Misconduct is Official

Seven years ago Hunterdon County Undersheriff Michael Russo admitted that he and a Sheriff's Investigator used Official Sheriff's Department Equipment to fabricate false law enforcement credentials. Russo also admitted that he provided a false law enforcement ID card to Robert Hariri of Bernardsville, NJ.  

Leaving aside matters of National Security, officer safety, community relations, common sense and general honest behavior - 

Undersheriff Russo confessed to crimes:

2C:21-2.1 Offenses involving false government documents, degree of crime. 

1. a. A person who knowingly sells, offers or exposes for sale, or otherwise transfers, or possesses with the intent to sell, offer or expose for sale, or otherwise transfer, a document, printed form or other writing which falsely purports to be a driver's license, birth certificate or other document issued by a governmental agency and which could be used as a means of verifying a person's identity or age or any other personal identifying information is guilty of a crime of the second degree.

2C:21-2. Criminal simulation

A person commits a crime of the fourth degree if, with purpose to defraud anyone or with knowledge that he is facilitating a fraud to be perpetrated by anyone, he makes, alters or utters any object so that it appears to have value because of antiquity, rarity, source, or authorship which it does not possess

2C:21-4. Falsifying or tampering with records

a. Except as provided in subsection b. of this section, a person commits a crime of the fourth degree if he falsifies, destroys, removes, conceals any writing or record, or utters any writing or record knowing that it contains a false statement or information, with purpose to deceive or injure anyone or to conceal any wrongdoing.

2C:30-2. Official misconduct

A public servant is guilty of official misconduct when, with purpose to obtain a benefit for himself or another or to injure or to deprive another of a benefit: He commits an act relating to his office but constituting an unauthorized exercise of his official functions, knowing that such act is unauthorized or he is committing such act in an unauthorized manner;

Fortunately the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office (HCPO) investigated this matter (along with many other crimes committed by Undersheriff Michael Russo and Sheriff Deborah Trout), gathered evidence and recorded Russo's startling admission.  

The HCPO arrested Russo and presented evidence to a Grand Jury that returned a 26 count indictment against Russo for misconduct in office.  Most people facing a 10 year mandatory minimum jail sentence would be concerned by such an indictment. 

Russo (a political ally of Chris Christie) had no such fear, in fact shortly after his indictment was unsealed, Russo bragged to the press that Christie "would step in and have this whole thing thrown out."   

Unfortunately Russo wasn't kidding, Attorney General Paula Dow appointed Deputy Attorney General Dermot O'Grady as "Acting" Hunterdon County Prosecutor and swore in every Assistant Prosecutor as a "Special Deputy Attorney General" so that she could exercise complete control over the HCPO.

(Is this weird enough for you yet?)

Thereafter Dow ordered all of the original records and case files regarding the Trout/Russo indictments be sent to Trenton. Then on August 09, 2010 Dow ordered that a motion to dismiss all of the indictments against Undersheriff Russo and Sheriff Deborah Trout be made by her Trenton underlings. 

The legal reason for moving to dismiss (a defense motion for anyone except these two) was purported misstatements regarding "the facts of the case and the law applicable to the case" that were "designed to mislead the court and the public."  

Nowhere in that motion did anyone identify a single misstated fact or legal principle relied upon by the HCPO in support of the indictments.  At no time since has Dow or anyone else proffered a basis beyond the vague and unspecified gibberish of August 09, 2010.

The State has been fighting to keep the Grand Jury Transcripts (that they allege contain these factual and legal misstatements) out of the hands of a former Hunterdon Prosecutor who is suing because he was fired in retaliation for indicting prominent republican criminals.

It seems to me that a great way to defend against such a suit would be to release the transcripts and show the jury exactly where the HCPO misstated facts or law when they indicted Michael Russo for handing out law enforcement ID made with official sheriff's department equipment. 

It also seems to me that the transcripts are going to show that the Assistant Prosecutor had enough evidence to convict Russo and that the state's motion to seal those transcripts is an attempt to conceal their complicity in a series of crimes. 

At some point this matter of public concern must be aired in the light of day.  Real cops sometimes risk their careers and jail time abusing legitimate law enforcement credentials - handing out credentials to people with nothing to lose (at least while Christie is Governor) is a recipe for disaster.  

The Attorney General fights the release of inmates who prove their innocence via DNA evidence on a regular basis - it never supersedes a county prosecutor and dismisses indictments on unspecified grounds.  I notice that neither Russo nor Trout are suing the HCPO for false arrest, if their indictments were based on misstatements of fact and law they'd have a great case and a fair opportunity to clear their "good name".      

In case you forgot - Russo admitted that he used Official Sheriff's Department Equipment to fabricate false Law Enforcement credentials and also admitted that he gave at least one of those forged credentials to one of Chris Christie's campaign contributors.  Dow aided and abetted these crimes while serving as Attorney General for the State of New Jersey.  She has since been appointed to the Judiciary where she serves as a Superior Court Judge - who she serves is a fair question.  Why Paul Fishman hasn't charged anyone with obstruction of justice is another fair question. 

No reasonable person believes that these indictments were dismissed for a lawful purpose.  

How long will this charade go on before someone who cares about their own reputation says "no I will not" to the lawless thugs infesting our criminal justice system?

The days of quietly sweeping things under the rug are over, there are consequences for each and every member of the conspiracy.      

Checks and Balances/Cash and Connections

If you were watching a TV crime drama and the lead detective ordered subordinates to burn any notes that conflicted with earlier testimony you might shrug it off as Hollywood depicting dirty cops. 

When the Bergen Record reported that three retired detectives (from the Bergen County Prosecutors Office) testified to exactly that - the Attorney General turned his attention to Hunterdon County where he fired honest Assistant Prosecutors because they indicted Christie's political allies.  To be clear, a detective who destroys notes that conflict with the prosecution's case is committing a crime, even in New Jersey.  

What follows is a direct quote from the Record coverage of Ken Zisa's trial.

After Haviland left the witness stand, three retired investigators from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office testified that they were ordered to destroy their notes on the Zisa investigation, which did not correspond to earlier testimony from Haviland, their former supervisor. 

Retired Detectives Robert Pasquariello, Dave Rodgers and Gary Robinson successively testified on May 8, each remembering the same event in October 2010.  Close to the time Zisa was indicted for alleged official misconduct, insurance fraud and other crimes, Haviland told the detectives that Zisa’s attorney had requested their case notes, and that they should be destroyed. All three detectives testified that they were surprised by Haviland’s request.

"I just thought it was peculiar that we were told to shred our notes, and he said this to everybody, in open air in the office," Pasquariello said.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/last-days-of-testimony-center-on-prosecutor-s-investigation-1.351513?page=all

When three investigators swear under penalty of perjury that they were ordered by the Lieutenant in charge of special investigations to commit a crime - the Office of Attorney General is supposed to supersede that Prosecutor's Office and investigate. 

Instead of superseding in Bergen where actual crimes were committed by the prosecutor's office, the AG went to Hunterdon County and superseded that prosecutor's office as a favor to Chris Christie's indicted campaign contributor. If a movie opened with a plot line this horrific you might find the whole thing implausible. 

In one county the AG is protecting a corrupt prosecutor's office and in another he is retaliating against a prosecutor's office for having indicted the corrupt sheriff who happened to be friends with the governor. One of the indicted "friends" actually bragged that Christie would get the whole indictment thrown out. 

When the charges became public, the indicted undersheriff, Michael Russo, shrugged it off. Governor Christie, he assured an aide, would “have this whole thing thrown out,” according to  The Hunterdon County Democrat. That sounded like bluster. Then the state killed the case. On the day the indictment was unsealed, the state attorney general, a Christie appointee, took over the Hunterdon prosecutor’s office. Within a few months, three of its most respected veterans lost their jobs there, including the one who led the case.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/11/nyregion/43-count-indictment-of-a-christie-ally-quashed.html?_r=0

We are not watching a TV crime drama, these are true stories that depict wholesale corruption as it pertains to every level of criminal prosecution in the State of New Jersey.  The Governor of our State is using the tremendous power of his Office to maintain a corrupt system that protects his interests.  

Yesterday the Bergen Record confirmed that the Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division in Bergen County transferred to Passaic County due to a dispute with John Molinelli.  The people who we entrusted with administering the criminal justice system have lost their way. Judges don't get run out of town by corrupt prosectors unless those that investigate the investigators are equally compromised.

The Waldwick resident was reassigned this month by Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner to state Superior Court in Passaic County, and the reasons for that are not clear.....Reassignments are common, but it isn't clear exactly why DeAvila-Silebi was moved to Passaic County when she was up for tenure in Bergen. Former Bergen County Assignment Judge Peter Doyne has said DeAvila-Silebi had requested a transfer; Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nicholas Scutari said that it stemmed from "some kind of dispute that she had with the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office."

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

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is aware of this, the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee is aware of this and now you are aware of this too.  There are festering sores in Bergen County that are enabled by a putrified Office of Attorney General.  This is simply unacceptable in a civilized society. Anyone seeking a vote, a campaign contribution or a lawn sign in the next election should get nothing if they cannot demonstrate that they took a firm and direct stand against the mob that has infiltrated our justice system.  As is stands the man ultimately responsible for this corruption is spending his days out of State to gain control over the most powerful office on our planet - think about that. The man he appointed as "Acting" Attorney General (John Hoffman)is acting more like a thug running a protection racket for career criminals than a respected legal authority.

What are you doing about this? Were you bribed, misled or intimidated?

Sunday morning I was informed that Judge Silebi requested a transfer from her position as Presiding Judge of the Bergen County Criminal Division to a position as a regular judge in Passaic County. It is alleged that the reason for her request was a threat from John Molinelli that he would use his political power to thwart her upcoming tenure appointment if she failed to leave the county.  

Apparently Judge Silebi is a squeaky clean jurist who Molinelli wanted out of his way.  When a man like John Molinelli can push an honest judge out of the county we are all in danger.  Prosecutors wield an extraordinary amount of power without being able to threaten judges. 

What are you doing about this?  Were you bribed, misled or intimidated?

This prosecutor has a track record that includes:

• charging police officers with a crime he was on notice that they did not commit                     http://www.northjersey.com/news/2-bergen-county-cops-acquitted-of-all-charges-in-official-misconduct-case-involving-shooting-1.1025877?page=all                                                    
• using the imprimatur of his office to sell counterfeit at a public auction http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2014/11/bergen_county_prosecutor_sold_fake_baseball_memorabilia_report_says.html                                             
• granting probation to a man who stole over $800,000 from taxpayers                              http://www.northjersey.com/news/ex-ridgewood-inspector-apologizes-for-stealing-460-000-in-quarters-1.1048475                                                          
• making false statements in connection with a public contract http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/iteam/bergen-county-prosecutor-charged-memorabilia-cas-blog-entry-1.2207277                                                   
• violating wiretap laws to eavesdrop on a Division of Criminal Justice confidential informant and his handler     http://www.northjersey.com/news/from-a-tattered-mob-case-bitter-charges-flare-1.348596                                                                         
• bringing criminal contempt charges against a civil attorney without a reasonable basis, a move described by Judge Doyne as "Deeply troubling"                   http://www.northjersey.com/news/from-a-tattered-mob-case-bitter-charges-flare-1.348596                                                                       
• tearing up a lifetime ban on law enforcement work for a politically connected ex-cop who had beaten his girlfriend so severely her eye closed over and her lip was split                                                 http://www.northjersey.com/opinion/kelly-rise-to-chief-clouded-by-past-1.223534?page=all

What are you doing about this?  Were you bribed, misled or intimidated?

The link that follows depicts criminal misconduct in open court, not a single person charged with protecting our system had the courage to stand up and say no.  Were they misled? Bribed? Intimidated?  

Watch the video and decide for yourself.

http://launch.newsinc.com/share.html?trackingGroup=90321&siteSection=njrecord&videoId=28754836

We know without any dispute that Joe Ferriero received $500,000 from Doctor Ragi who did not represent him in any capacity.  

We know that the second half of that payment resulted in Ragi getting out of the 800 hours of community service that was imposed by his first foray into the Pre Trial Intervention program.

Ask yourself this:  

How did a second indictment for additional crimes result in Doctor Ragi getting out of the community service that was part of his first PTI requirement?  

He was rewarded for that second indictment - watch the video, you can no longer say you didn't know about it.  If you are an attorney, a police officer or a judge and you haven't said anything about this, I suggest you do some soul searching and decide whether or not you are part of this problem or part of the solution.  

If the bad actors are your friends, colleagues or acquaintances then this is a test that clarifies who you are.  It is easy to hold strangers accountable for their misconduct.  Loyalty to your acquaintances or colleagues is no excuse for violating an oath. 

Integrity is not a character trait that comes easy, it is far easier to show the world that you lack integrity. What are you doing about this?  Were you bribed, misled or intimidated?