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in Bergen where actual crimes were committed by the prosecutor's office, the AG went to Hunterdon County and superseded that prosecutor's office as a favor to Chris Christie's indicted campaign contributor.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.
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 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.
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.
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