Why Corruption Persists

Yesterday, Trenton Mayor Tony Mack and six others were arrested in a corruption bust by federal prosecutors. Today comes word that one of those six was caught on a wiretap describing his actions as "good corruption."

Yes, you read that right.

They didn't think anything of engaging in criminal acts, and considered corruption to be part and parcel of their doing their work.

Joseph “JoJo” Giorgianni called it “good corruption.”

Just two months into Trenton Mayor Tony Mack’s administration, a parking garage development deal emerged in the city. Bribes were offered and accepted. Money changed hands. And the FBI recorded all of the details over a two-year span with the help of two cooperating witnesses, authorities said yesterday.

“One thing about the Mack administration, when I say that, it’s me and Mack, we’re not greedy,” Giorgianni was recorded telling an FBI witness. “We’re corruptible. We want anybody to make a buck.”

Federal authorities arrested Mack, Giorgianni and Mack’s brother Ralphiel Mack yesterday after a corruption probe that has spanned nearly the entire Mack administration. The 31-page criminal complaint charging them with extorting bribes provided extensive detailed conversations regarding $119,000 in cash payments the trio conspired to receive as part of the parking garage deal.

If convicted, Mayor Mack and his brother Ralphiel, who is the Trenton Central High School football coach, face up to 20 years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said. Giorgianni, who also charged separately with trafficking prescription pills, faces up to 50 years if convicted of all counts.

This is one of the reasons for the pervasive nature of corruption in New Jersey. Everyone that seems to get involved in politics considers it their right to take a swipe at the public till, despite the fact that it's criminal.

Trenton NJ Mayor Tony Mack, 6 Others Arrested In Federal Corruption Probe

Trenton New Jersey Mayor Tony Mack and six others have been arrested in connection with an ongoing federal corruption probe. The Trenton Democrat has been under investigation for the past several months, and the FBI had previously issued search warrants on the mayor's office, personal residence, and several locations of relatives to Mack.

Joseph "JoJo" Giorgianni, a top campaign contributor, and six others were also taken into custody. Specific charges against the suspects are expected to be outlined by Paul Fishman, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, later Monday.

Mack and the others arrested Monday were brought to the FBI office in Hamilton for processing and are scheduled to appear in federal court.

The arrests are the latest development in an ongoing federal investigation into alleged corruption within Mack's administration, which has been marked by accusations of nepotism and reckless spending. In July, FBI agents searched offices in Trenton City Hall a day after raiding the mayor's home. They also searched the home of his brother, Ralpiel Mack, and that of Giorgianni.

Mack's administration has been in turmoil from Day 1, staggering from one crisis to another. A housecleaning of staff at City Hall opened the door for Mack's own appointees, who quickly turned it into a revolving door. Some left over questions about their credentials, others to face criminal charges.

The arrests stem from $119,000 in bribes connected to a parking garage contract.

"The investigation revealed evidence of a conspiracy among the defendants and other to corrupt certain functions of Trenton City government in favor of a purported developer seeking to building a parking garage on City-owned property in exchange for cash payments totaling approximate $119,000, a total of $54,000 that the defendants actually accepted in one way or another and another $65,000 that they anticipated accepting," according to the criminal complaint filed today.

The complaint indicates the FBI had been investigating Mack since September 2010, just a few months after he took office. At least two cooperating witnesses are cited in the complaint and the FBI made extensive use of wire taps on the phones of Mack, Giorgianni and the cooperating witnesses.

The complaint also indicates there's a fourth "co-conspirator" named only as "CC-1" who was a Trenton city employee. That person has not been charged.

Mack was taken into custody at his Berkeley Avenue home in the city around 6:30 a.m., Woodruff said. Further charges in the public corruption are possible against Mayor Mack.

FBI Investigation of Trenton Mayor Mack Continues

Last week, I noted that the FBI was carrying out searches of Trenton Mayor Tony Mack, a Democrat. Those searches included stops at his home, office, and his brother. At the time, the FBI wasn't saying what they were looking for.

Today, they've announced that they're looking into bribery, fraud, extortion and money laundering charges.

Federal authorities also are investigating vendor contracts with the city, during a time frame that stretches nearly to the day Mack took office, the documents show.

The FBI investigation became public last week when agents conducted raids on Mack’s home and City Hall, among others.

Agents last week also searched the Ewing home of Joseph “JoJo” Giorgianni, who donated nearly $5,000 to Mack’s campaign during the run-up to the 2010 election.

Giorgianni is named in the documents as well, with federal authorities searching for records of any correspondence between him and city officials.

Nearly 30 agents searched City Hall on Thursday and left carrying boxes, milk crates, computers and documents. Officials have not said what the authorities found.

The FBI could not be reached for comment last night, and a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.

Mack is out of town on a vacation and is due back Monday, and a message left on his cell phone last night was not immediately returned. The mayor has not been charged with a crime, and it’s unknown if Mack has hired a lawyer.

City business administrator Sam Hutchinson, who has stepped in as acting mayor in Mack’s absence, could not be reached for comment on the FBI probe last night. “We’re just steering the ship while the captain’s away,” Hutchinson had said earlier yesterday.

The scope of the FBI’s search for evidence is in line with what opponents such as George Dougherty, an attorney representing a former city employee in a whistle-blower lawsuit against Mack, have been alleging since Mack took office.

Mack is currently on vacation for a couple of weeks (he's scheduled to return July 30), and has left the business administrator Sam Hutchinson in charge. Among the issues that critics have had with Mack is that he's replaced a bunch of those business administrators and put his cronies in charge of city operations at a time when the city can ill afford it (as if any city can really afford cronyism).

Trenton's Mayor Under FBI Investigation

Yesterday, reports indicated that the FBI searched the home of Trenton Mayor Tony Mack and two other locations.

Mack has denied any wrongdoing and no once has been charged in the expanding federal probe.

“We have not violated the public trust in any way, nor have I violated any of my public duties, and I have no further comment on this matter,” Mack said in a brief statement, before decline to answer questions to a group of reporters
As the search at City Hall entered its second hour, Trenton Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson said she was surprised to find the federal agents there this morning.

"I'm just here to make sure our clerk's office and council business is moving forward as best we can," Caldwell-Wilson said. "I was pretty shocked when I heard this morning. And I'm not going to interfere with the investigation. I'm going to let them move on."

Mack’s administration has been plagued with accusations of cronyism and corruption since he took office in July 2010. He has cycled through business administrators and police directors and seen appointees step down when they were charged with crimes, or when their criminal histories or personal financial troubles came to light.

City Councilman George Muschal, a frequent critic of Mack's management of the city, said he was not surprised when he received a text message notifying him that the FBI was raiding City Hall this morning. He only asked one question:

“What took them so long to get there?” Muschal said when reached by phone this afternoon. "There is full blown corruption in the city of Trenton. We have to go to a rock bottom low before we can rebuild. This might be a rock bottom low.”

Among those prosecuted have been Mack’s half-brother, a city water utility employee, as well as a former business administrator and a former chief of staff. A number of employees have sued the administration, including a former recreation employee who alleged that a close Mack associate, acting public works director Harold Hall, acted to bypass public bidding requirements and hired unqualified friends and relatives.

The other two homes belong to Mack's brother Raphael.

Today, the FBI initiated searches of the Mayor's offices at City Hall.

Mack has been under suspicion of engaging in nepotism and reckless spending, but this appears to be something much more serious. Corruption is a huge problem in the state, and it wouldn't be surprising to learn that Mack has engaged in all manner of shoddy practices while in office.

Mack had faced a recall election last year, but survived the recall when it failed to garner sufficient support. That's despite going through eight business administrators, four police directors, many other key employees while the city's finances and fortunes wane. Critics have repeatedly noted that Mack fired the competent and hired the incompetent, replaced the honest with the dishonest. That's why the calls of nepotism and corruption are so strong.

We had to play name that party since the news reports didn't indicate as much, but he's a Democrat.