The Grafters Greatest Hits

Never heard of the grafters? That's the not-so-rare breed of New Jersey politician caught taking bribes. In this case, three New Jersey mayors were arrested in a sting that also arrested eight other New Jersey officials.

Three mayors and eight other local and county officials in Monmouth County were arrested Tuesday, charged in a corruption sting by federal authorities.

Ten officials were accused of extorting cash bribes and free work from a contractor who was working undercover for the FBI, and the other official was charged with money laundering, federal prosecutors said.

Among those arrested were the mayors of Hazlet, Keyport and West Long Branch.

Secret recordings made by the FBI depicted the defendants as eager to compromise their offices for cash. One told a colleague, "Nobody watches, nobody hears, nobody sees." Another told an undercover agent posing as a corrupt middleman not to worry about getting caught because he "could smell a cop a mile away."

In a series of 6 a.m. raids, a dozen teams of six to eight federal agents fanned out across shore communities, rousting surprised municipal and county officials from their beds, and leading them away in handcuffs.

Arrested were Keyport Mayor John J. Merla; Keyport Councilman Robert L. Hyer; Middletown Committeeman Raymond O'Grady; Hazlet Mayor Paul Coughlin; West Long Branch Mayor Paul Zambrano; West Long Branch Councilman Joseph DeLisa; Asbury Park Councilman John J. Hamilton; Neptune Deputy Mayor Richard Iadanza; Joseph McCurnin, operations manager for the Monmouth County Division of Transportation, a.k.a. "Joey Buses;" Patsy Townsend, deputy fire marshal for Monmouth County; and Thomas Broderick, assistant supervisor, Monmouth County Division of Highways.

Not only would this make Tony Soprano proud (Joey Buses would be a great nickname on that show), but this is your tax dollars at work. New Jersey has more than its share of graft, but every state and municipality has problems. No one is accountable unless citizens demand accountability.

In New Jersey, that's a tough sell because everyone is accustomed to some level of graft. I find that the acceptability of unacceptable behavior to be repugnant and New Jersey can surely do better than it has.