the minutes I have been able to review at the last minute — he actually voted after he got an ethics commission reading saying he shouldn’t vote.”

On October 24, 2016 Bridget Kelly testified that this: 

• unfit for First Assistant US Attorney,
• liar to the FBI. 
• serial violator of ethics rules and 
• liar to the Senate...

was the same man who called her (unsolicited) and was representing her with a theory that there would be a job for her when she gets out of jail.  

Timpone now sits on the Supreme Court and may very well appear on a list of un-indicted coconspirators that the US Attorney is keeping a secret from us all.  

Supreme Court Justice Walter Timpone and Attorney General Christopher Porrino are profoundly compromised.  WE ARE ALL IN DANGER

Has integrity become too dangerous for Bergen County Police Officers?

A resident of Englewood Cliffs had a party one night and six of her guests were ticketed for overnight parking in violation of a borough ordinance.  This particular resident had contributed to the mayor’s election campaign. 
 
In response to the issuance of six valid tickets the campaign contributor called her mayor. The mayor contacted the chief of police about the issue, the police chief asked (or directed) the officer who wrote the tickets to facilitate dismissing the tickets. 
 
An officer facing a “request” from his chief does not have many options. Predictably the officer “agreed” to the chief’s request and sought dismissal of all 6 parking tickets.  
 
What kind of leader forces his subordinate into such an uncomfortable position? Once the mayor, the chief and the officer were in “agreement”; the municipal prosecutor and the municipal court judge were brought in to have the tickets dismissed.  These tickets were dismissed without any defendant ever making an appearance in court. 
 
Rather than have the defendants enter a plea and make their appearance; the police, the prosecutor and the judge relied on a false statement and dismissed all six tickets.  The false statement relied upon read “resident called”. That false statement was relevant because in Englewood Cliffs overnight parking tickets are not issued when a resident calls and alerts police that there will be guests parking overnight in the borough.  
 
The resident never called anyone to alert the police that she would have overnight guests. The document claimed that she did; the court based its dismissal on that document. Our system of justice is not supposed to accept falsehoods as a basis for determinations.  
 
A phone call made by a contributor to the mayor’s campaign activated the entire governmental chain of command; including the court and the prosecutor.   If any of this strikes you as unethical or unlawful you are not alone.
 
Lieutenant Scott Mura (a 21 year veteran) learned of this conspiracy and commenced an investigation. In a brazen abuse of authority, the chief ordered his lieutenant to cease an investigation in which the chief himself was implicated. 
 
The State of New Jersey has an ethics standard that forbids official action raising an appearance of impropriety.  At this point in the story 5 official actions appear improper.
 
1. The mayor calling the chief to get tickets dismissed
2. The chief approaching his subordinate to get tickets dismissed.
3. The officer offering the court a false statement in order to get the tickets dismissed.
4. The court dismissing every ticket without a single defendant making an appearance.
5. The chief ordering a lieutenant to cease and desist from investigating a crime in which the chief was a participant.

These five actions not only appear improper they are improper.
 
The sixth and most outrageous impropriety comes in the form of disciplinary charges brought against the only person involved who insisted that law be adhered to.  In true Jersey fashion the chief of police brought a slew of charges against a whistleblower and the taxpayers are funding another witch hunt.
 
The highest ranking law enforcement officer in Bergen County was supposed to step in and investigate the 5 improprieties that Lieutenant was investigating. The fact that the highest ranking officer (Molinelli) in the county is suspected of taking bribes, implicated in a mob hit, vacationed with criminals and has a vicious streak a mile wide may have something to do with his lack of interest in a ticket fixing scandal. 
 
Lieutenant Scott Mura did exactly what the law required of him.  The county prosecutor should have investigated this matter.  Dereliction of duty is the order of the day in Bergen County and it will remain the order every day until Molinelli is replaced by a person of integrity. 
 
As a consequence of having a criminal occupy the prosecutor’s office, police officers must rely on the civil justice system for protection. The disciplinary hearing that exposed these issues is a taxpayer funded exercise in futility.  The prosecutor and hearing officer were hired by the very people involved in the ticket fixing. 
 
No matter what the outcome of this process happens to be, Lieutenant Mura is entitled to a fair hearing before a Superior Court Judge.  Lieutenant Mura is also entitled to bring his own charges in the form of a whistleblower action against the Borough of Englewood Cliffs. The financial consequences of this conspiracy are incalculable.  
 
Englewood Cliffs residents are exposed to liability in the millions over six parking tickets issued to someone who gave money to the mayor in order to help him get elected. All of this fraud, waste and abuse could have been avoided had integrity occupied the office that festers with Molinelli’s corruption. 
 
The time it takes to demand accountability is less expensive than the money required to compensate victims of predators in high office.  In my view this patter will repeat itself again and again unless the voters decide to target the elected officials who sit silently while scandals pile up and costs cripple communities.

All along the watchtower....

Let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late…

When Mobster Frank Lagano and his Division of Criminal Justice handler were unlawfully wiretapped, Judge Marilyn Clarke dismissed scores of indictments due to Molinelli’s misconduct. When Judge Clarke suppressed thousands of man-hours worth of wiretap evidence (gathered at a tremendous cost to taxpayers); many in the legal community believed that her admonition, coupled with the squandering of over three hundred thousand dollars in law enforcement resources would encourage Molinelli to clean up his act.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/from-a-tattered-mob-case-bitter-charges-flare-1.348596

When it came out that Lagano was likely cooperating in a case against Molinelli’s Chief of Detectives (Mike Mordaga), the law enforcement community expected both Mordaga and Molinelli to be out of their positions.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/from-a-tattered-mob-case-bitter-charges-flare-1.348596

When Mike Mordaga (Molinelli’s Chief of Detectives) handed Lagano an attorney’s business card and stated “use this lawyer and 90% of your legal problems will go away” Bergen County insiders suspected that card belonged to Robert Galantucci.  In the paragraphs that follow you will read about subsequent events that support the view of these insiders. 

http://www.northjersey.com/news/from-a-tattered-mob-case-bitter-charges-flare-1.348596

When Confidential Informant and Luchese Crime Family “Soldier” Frank Lagano was killed by a single gunshot to the head, his handler (DCJ Detective James Sweeney) implicated Molinelli and Mordaga in the murder. It was widely believed that Sweeney’s complaint, the lies Mordaga was caught telling with respect to his relationship to Lagano along with the illegal wiretaps that Molinelli concealed from Judge Clarke would cause Federal Authorities to arrest Mordaga and Molinelli.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/from-a-tattered-mob-case-bitter-charges-flare-1.348596

When criminal defense attorney Walter Lesnevich proved that the Bergen County Prosecutor illegally wiretapped an attorney/client phone call and then attempted to conceal the misconduct many believed that Judge Clarke would cease and desist issuing Bergen County any wire tap warrants in order to avoid any further lawlessness by Molinelli’s office.

http://cliffviewpilot.com/court-admonishes-bergen-prosecutors-office-for-response-to-illegally-wiretapped-call/

When the US Attorney for the District of New Jersey released evidence that Dr. Ragi funneled over a half million dollars through Galantucci and Ferriero as payment for “influence” that enabled him to enter PTI (twice) after sexually assaulting over a dozen patients; the majority view was that Molinelli was so tarnished by this revelation that his position was untenable even in Bergen County.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/questions-linger-in-case-of-teaneck-doctor-accused-of-groping-patients-1.1295566

When State Senator Nicholas Scutari confirmed that Molinelli threatened the Presiding Judge of Bergen County’s Criminal Division (Liliana Silebi) right out of the county; lawyers and judges expected a demand for Molinelli’s removal.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-senate-panel-oks-reappointment-of-superior-court-judge-deavila-silebi-1.1337251

When $860,000 in parking meter change was stolen from the Village of Ridgewood no one expected that Thomas Rica’s confession would allow him to pay back a mere $250,000 and avoid spending any time in jail whatsoever.  When it turned out that Robert Galantucci negotiated that sweetheart deal directly with Molinelli Bergen’s Bar Association members believed bribery was involved. As of today Rica has paid back less than $100,000 of the $860,000 that went missing and he will never serve a day in jail for his crime.    

http://www.northjersey.com/news/ex-ridgewood-inspector-apologizes-for-stealing-460-000-in-quarters-1.1048475

 

When Molinelli attempted to intimidate a civil attorney (Robert Tandy) with a contempt of court charge that he had no standing to bring – it was common knowledge that Molinelli was being a thug and abusing the power of his office in an attempt to conceal the truth.  When Judge Doyne called that move “deeply troubling” and ordered Molinelli to withdraw the charge, seasoned legal veterans believed that the Attorney General would be superseding Molinelli in Bergen County.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/from-a-tattered-mob-case-bitter-charges-flare-1.348596

When Molinelli threatened to go after another attorney (William Buckman) in the same “deeply troubling” fashion that he did Tandy, it was obvious that because Tandy and Buckman were both alleging criminal acts by Molinelli that he was abusing his office to them keep from being heard.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/from-a-tattered-mob-case-bitter-charges-flare-1.348596

When William Buckman (attorney representing the family of Frank Lagano in their wrongful death suit against Mordaga and Molinelli) was found shot to death on the same day the Lagano Estate’s civil case was reinstated by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, people speculated that it was murder rather than suicide as reported.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/10/death_of_prominent_nj_civil_rights_attorney_ruled_a_suicide_police_say.html

When three retired detectives testified that Molinelli maintained a “burn box” for evidence that he wished to keep from defendants a lazy legal community took notice but not action.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/retired-investigators-testify-they-were-told-to-destroy-notes-in-zisa-trial-1.1211201

When Hackensack Police Chief was acquitted of all charges because the taint of “improper, prejudicial, inappropriate and highly prejudicial” misconduct was created by Molinelli’s trial team.  Chief Zisa publically declared:

"It's my opinion that (Bergen County Prosecutor) John Molinelli is the most corrupt prosecutor I've ever seen, and I believe that every day he continues to serve in that position he makes a mockery of the criminal justice system."

When another three million dollars on a vindictive prosecution was squandered by Molinelli’s office; seizure and forfeiture attorneys anticipated an increase in business.

http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2015/08/ex-police_chief_prosecutor_is_most_corrupt.html

When WPIX reported that Molinelli had sold counterfeit sports memorabilia at a county auction (after being put on notice that the items had no value) folks expected that he’d issue refunds and apologize. 

http://pix11.com/tag/john-molinelli/

When WPIX went on to report that Molinelli made false statements in connection with a public contract so that $10,000 tax dollars would go to someone without a public bid (Drew Max), they further reported that Drew Max had certified counterfeit and forgeries as genuine.  Legal scholars believed that Molinelli would face consequences over the fraud, perjury and other crimes that were uncovered by the investigation.

http://pix11.com/tag/john-molinelli/

When former Bergen County Prosecutor John Fahy was found shot to death people speculated that he too was murdered rather than suicide as reported.

http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2013/07/former_assistant_us_attorney_john_fahy_found_dead_of_apparent_suicide_in_east_rutherford.html

When Molinelli’s failed attempt to frame two Bergen County Police officers uncovered the fact that he once again concealed exculpatory evidence from defendants; Attorney Charles Sciarra publicly declared that Molinelli is:

“corrupt, and his corruption is now on display here, and that is his legacy.”

When this entire politically motivated prosecution ended up costing Bergen County taxpayers over three million dollars; fiscal watchdogs began to notice a trend.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/2-bergen-county-cops-acquitted-of-all-charges-in-official-misconduct-case-involving-shooting-1.1025877?page=all

When an employee of the BCPO (Barbara Harrington) was taken to a psychiatric facility for a forced examination on nothing more than the say so of John Molinelli, those who knew the facts were enraged and believed that he must answer for his abuse.

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-jersey/njdce/2:2014cv05764/309194/33/

When the Supreme Court of New Jersey found a “plain, patent and gross abuse of discretion” on the part of John Molinelli it was widely reported and openly discussed by everyone involved in the justice system or politics. The uniform consensus was mass incredulousness at the fact that this man continued to occupy that office.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-state-news/series-of-high-profile-setbacks-beset-bergen-prosecutor-molinellli-1.1384967?page=all

When you started reading this column you assumed you knew all about the crimes, misconduct and malicious infliction of harm that John Molinelli has engaged in for over a decade.  I can assure you, now that you have read this column – you still don’t know all about the crimes, misconduct and malicious infliction of harm that John Molinelli has engaged in for over a decade.  I’m interested in your stories of waste fraud and abuse in New Jersey Government – if you have something that needs to be examined in the light of day please send it to BillBrennan@BergenDispatch.com

#astonishingly improper, #prejudicial, #taint, #deeply troubling, #gross abuse, #riddled with impropriety, #improper allegations, #improper remarks,
#clearly and unmistakably improper, #completely improper, #unauthorized, #unlawful, #egregious, #troubling, #a clear error in judgment, #plainly a patent and gross abuse of discretion,

Molinelli lies matter

There are quite a few people making noise about police officers who violate the rights of civilians.

There are almost as many people getting loud about government policies that discriminate against women.

There is another contingent demanding equal rights for the LGBT community.

The state has a robust contingent of activists lobbying for the legalization of marijuana.  The argument that having arbitrary enforcement and capricious penalties for a harmless plant applies equally to a prosecutor with an arsenal of petty infractions that he uses as a weapon rather than a legitimate tool for the supervision of police departments.

For some reason these voices are silent when it comes to the manner in which the Prosecutor of Bergen County violates the rights of police officers.

The sooner we demand that everyone have their rights protected the sooner that will happen.  I expect the police to respect my rights and I demand that those violating my rights be held accountable.  I also expect the rights of police officers to be respected and I demand that John Molinelli be held accountable for violating the rights of police officers.  They call it a social contract and the people demanding that the police hold up their end of that bargain are not holding up their own end by demanding that the police have their rights honored.

During the second trial of Officer Anthony Castronova,  Molinelli was caught using an Internal Affairs "investigation" as leverage against a police chief who was set to testify truthfully (despite pressure from the BCPO).  When the trial judge found out that Molinelli had left open a nonsense investigation for 3 years he ordered Molinelli to close it before the chief took the stand.

If you are a "Black Lives Matter" activist and you aren't concerned because this chief was white you are part of the problem.  If you are a leader in the women's movement and you shrugged off this abuse because the abused was male than you too have harmed your favorite cause.  If your rainbow flag flies only in order to protect the LGBT community then you are not as enlightened as you give yourself credit for.  If you agitate for legalization of marijuana and laugh when you hear that cops are being harassed over meaningless rules - you might want to look at the bigger picture and see that the same thing is happening to cops - if they didn't live in fear they might be more open about their views.

Expecting people who live under the thumb of a thug-like prosecutor to protect your rights while they themselves are subjected to severe harassment and coercion is simply stupid.  The Bergen prosecutor is so ethically bankrupt that a federal judge inferred he took bribes and let a doctor get off on charges that he got off sexually while molesting his patients.

Rights are rights - we all have them or none of us have them.

Clearly the system is broken,

• Molinelli attempted to frame a pair of Bergen County cops, 
• he held an Internal Affairs charge over the head of a police chief in order to tamper with the chief's testimony
• He burned evidence in a trial against a different police chief
• He brought a cop to trial twice on a vendetta all while using PTI with political conditions to achieve a desired outcome in other cases.  

If he can do these things to police chiefs on down to patrolman; just imagine what he can do to you.  They carved "Equal Protection Under the Law" in stone for a reason, this guy is out there chipping away at the edifice - asterisks and caveats don't work well on stone carvings.

The other side of the coin is Molinelli's leniency toward cops who have no business in law enforcement.  One such cop (Ben Ramos) beat his girlfriend so severely that her eye closed over.  Former Prosecutor Schmidt gave Ramos PTI with a valid condition "a lifetime ban on law enforcement work."  Molinelli came into office and rescinded that lifetime ban.  Within 6 years of returning to duty Ramos rose from patrolman to chief.  This is the same prosecutor who took Castronova to trial (and lost) twice over an incomplete job application.

Beat a woman to a pulp while carrying a badge and gun - become chief of police.  Fill out a job application in a manner that displeases the "gross abuser of discretion" and you will spend your family's entire life savings on 2 jury trials.

Insert your finger in the vagina of female patients, grope their breasts for perverse sexual gratification - become the first and only defendant in the history of New Jersey to receive PTI twice (after giving Ferriero $500,000).

Wear all the pink you want, fight on behalf of planned parenthood till you have nothing left to give but if you won't said anything about the sexual abuse of female patients or the beating of a defenseless woman by a cop who became chief then you are a hypocrite a coward or both.  John Molinelli aided and abetted bot of those crimes and he did it with authority that he should never have been vested with.

Find out that Carlstadt clerical staff inadvertently failed to remove your ex-wife from the boro health insurance plan, report it immediately and demand that the mistake be corrected - the "gross abuser of discretion will charge you criminally and then obstruct your entry into the PTI program all the way to the Supreme Court of NJ.

If the trial judge (Silebi) happens to have integrity and grants PTI over the "gross abuser's" wishes - throw that judge out of Bergen County with the help of fellow thug Paul Sarlo.

If you get caught in Molinelli's web of criminal coercion, official misconduct or petty vendettas who will you turn to for protection?  Cops are afraid, judges get run out of the county, the defense bar is either corrupted or fearful- that leaves you, me and other like minded people who understand that violence to our system of justice is a danger to everyone of any age, race, orientation, creed or color.

Individual victories are a cure for symptoms - the disease (Molinelli) must be dealt with.  State Senator Paul Sarlo is aiding and abetting Molinelli in his crime spree - he can be challenged with a recall petition.  Governor Chris Christie is running for President - he can be challenged at Town Hall meetings in any state where his protection unit lacks jurisdiction.

One thing is for certain, a call to action is brewing - decide now what your answer will be when that call comes.  The characters who lurk in the shadows and support a criminal racket known as the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office must be challenged from the ground up - obviously this fish is rotting from the head down.

SHAME ON THE POLITICIANS WHO LET THESE THINGS HAPPEN

If you are not a part of the solution then you are part of the corruption.