Passaic mayor admits taking $110,000 in corrupt payments from developers
NEWARK,
NJ – The mayor of the City of Passaic today admitted taking $110,000
in corrupt payments from developers doing business in the city, U.S.
Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Alex D. Blanco, 44, of
Passaic, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in
Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of
soliciting and accepting corrupt payments in connection with City of
Passaic business.
“The conduct admitted by Mayor Blanco
demonstrates an aggressive and appalling greed,” U.S. Attorney Fishman
said. “By soliciting these payments from developers, he took for himself
federal money that was intended to help provide housing for the city’s
poorest residents. We expect our public officials to behave
differently.”
“Public corruption is one of the FBI's top
priorities,” Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher of the FBI Newark
Division said. “Today's guilty plea by Passaic Mayor Alex Blanco is
indicative of how diligently the FBI and our law enforcement partners
work corruption matters. We will continue to investigate allegations of
public corruption thoroughly to ensure any person who misuses their
public office for private gain is held accountable.”
“The
mayor’s guilty plea is a testament to the hard work and dedication of
our special agents and their law enforcement colleagues - job well
done,” Special Agent in Charge Terence S. Opiola, Homeland Security
Investigations, Newark Field office, said.
According to
documents filed in this case and statements made in court: From 2010
through 2012, two developers were seeking to build eight low-income
residential units on property they owned in Passaic. After the Passaic
City Council and the Passaic Zoning Board of Adjustment granted
approval, Blanco – who has been mayor since November 2008 – had an
intermediary approach the developers in July 2011. The developers were
told they were expected to provide a sizable payment to the mayor to
ensure that the project would proceed.
==========
William
T. Walsh
Clerk,
United States District Court
District
of New Jersey
M.L.
King, Jr. Federal Building & U.S. Court House
50
Walnut Street
Room
4015
Newark,
New Jersey 07102
Tel.: 973-645-3730
THE HONORABLE JOHN MICHAEL VAZQUEZ
United States District Judge
Lautenberg U.S. Post Office &
Courthouse
2 Federal Square, Room 417
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Tel.: 973-297-4851/973-645-2157(Deputy Clerk)
RE: Civil Action No. 02:12-cv-01793 (JMV-JBC)
JURY FOUND STEPHANATOS NOT-GUILTY
Dear Judge Vazquez:
I am writing to inform the
Court that a Bergen County jury of my peers has found me not guilty of all the
fabricated charges by Defendants Ronald A. Lucas, Victor D’Agostino that
somehow I had pointed a gun at the officers on June 28, 2011. This was a not-guilty verdict on all four (4)
very serious charges on the fraudulently obtained indictment in September 2011.
THE
OFFICERS MADE NUMEROUS ADDITIONAL CONTRADICTING AND UNCORROBORATED STATEMENTS
DURING THEIR TESTIMONY EVIDENCING FABRICATION OF EVIDENCE AND CONSPIRACY TO
PROSECUTE MALICIOUSLY
During their January 29,
2019 testimony (both direct and cross) Defendants Lucas and D’Agostino made a
very significant number of additional contradicting and uncorroborated statements;
this led to the non-guilty verdict.
Importantly, the sheriff
officers testified under oath that they failed to “knock and announce” prior to
performing a search of my home.
The numerous contradicting
statements of the sheriff officers provide further proofs that they fabricated
their charges against Dr. Stephanatos.
I will submit the additional
evidence to this Court only if and when you order me to do so.
THE
PASSAIC COUNTY PROSECUTOR PROVIDED “SMOKING GUN” EVIDENCE AGAINST ROBERT DEL
VECCHIO
On January 23, 2019, as part
of the pre-trial discovery, the Passaic County prosecutor, Mr. Stephen
Bollenbach, provided me with several handwritten pages prepared by Defendant
Robert Del Vecchio in May 2011. The newly
discovered pages show that Defendant Del Vecchio faxed letters to the Passaic
County Sheriff stating that Stephanatos was a “dangerous Deft” and that Stephanatos had threatened him on May 24,
2011. All these written statements by
Defendant Del Vecchio were fabricated by him to prejudice the Passaic County
Sheriff against Stephanatos and to force Stephanatos out of his home using the
void ab initio ex-parte writ of possession.
Judge Guida, the presiding judge over the criminal
proceedings, ruled that Dr. Stephanatos did not threatened conspirator Del
Vecchio with any physical violence and he only warned Del Vecchio of legal
action.
I will submit the newly
discovered additional evidence to this Court only if and when you order me to
do so.
THE
MALICIOUS PROSECUTION CLAIM WILL BE SUBMITTED TO THIS COURT ONLY WHEN ORDERED
TO DO SO
I am also writing to inform
the Court that I will be filing a claim of malicious prosecution with this or
another federal court. This claim is based
on the Fourth Amendment and it is timely, as the criminal proceedings ended in
my favor on February 4, 2019. The Fourth
Amendment malicious prosecution claim is a tort action brought in civil court
to recover money damages for the harm suffered from the malicious claim. I will seek to recover money from the
Defendants for the various costs associated with having to defend against the
baseless and vexatious charges. The
damages will include the cost of making a $300,000 cash bond, attorney fees,
and economic harm from being wrongfully incarcerated and not being able to find
employment or pursue my law license as a result of the pending charges for the
last 8 years. I will also seek to recover money for the emotional distress
associated with being jailed and wrongfully prosecuted for the last 8 years by
the Passaic County sheriff and the Defendant officers and for the malicious
statements made by Defendant Robert Del Vecchio to the sheriff, damaging my
good standing and reputation in the community for the last 8 years.
A
FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT DUE PROCESS CLAUSE STAND-ALONE CLAIM ALSO EXISTS UNDER
SECTION 1983 FOR FABRICATION OF EVIDENCE
Pursuant to Halsey v.
Pfeiffer, 750 F.3d 273 (3d Cir. 2014), a court should not foreclose a
Fourteenth Amendment stand-alone claim for fabrication of evidence even if a
Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution claim fails (for example) because of the
existence of probable cause even without the fabricated evidence. Such a claim is available even if the
criminal defendant is acquitted, “if there is a reasonable likelihood that,
absent the fabricated evidence, the defendant would not have been criminally
charged.” Black v. Montgomery County, 835 F.3d 358, 370 (3d Cir.
2016). In Michele Black v. County of Montgomery, No. 15-3399 (3d Cir.
2016) where the Third Circuit ruled that “an acquitted criminal defendant
may have a stand-alone fabricated evidence claim against state actors under the
due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment if there is a reasonable
likelihood that, absent that fabricated evidence, the defendant would not have
been criminally charged.” This
fabrication of evidence claim has already been filed with the Court in October
2018.
Based on evidence discovered
during the trial, Stephanatos has additional claims against the Passaic County
Sheriff.
1.
A §1983 CLAIM FOR FAILURE TO PROPERLY
TRAIN, SUPERVISE AND CONTROL OFFICERS (AGAINST THE PASSAIC COUNTY SHERIFF
DEPARTMENT);
2.
A STATE LAW TORT CLAIM FOR FAILURE TO
PROPERLY TRAIN, SUPERVISE AND CONTROL OFFICERS (AGAINST THE SHERIFF DEPARTMENT);
3.
A §1983 CLAIM FOR FAILURE TO INVESTIGATE
(AGAINST THE PASSAIC COUNTY DEFENDANTS)
I will submit the malicious
prosecution claim and the failure to investigate, train and supervise the
sheriff officers, including the newly-obtained discovery and trial testimonies,
to this Court only if and when you order me to do so.
Respectfully submitted,
________________________________
Basilis
N. Stephanatos, PhD, JD
PS.: I had the
duty to report to this Court the results of the criminal proceedings and the
availability of newly discovered evidence to correct manifest error of law or
fact. Please do not consider this letter
as a violation of a standing court order regarding the submission of documents
to the Court.
CERTIFICATION
OF BASILIS N. STEPHANATOS
I hereby certify under penalty of
perjury that the foregoing statements made by me are true and correct. I am aware that if any of the foregoing
statements made by me are willfully false, I am subject to punishment. NJ Court Rule R. 1:4-4(b); 28 U.S.C.
§1746.
DATE:
February 12, 2019
Respectfully Submitted,
___________________________________
Basilis
N. Stephanatos, PhD, PE, JD
=============================================================
And The More Corrupt County of New Jersey is: Passaic County
Incidences
of unlawful acts committed by Wayne Township, Passaic County Employees
The
unlawful acts of Wayne Township employees are also evidenced by the number of
illegal activities committed by its employees over the years.
For
example, in September 2009, the former Township Attorney Mark J. Semeraro was
arrested and charged with violating a restraining order. He then was forced to resign from his
position.
In
September 2011, Jerry Bello resigned from the Wayne township Environmental
Commission after it was discovered that he had been appointed to the board
despite his criminal record. Bello had been convicted in 1994 of
extorting $2,000 from a small-business owner who applied for a loan from
Paterson’s Economic Development Corporation. Bello’s wife, Nadine Bello
in fact was serving on the Municipal Council, the very entity that was aware
that the Township Assessor over-assesses the properties. Nadine Bello never
indicated that her husband was a convicted felon. Mayor Vergano was aware or should have been
aware of the felony convictions of Bello and he, in fact, re-appointed Bello to
the Environmental Commission.
In
2007, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice begun its
investigation of Wayne Township, New Jersey. Wayne Township had delayed a
mosque's building permits for several years, and then tried to use its eminent
domain power to seize the land to leave it undeveloped. The Civil Rights
Division of the Department of Justice in 2007 filed a brief with the federal
district court arguing that RLUIPA applied to the case. The court agreed,
leading to a settlement between the mosque and the township.
Paul C. Cavaliere Jr., a former
township attorney, who in 1994 was sentenced to six months in jail,
pleaded guilty to federal bribery and tax-evasion charges in one of New
Jersey's worst cases of municipal corruption. The once-prominent lawyer was one
of six onetime officials and four developers to be implicated in Messercola's
scheme to extract illegal payoffs for development approvals. Cavaliere admitted
helping former Mayor Louis V. Messercola disguise a $273,000 bribe as a real
estate commission, keeping part of the bribe but giving Messercola the largest
share.
Federal agents arrested Messercola
in June 1988. The former mayor pleaded guilty to extorting $50,000 from a
developer and was sentenced to 33 months in prison, then was sentenced to an
additional 15 months upon admitting to his role in the $273,000 bribe scheme.
Ex-Council Candidate Arraigned on Theft Charge
Arlene
Marchese and another woman allegedly stole more than $200K in insurance
payments.
Arlene
Marchese, 34, and Karen Wright, 42, of Wyckoff, were arraigned on charges they
diverted more than $200,000 in insurance payments into their own private
accounts. They were originally charged Sept. 26, the website reported.
Marchese’s
phone number was not listed.
Both
women face up to 10 years in state prison if convicted on the charges,
NorthJersey.com reported. They are scheduled to return before Judge Gooden
Brown for a status conference Feb. 4.
Unlawful
Activities by Passaic County Sheriff Employees
In May 2012, Passaic County
Sheriff’s Officer Rafael “Rae” Galan was indicted Tuesday on charges that he
threatened a former colleague who had accused him of corruption.
Last
year, The Star-Ledger published Galan’s name and photo in a three-part series
about the widespread use of anabolic steroids in law enforcement. The
newspaper found he was one of 248 officers and firefighters who obtained
steroids, human growth hormone and other drugs with the aid of a crooked
Jersey City physician, Joseph Colao.
The
newspaper’s figure was based on records from a single mail-order pharmacy in
Brooklyn. Colao, who died in 2007, is believed to have prescribed the drugs to
hundreds of other officers and firefighters through pharmacies in New Jersey.
While
anabolic steroids are legal with a valid prescription, The Star-Ledger found
Colao routinely prescribed them when they were not medically necessary. Moreover,
the officers used their government benefits to pay for the drugs, costing
taxpayers millions of dollars.
In 2010, a records clerk at the
county jail who is the former president of the clerical union at the Passaic
County Sheriff's Department was arrested for stealing more than $23,000 in
union funds, according to a report on NorthJersey.com. Valerie Jacalone, 53, of
Passaic was taken into custody after reporting to work Tuesday at the county
jail. She served as union president from July 2008 to July 2010 and is the
daughter of Victor Jacalone, the former police chief for the City of Passaic,
according to the report
Sheriff's Officer From Wayne, NJ Accused of Sex Abuse
of Girls
In
October 2012, Thomas Ingham charged with sexual assault and endangering the
welfare of a child. A
long-serving Essex County Sheriff’s Officer from Wayne was charged Thursday
with sexually abusing two juvenile girls, NorthJersey.com reported. Thomas
Ingham, 48, an Essex County sheriff’s officer, was charged with sexually
assaulting one girl and endangering the welfare of another. The girls reported
the allegations to Wayne Police July 19, the website reported.
FREEHOLD, October 12, 2012 — A central New Jersey police detective will give up his job after
admitting that he requested sexual favors from a woman he had arrested late
last year.
According to reports 33-year-old
Philip Emanuele, a Brick Township resident who served with the Eatontown police
force for the past eight years, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of criminal
coercion and tampering with physical evidence.
Besides forfeiting his job, Emanuele
is expected to get a probationary sentence when he's sentenced later this year.
In return for his plea, Monmouth County prosecutors dropped two counts of
official misconduct and one count of sexual assault.
Emanuele, a married father of two,
sought the favors from the woman, who is in her 20s, after arresting her on a
theft charge in December.
N.J.
undersheriff who used county-owned generator for personal use resigns
GREEN — A Sussex County sheriff’s officer
resigned this week after he was caught using a county-owned generator to
provide power to his house, Sheriff Mike Strada said today.
Undersheriff George DeOld lost power
at his home on Hibler Road in Green Township during Hurricane Sandy and had
another sheriff’s officer deliver one of two emergency generators owned by the
sheriff’s office to his home on Friday morning, Strada said.
A resident noticed the generator
being delivered and sheriff’s officers recovered it from DeOld’s home a short
time later, Strada said.
"It was an unfortunate incident
and he has taken responsibility for his actions. He made the right choice by
resigning," he said.
By using the county-owned generator
for his personal use, DeOld violated an internal office regulation. Criminal
charges will not be filed, Strada said. He declined to identify the officer who
delivered the generator to DeOld’s home.
DeOld, who joined the sheriff’s
office last year, was one of three undersheriffs in the 135-member office,
serving as administrative undersheriff. He earned $97,000 annually.
He was a member of the Paterson
Police Department from 1971 and 1998 and was later employed by the state
Department of Treasury and the state Department of Community Affairs. In
addition to his salary from the sheriff’s office, DeOld was collecting a
$66,000 annual state pension from his previous positions.
Strada said the resignation would
not affect DeOld’s pension status.
"It was wrong and he admitted
it," the sheriff said, declining further comment.
A call to the county prosecutor’s
office was not immediately returned.
A woman who answered the phone at
DeOld’s home said "no comment" and immediately hung up.
A woman who answered the phone at
DeOld’s home said “no comment” and immediately hung up the phone.
Unlawful Activities by Other New
Jersey Officials
Nicholas
Bissell was the District Attorney in Somerset County New Jersey. On Friday, May
31, 1996, he was convicted on all 30 counts of his federal indictment, two of
the counts involving official misconduct in relation to the forfeiture of
property from James Giuffre.
The
charges against Bissell included a wide variety of fraud, as well as
professional misconduct and corruption and threatening to have cocaine planted
in the car of man with whom he had an argument.
Bissell
was also convicted on both counts of the official misconduct charges involving
forfeiture victim James Giuffre. Bissell was convicted of committing perjury in
the separate civil suit filed against him by Giuffre, and of ordering
subordinates to destroy Giuffre's written request for a lawyer.
On
November 13, Nicholas Bissell, former D.A. of Somerset County, N.J., was
scheduled to be sentenced on 30-counts of his federal indictment, 3 of the
counts growing out of his official corruption in the handling of James
Giuffre's forfeiture case. His sentencing was postponed.
On
Monday, November 18, 1996, Bissell removed his electronic ankle bracelet and
became a fugitive from justice. Authorities conducted a nationwide man hunt,
and tracked him down to a casino hotel room in Laughlin, Nevada. At around 1:30
on Tuesday, November 26, U.S. Marshalls surrounded the room and tried to
persuade Bissell to surrender. Bissell put a gun in his mouth and shot himself
to death.
Trenton of Mayor Corruption
In
July 2012, FBI agents staged a middle-of-the-night raid Wednesday at the home
of Trenton's mayor, whose administration of the state's impoverished capital
city has been marked by accusations of cronyism and reckless spending. They
also searched the home of his brother and a convicted sex offender who was one
of his biggest early campaign donors. Later, the federal officials charged the
Mayor and other accomplishes with a number of corruption crimes.
The
mayor of neighboring Hamilton Township, New Jersey's largest suburb, also is
the target of federal investigators. Mayor John Bencivengo, a Republican,
pleaded not guilty in federal court last week to charges of extortion and money
laundering.
In
September 2012, the U.S. Attorney filed charges against the Trenton Mayor and
several accomplishes for corruption.
Toms River School Corruption
In
September 2012, Calling it the "worst case of public corruption he has
ever seen," a federal judge sentenced the disgraced former superintendent
of Toms River Regional, Michael J. Ritacco, to 135 months – just over 11 years
– in prison.
"This
is the worst case of public corruption I’ve ever seen," Pisano said. Other
cases of public corruption are "nickels and dimes compared to this."
Pisano
sentenced Ritacco to 135 months on the first count of an indictment, and 60
months on the 19th count. He ruled the sentences will run concurrently.
Ritacco pleaded guilty April 5, 2012 to two of the 27
charges he was facing, and admitted his role in years of corruption at the
school district, where as much as $2.5 million in bribes were allegedly passed
between Ritacco, insurance brokers and intermediaries.
New Jersey internal records document
widespread racial profiling of black and Hispanic motorists
By Fred
Mazelis
2 December 2000
The
release of 91,000 pages of internal records by the state of New Jersey reveal
that a systematic policy of searching cars driven by blacks or Hispanics has
been carried out for at least a decade. The statistics show that minority
drivers, making up 13 percent of state motorists, accounted for more than 80 percent
of those stopped by state troopers.
The
mountain of official records constitutes the most damning evidence of crude
official racism, fostered or accepted by top state officials of both the
Democratic and Republican parties. The state's chief law enforcement officials
knew about racial profiling since at least 1989 but refused to admit it until a
report was issued in April 1999.
The
official records consist of everything from police training manuals to
thousands of pages of individual traffic tickets issued by state troopers. They
have been compiled in 185 binders as well as on 15 CD-ROMs, which are being
distributed to interested parties at a cost of $1,000.
The
state police officially prohibited racial profiling, but according to a 1999
memo from Deputy Attorney General Debra Stone, “racial profiling exists as part
of the culture.” Stone reported that veteran troopers functioned as “coaches”
in showing new troopers how to carry out racial profiling. “Trooper after
trooper has testified that coaches taught them how to profile minorities,”
Stone wrote. “The coaches also teach this to minority troopers.”
These
practices stretched back more than a decade. A 1987 state police training memo
listed the following descriptions to assist police in finding possible drug
couriers: Colombian males, Hispanic males, a Hispanic male and a black male
together, or a Hispanic male and female.
Among
the documents released by the state attorney general's office were numerous
bitter complaints from motorists who had been stopped and in many cases singled
out for abuse and humiliation. State troopers themselves, if they were off duty
and were black or Hispanic, were not immune from being pulled over for
“DWB”—driving while black. One such officer, a state police sergeant, wrote
that he had been stopped 40 times by state troopers while off duty. “There were
times when I was the fourth vehicle in a line of five exceeding the speed
limit,” he wrote. “I was the only one stopped. It doesn't take long to realize
that you (the minority) are the choice of the day.”
========
The
corrupt and/or incompetent Chancery Judge Mary Margaret McVeigh of Passaic County, New Jersey. She conspired with
Robert Del Vecchio, American Tax Funding and other convicted felons to
sign off on judgments of possession without having subject matter
jurisdiction over land possession issues and without performing any hearings. Land possession judgments are
adjudicated by the Law Division and not by the Chancery Court. She caused millions of dollars in
damages by illegally evicting people from their homes; she also
violated the anti-eviction act and the summary dispossess act of New
Jersey.
/////////////////////-------------------------/////////////////////
//-------------------------//////////////////////-------------------
Passaic County
Administration Building
401 Grand Street
Paterson, New Jersey 07505
Main Number: 973-881-4800
Fax: 973-225-0155
Dear
Ms. Valdes:
There are news releases in the media that suggest that the Chancery Judge
Margaret Mary McVeigh has been issuing or allowing to issue "judgments of
possession" and "writs of possession" although she never had
subject matter jurisdiction over land possession issues. The Passaic
County Sheriff would then execute these void judgments and writs, causing harm
and injury to residents of this county.
What is a real explosive bombshell, is the fact that no hearings of land
possession were ever held by this Judge. These are some very, very, very,
serious, serious, serious allegations.
A judgment is
void for lack of subject matter jurisdiction when the court has no authority to
adjudicate the controversy. See Bank v. Kim, 361 N.J. Super. 331, 339 (App.
Div. 2003) (mortgage foreclosure judgment void in violation of bankruptcy
automatic stay). Here, the Chancery court had no subject matter
jurisdiction over the property possession issue and thus any order issued by
that court was void, a legal nullity. Therefore, the sheriff was
enforcing a void (and fraudulent as well) court order.
Are you aware of these charges? From what the news reports say, this
Judge (Margaret Mary McVeigh) has been refusing to respond. The Sheriff
Berdnik also has not been talking and has directed the matter to you.
Perhaps you can shed a light into this situation. Any responses to the
subject of illegal or void judgments of possession issued by the Chancery Judge
McVeigh without any hearing?
I am attaching some of the news releases, FYI.
I look forward to your reply. This is a very serious matter, as you
understand.
Sincerely,
/////////////////////-------------------------/////////////////////
Hon. Judge Margaret Mary McVeigh,
P.J.Ch.
Superior Court of New Jersey
Paterson Courthouse
Annex, Room 250
65 Hamilton Street
Paterson, New Jersey 07505-2018
Phone: (973) 247-8168
FAX: (973) 247-8172
Hon. Mary C. Jacobson
Assignment Judge
Mercer County Courthouse
P.O. Box 8068 Trenton, NJ 08650-0068
609-571-4000
Dear Chancery
Judge McVeigh and Assignment Judge Jacobson:
I believe
that I have given you plenty of time to respond to the VERY SERIOUS CHARGES
against you (see attached emails). As of now, you have failed to
respond. As you know, when a person has a duty to respond and fails to do
so, this silence can be used against that person as evidence of guilt.
All the news
reports indicate that because of your recklessness, or incompetency, or even
conspiracy, you injured thousands of property owners and that you forced people
out of their properties by issuing fraudulent "judgments of
possession" without having any subject matter jurisdiction and without
performing any hearing or trial and without providing any notice. Even
worse, when the shocked property occupant saw the eviction notices and asked
for the 6-month stay written in the NJ statutes, you refused to do that and
allowed the sheriff to forcefully throw these people onto the street. All
that without you having a subject matter jurisdiction and without performing
any hearing or fact finding or application of the law to the facts. You are
also charged of violating a number of New Jersey Court Rules: see R.
4:6-7, Pressler & Verniero, Current N.J. Court Rules, comment 1 on R. 4:6-7
(2015); 1:13-4. Transfer of Actions, Rule 1:7-4(a). DISGRACEFUL,
CORRUPT NEW JERSEY JUDICIARY.
THESE ARE
SOME PRETTY SERIOUS, HORRIFIC AND TERRIFYING ACCUSATIONS AGAINST YOU.
How do you
respond? The public and the victims await to hear from you. Please
do not continue to bring disgrace to the honorable New Jersey Judiciary.
Sincerely,
Emma Rogers
emmarogers456@aol.com
////////////////-------------------------///////////////////////////---------------------///////
Office
of the Passaic County Sheriff
William Maer
Media Information & OPRA Processing Unit
11 Sheriff's Plaza
Paterson, NJ 07502
bmaer@pcsheriff.org
973-389-5900
Dear
Sheriff Berdnik/Mr. Maer:
There
are some news reports that the Chancery Judge Margaret McVeigh has been
issuing judgments of possession without having subject matter jurisdiction and
without performing any hearings. The news reports state that the Passaic
County Sheriff has been executing orders issued by this judge (Margaret Mary
McVeigh), although she had no subject matter jurisdiction over land
possession. The land possession is adjudicated in the Law Division,
Special Civil Part or regular Law Division.
As
you know, at least 20 individuals and entities pleaded guilty to defrauding
homeowners using tax foreclosure proceedings. One of the ways to do this
was to fool this Judge McVeigh into drafting the "judgments" or
"orders". For example, the accusations say that she apparently
allowed the issuance of a "Final Judgment" where the following
language was inserted by the convicted felon Robert Del Vecchio, American Tax
Funding, and others:
“AND IT IS
FURTHER ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the plaintiff dully recover against the said
defendant …possession of the premises… and that a Writ of Possession issue
thereon”.
This Chancery
Court judge had no jurisdiction over the subject matter of land
possession. As of today, she has refused to respond as to why did she
insert or allowed that language to be inserted into that "final
judgment"?
Further
accusations are that she never even held any hearing over the land possession
issue. Margaret McVeigh just merely allowed that language to be inserted
into the text, so that the convicted felon Robert Del Vecchio immediately
seizes the property of the land possessor without any due process and in
violation of several New Jersey statutes.
From
what we understand, you (the Passaic County Sheriff) executed these obviously
void and illegal judgments or orders despite the fact they were not issued by
the Law Division.
In
some cases, you forcibly removed the possessors of the land or tenants and that
you did cause damages. You then filed charges against homeowners who
would refuse to leave their properties by refusing to obey void judgments or
orders from a court that has no subject matter jurisdiction or personal
jurisdiction.
How
do you respond to such accusations or questions? Didn't you know that
only the Law Division has subject matter jurisdiction over property
possession? Did you know that land possession judgments/orders issued by
a Chancery Court are void and have no legal effect? Did you know that you
may be held liable for damages based on the Forceful Entry and Detainer
statutes?
I
look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Emma Rogers
emmarogers456@aol.com
/////////////////////////---------------------------//////////////////////
Dear Judge
Margaret McVeigh:
We have
uncovered some new HORRIFIC AND TERRIFYING ACCUSATIONS AGAINST YOU. You
apparently allowed the issuance of a "Final Judgment" where the
following language was inserted by the Plaintiffs (convicted felon Robert Del
Vecchio, American Tax Funding, and others):
“AND IT IS
FURTHER ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the plaintiff dully recover against the said
defendant …possession of the premises… and that a Writ of Possession issue
thereon”.
Of course you
had no jurisdiction of the subject matter of land possession. Why did you
insert or allowed that language to be inserted into that "final
judgment"?
The HORRIFIC
AND TERRIFYING ACCUSATIONS AGAINST YOU is that you never even held any hearing
over the land possession issue. You just merely allowed that language to
be inserted into the text, so that the convicted felon Robert Del Vecchio
immediately seizes the property of the land possessor without any due process
and in violation of several New Jersey statutes.
They did not follow the Wrongful Entry and Detainer Act and the Anti-Eviction
Act, or the Summary Dispossess Act. As a result, they caused millions of
dollars in damages by forcibly removing tenants or land possessors without due
process.
FYI, subject
matter jurisdiction can neither be conferred by agreement of the parties nor
waived as a defense, and a court must dismiss the matter if it determines that
it lacks subject matter jurisdiction. Macysyn v. Hensler, 329 N.J. Super. 476,
481 (App. Div. 2000) (indicating that such a motion can be made "at any
time"); see also R. 4:6-7; Pressler & Verniero, Current N.J. Court
Rules, comment 1 on R. 4:6-7 (2015).
How do you
respond to these new charges against you?
Sincerely,
Mary Brown
Crime Investigator
//---------------------///////////////-----------------
ISSUANCE OF JUDGMENTS OF POSSESSION OR
WRITS WITHOUT SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION
Dear Judge
Margaret McVeigh:
There are
numerous reports in the media that you have been issuing judgments of
possession or facilitating the issuance of same, although you have no subject
matter jurisdiction over land possession issues. The Law Division has
exclusive jurisdiction over land possession judgments and issuance of writs or
warrants - the Chancery Court has no jurisdiction over land possession issues,
yet you have been issuing judgments of possession and associated orders.
You know of course that such judgments are void ab initio, a legal nullity.
Apparently,
you have caused significant financial and other damage to residents of this
state as a result of your allegedly reckless or even criminal acts.
There are a
lot of people accusing you of corruption and even conspiracy to intentionally
damage homeowners and business owners through your reckless acts to ensure tax
collection. How do you plea? Many people are calling for your
arrest and resignation. See for example this post:
MEET THE CORRUPT AND/OR INCOMPETENT CHANCERY JUDGE MARGARET MCVEIGH.
SHE CONSPIRED WITH OR WAS MISLEAD BY ROBERT DEL VECCHIO, AMERICAN TAX FUNDING
AND OTHER CONVICTED FELONS TO SIGN OFF ON JUDGMENTS OF POSSESSION WITHOUT
HAVING SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OVER LAND POSSESSION ISSUES.
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-corrupt-andor-incompetent-chancery.html
Do you have anything to say to these serious charges?
Did you issue or facilitated the issuance of judgments of possession or writs
or warrants of possession without having subject matter jurisdiction? A
simple YES or NO would suffice. The public and victims need to know.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this inquiry. We want to
make sure that unfounded allegations are not released into the media.
Sincerely,
Mary Brown
Crime Investigator
NOTE: As of today's date (3-7-2016), this judge has not responded to the
accusations above.
//------------------------///////////////////////--------------------
Office
of the Passaic County Sheriff
William Maer
Media Information & OPRA Processing Unit
11 Sheriff's Plaza
Paterson, NJ 07502
bmaer@pcsheriff.org
973-389-5900
Dear
Sheriff Berdnik/Mr. Maer:
There
are some news reports that the Chancery Judge Margaret McVeigh has been
issuing judgments of possession without having subject matter jurisdiction and
without performing any hearings. The news reports state that the Passaic
County Sheriff has been executing orders issued by this judge (Margaret Mary
McVeigh), although she had no subject matter jurisdiction over land
possession. The land possession is adjudicated in the Law Division,
Special Civil Part or regular Law Division.
As
you know, at least 20 individuals and entities pleaded guilty to defrauding
homeowners using tax foreclosure proceedings. One of the ways to do this
was to fool this Judge McVeigh into drafting the "judgments" or
"orders". For example, the accusations say that she apparently
allowed the issuance of a "Final Judgment" where the following
language was inserted by the convicted felon Robert Del Vecchio, American Tax
Funding, and others:
“AND IT IS
FURTHER ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the plaintiff dully recover against the said defendant
…possession of the premises… and that a Writ of Possession issue thereon”.
This Chancery
Court judge had no jurisdiction over the subject matter of land
possession. As of today, she has refused to respond as to why did she
insert or allowed that language to be inserted into that "final
judgment"?
Further
accusations are that she never even held any hearing over the land possession
issue. Margaret McVeigh just merely allowed that language to be inserted
into the text, so that the convicted felon Robert Del Vecchio immediately
seizes the property of the land possessor without any due process and in
violation of several New Jersey statutes.
From
what we understand, you (the Passaic County Sheriff) executed these obviously
void and illegal judgments or orders despite the fact they were not issued by
the Law Division.
In
some cases, you forcibly removed the possessors of the land or tenants and that
you did cause damages. You then filed charges against homeowners who
would refuse to leave their properties by refusing to obey void judgments or
orders from a court that has no subject matter jurisdiction or personal
jurisdiction.
How
do you respond to such accusations or questions? Didn't you know that
only the Law Division has subject matter jurisdiction over property
possession? Did you know that land possession judgments/orders issued by
a Chancery Court are void and have no legal effect? Did you know that you
may be held liable for damages based on the Forceful Entry and Detainer statutes?
I
look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Emma Rogers
emmarogers456@aol.com
//---------------------------------///////////////////////////----------------------------
COMPLAINT
FOR LACK OF ETHICS OR COMPETENCY OR NEGLIGENCE AGAINST JUDGES MARY C. JACOBSON
AND MARGARET MARY MCVEIGH
Basilis
(Bill) N. Stephanatos
PO
Box 0520
Tenafly,
New Jersey 07670-0520
Phone:
(973) 897-8162
bstephanatos@gmail.com
____________________________________________________________
13 January 2014
Mr.
John A. Tonelli
Executive
Director
The
Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct (ACJC)
PO
Box 037
Trenton, NJ 08625-0037
Clerk's Office Tel.: Phone (609)
292-2552
Fax No.: (609) 292-6848
RE: AC.JC
2014-045 (Judges Mary C. Jacobson and Margaret Mary McVeigh)
CHANCERY JUDGE MARGARET MCVEIGH HAD NO SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OVER
PROPERTY POSSESSION ISSUES, BECAUSE THESE ARE THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE LAW
DIVISION
The fraudulently issued judgment
never adjudicated the subject matter of land possession, as the Chancery courts
have no jurisdiction over land possession issues. Thus, the judgment was
void regarding the alleged adjudication of the possession of the Defendant’s
property. A judgment is void for lack of subject matter jurisdiction when
the court has no authority to adjudicate the controversy. See Bank v. Kim,
361 N.J. Super. 331, 339 (App. Div. 2003) (mortgage foreclosure judgment
void in violation of bankruptcy automatic stay). Here, the Chancery
court had no subject matter jurisdiction over the property possession issue and
thus any order issued by that court was void, a legal nullity. Therefore,
the sheriff was enforcing a void (and fraudulent as well) court order.
I
HAD FILED TWO APPEALS FROM JUDGE JACOBSON AND MCVEIGH DECISIONS, BUT THESE TWO
JUDGES REFUSED TO STAY THE TAKING OF MY HOME AND MY BUSINESS UNTIL THE APPEALS
COURTS RULE.
I am providing additional material
in support of my complaint against the above-referenced judges.
In June 2011, Dr. Stephanatos had
filed a suit to vacate the tax deed (Passaic County, Law Division
L-2973-11). Dr. Stephanatos even sent a letter to the judges, to the
co-conspirators Robert Del Vecchio, Matthew Marini and the sheriff that appeals
are pending and they in fact responded to the letter, acknowledging the
appeals. That suit to vacate the tax deed was filed within the statutory
period of three months. Due to the refusal of the these two judges to
stay the proceedings to review what they have done, the fraudulent issuance of
an ex-parte writ of possession and the wrongful interference by the sheriff and
American Tax Funding, LLC of Dr. Stephanatos’ legal rights, the Law Division
did not hear that lawsuit.
CHANCERY JUDGE MARGARET MCVEIGH HAD
NO SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OVER PROPERTY POSSESSION ISSUES, BECAUSE THESE
ARE THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE LAW DIVISION
The fraudulently issued judgment
never adjudicated the subject matter of land possession, as the Chancery courts
have no jurisdiction over land possession issues. Thus, the judgment was
void regarding the alleged adjudication of the possession of the Defendant’s
property. A judgment is void for lack of subject matter jurisdiction when
the court has no authority to adjudicate the controversy. See Bank v. Kim,
361 N.J. Super. 331, 339 (App. Div. 2003) (mortgage foreclosure judgment
void in violation of bankruptcy automatic stay). Here, the Chancery
court had no subject matter jurisdiction over the property possession issue and
thus any order issued by that court was void, a legal nullity. Therefore,
the sheriff was enforcing a void (and fraudulent as well) court order.
Meanwhile, Dr. Stephanatos also
filed two appeals: one from the L-2672-09 case and one from the F-9241-09
case. The appeals were docketed as follows: A-4685-10 and A-3900-10
(appeal from L-2672-09) Team 4. At the same time, Dr. Stephanatos applied
for a stay from the foreclosure judgment, to ensure that a higher court and/or
a federal court hear his appeals. These two judges refused to stay the
proceedings, despite the fact I was keep telling them that what they are doing
is illegal. The sheriff officers and the judges were aware that appeals
and lawsuits were pending; they also knew that state law, allows Dr.
Stephanatos to stay in his home, because he has been using the home as his
residence continuously since 1995 (see N.J.S.A. 2A:39-7. Title not
inquired into; defense of 3 years possession “Title shall not be an issue in
any action commenced under this chapter. 3 years peaceable possession by the
defendant shall be a defense to the action” and that is why they acted with
haste and fraud and criminal intent to deprive Dr. Stephanatos of his home and
his business. This behavior by the two judges shocks the conscience,
implicating a substantive due process violation. This violation occurred
on June 28, 2011.
The State, the County, the Chancery
Court and the conspirators also violated the New Jersey Constitution, Article
I, paragraph 20 that states that Private
property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.
Individuals or private corporations shall not be authorized to take private
property for public use without just compensation first made to the owners.
·
no property possession hearings were ever held;
·
no bench trial was ever held by McVeigh on any issue before her;
·
no fact-findings and application of the law to the facts consistent with Rule
1:7-4(a) were ever held;
·
no pre-eviction notices were ever provided to the Defendant;
·
no stay of the proceedings were ever held consistent with § 2A:42-10.6;
It is crucial to report to the
Committee that the Sheriff and the Passaic County provide as a defense to the
federal complaint that
“Plaintiff never appealed the
underlying Court Orders which ordered him to vacate the subject premises,
therefore, the defendants acted within their purview under the cover of law -
regarding the underlying events;”
This defense is obvious not valid,
considering that Dr. Stephanatos had filed several appeals and had in fact
notified the Sheriff of the pendency of such appeals. Thus, the
motivation for the actions of the Sheriff and its employees is highly
suspicious.
On May 13, 2011, the Honorable Mary
C. Jacobson, P.J.Ch., entered a final ex-parte judgment against Dr. Stephanatos
in favor of American Tax Funding, LLC (“ATFH”). (Final Judgment annexed at Da44-46).
This ex-parte judgment was drafted by the lawyers for the convicted
conspirators, Robert Del Vecchio, American Tax Funding, et al. This final
ex-parte judgment contains the language “This judgment shall not affect the
rights of any person protected by the New Jersey Tenant Anti-Eviction Act (N.J.S.A,
2A:18-61.1 et seq.)” (Da45). The significance of this clause is discussed
in this brief, infra.
Robert A. Del Vecchio is the
attorney for ATF, LLC, and he submitted a Certification (filed May 13, 2011),
stating, in part:
The aforementioned person is not protected by the provision of the
Anti-Eviction Act (the “Act”), as enunciated in the New Jersey Supreme Court
Case of Chase Manhattan Bank v. Josephson, since that Act applies to tenants and
this defendant is the prior owner of the property. His ownership rights
were foreclosed upon in the above-entitled action. (Da48).
The significance of this statement
by Robert DelVecchio is that the judgment only covered ownership and not
possession of the home of Dr. Stephanatos, who was also using his homestead as
the place of business (Metropolitan Environmental Services, PC and Metropolitan
Environmental Services). Mr. Del Vecchio, in addition to violating federal law
(the conspiracy with ATF to violate the Sherman Act) he also intentionally
conspired with ATF and the Passaic County employees to violate the possessory
rights of Dr. Stephanatos.
The judgment under the tax sale law
was supposed to cover only ownership of a property and not possession. In
fact, Del Vecchio himself wrote in the Application for an ex-parte Writ that
Dr. Stephanatos only lost the ownership rights – no possessory rights were ever
lost by Dr. Stephanatos, as he was in possession of his property continuously,
he did not owe any taxes due to the unlawful over-assessment of his property
and since state law protected his possessory rights. See N.J.S.A. 2A:39-1.
On September 30, 2014, Del Vecchio pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate
the antitrust laws of this state and the federal government’s.
Since Dr. Stephanatos was opposed to
any person entering his homestead property and had communicated this to the
sheriff and Del Vecchio, the possession of the property was supposed to be
determined by a Law Division judge pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:39-1 that
prohibits unlawful entry onto a residential property:
With regard to any real property
occupied solely as a residence by the party in possession, such entry shall
not be made in any manner without the consent of the party in possession unless
the entry and detention is made pursuant to legal process as set out in
N.J.S.2A:18-53 et seq., as amended and supplemented. (Emphasis supplied).
This process mandates the
procurement of a Warrant of Removal. Del Vecchio and the sheriff
employees, with the blessing of Chancery Judges McVeigh and Jacobson,
who had no subject matter jurisdiction over property possession issues, did not
do that here, in a conspiracy to violate Dr. Stephanatos possessory and other
legal rights. These two corrupt “judges” issued void judgments of land
possession issues, although the Chancery Courts have no subject matter
jurisdiction over land possession, because these issues are adjudicated by the
Law Division. They also issued orders on an ex-parte basis, without performing
any fact-finding and without application of the law to the facts as is required
by New Jersey court rules. In fact, these individuals have pleaded
in the federal lawsuit that they were not aware that any appeal were pending
and that all issues had been adjudicated, when in fact no issues had ever been
adjudicated. They used these excuses as a pre-text to intentionally
violate Dr. Stephanatos’ possessory and other legal rights and caused him the
loss of his business, his home and the destruction of his business and personal
property. The damages they caused him are into the many millions of
dollars and that is the reason that Dr. Stephanatos was under such
extraordinary duress during the day of the incident.
Del Vecchio and ATF obtained only an
ex-parte judgment of possession by drafting the language to the corrupt or
incompetent Judge Margaret McVeigh and Jacobson of Mercer County (although the
property was located in Passaic County and Jacobson had no jurisdiction over a
property in Passaic County), an ex-parte writ of possession, upon the self-
certification of Del Vecchio that Dr. Stephanatos did not any possessory
interests protected by the Due Process Clause and/or the Anti-Eviction Act or
the Summary Dispossess Act. No Writ of Possession was obtained for Dr.
Stephanatos’ business, Metropolitan Environmental Services, and Metropolitan
Environmental Services, PC. These practices by these two individuals have
been criticized by the state of New Jersey and the Public Advocate Division.
See for example the following excerpt from the “Toolkit for Tenants Living
in Foreclosed Properties”, published by the Department of the Public
Advocate, Trenton, NJ 08625, dated March 2010:
Courts and Sheriffs In addition to
owners and those who work for them, the courts and sheriff officers sometimes
mistakenly target protected tenants during the foreclosure process. The writs
of execution and final foreclosure judgments are drafted by the attorneys for
the lenders. The attorneys sometimes use language in court papers that cause
problems because it seems to cover tenants (for example, “and any and all
persons occupying said premises”). Other times attorneys specifically name
tenants and certify (swear to the court) that those tenants are not covered by
the Anti-Eviction Act. This is especially problematic because tenants
often do not have the opportunity to demonstrate that they are in fact
legitimate tenants until after the removal has already been ordered by the
court and scheduled by the sheriff. If a court order specifically names a
tenant to be removed, the sheriff must evict that person. Sometimes, however,
sheriffs read the language in the order and believe that they must evict
everyone. Also, some notices that sheriffs create and post on property include
language, such as “occupants” instead of “owners,” that appears to include
tenants. The Attorney General distributed a memo to sheriffs regarding the
rights of tenants living in foreclosed properties.
Thus, the judges and the sheriff
knew of the practices of Del Vecchio and ATF; yet, the sheriff employees acted
as agents for Del Vecchio and intentionally violated Dr. Stephanatos’
possessory rights, including a host of other offenses. Dr. Stephanatos
had informed the two judges and the sheriff of these practices by Del Vecchio
and ATF and had alerted the authorities (the sheriff, the governor, the local
senator O’Toole, etc.) that these individuals are breaking a host of state and
federal laws. Dr. Stephanatos also filed appeals and suits to vacate the
tax deed.
The phone records also prove that it
was Dr. Stephanatos who called Judge McVeigh at 8:56 am, to ask for the status
of an application of a stay. It was Dr. Stephanatos who initiated that,
and not the judge or anyone else as the prosecutor fraudulently asserts in his
letter. This significant evidence proves beyond doubt that the only thing
Dr. Stephanatos wanted for a 6-month stay that is freely granted under all
circumstances and it is in fact codified under the statutes: see NJSA
§ 2A:42-10.6.
It was that simple: a
statute-based stay would have solved every issue, but the reckless judge
McVeigh did not do it for whatever reason. Perhaps this judge was
incompetent, reckless, ruthless, biased, usurped her authority, or whatever
else. It would have been up to the Grand Jurors to determine the role of
the State and County employees and determine whether they acted prudently or
whether they caused the escalation of the situation through their negligent,
reckless or even criminal conduct.
Another
crucial and clearly exculpatory evidence was that Metropolitan Environmental
Services, was not part of the Writ of Possession; and that the Sheriff was not
authorized to remove Defendant’s business from the premises; but the Sheriff
did it anyway; the evidence presented to the Court (the communications
between Metropolitan Environmental Services and the Sheriff) shows that the
Sheriff was aware that a tenant was present and that no Writ had been issued
for that tenant. This crucial evidence also indicates that Defendant had
the right to defend his business and business property from intruders or
attackers; no such instructions were provided to the Grand Jurors, as the
State intentionally refused to provide that evidence to the jury. Dr. Stephanatos
had valid factual defenses that were never presented and thus, the prosecutor
interfered with the investigation of the Grand Jury.
Dr.
Stephanatos never threatened anyone few days prior to the eviction, as the
prosecutor has fraudulently asserted in his response brief; the Court
should order the State to provide proof of these fraudulent assertions, as
these lies were also made to the Grand Jurors and painted Dr. Stephanatos as a
violent person and affected the jury’s decision to indict;
It was Dr.
Stephanatos who called Judge McVeigh to ask for a stay or check on the status
of a stay he had applied few weeks ago, pursuant to with
NJSA § 2A:42-10.6 that allows up to a six month stay; the Sheriff
SWAT team had sharpshooters and snipers pointing at Defendant’s chest and head
while he was talking to judge McVeigh and Dr. Stephanatos was fearful of his
life and that is why he told the Judge that there will be blood shed unless
there is a stay; a simple stay (allowed by the New Jersey statutes (and
granted by all courts) would have prevented this incident); but the
reckless State employees caused Dr. Stephanatos to be under stress and duress
by trying to remove his business without having a Writ.
However, the two judges (McVeigh and
Jacobson) refused to stay the proceedings and this is a crucial fact that the
jury of 12 citizens will consider in their deliberations: why there was
so much haste to remove Dr. Stephanatos from his residence and place of
business? Why there was not a stay so that all these issues are
adjudicated? A SIMPLE STAY OF THE PROCEEDINGS WOULD HAVE PREVENTED THE
INCIDENT ON JUNE 28, 2011. Now we have found out significant issues
with what these conspirators did and the violation of numerous laws of this
state.
The grand jury was never made aware
of these illegal acts, because the Passaic County prosecutor refused to allow
me to testify in the grand jury and omitted all the available defenses – A
CLEAR VIOLATION OF NEW JERSEY LAW AND A GRAND JURY MISCONDUCT.
I have suffered several many
millions of dollars in damages due mostly to the failure of these two judges to
ensure that all New Jersey laws and procedures and homeowner’s rights are not
violated. They failed to perform even the slightest due process and only
accepted as true the claims of Robert Del Vecchio (a convicted felon), and his
co-conspirators. Their behavior raises some serious ethical and
competency issues and this court (a Passaic County court) will preside and do a
fact finding of all these critical facts and issues that affect another Passaic
County court – this will look to a common sense citizen as a conflict of
interest. That is the reason we are asking to transfer the case to
another county.
Very
Truly Yours,
Basilis
N. Stephanatos
=========================
Updated 2 hrs 36 mins ago
WYCKOFF,
New Jersey -- A New Jersey police chief who was suspended without pay
this summer for sending an email advocating racial profiling has
resigned and will retire next week.
The Record reports former
Wyckoff chief Benjamin Fox agreed to resign on Nov. 15 as part of deal
reached with the Bergen County town. His 180-day suspension, which began
Aug. 5, was also deemed "fully satisfied."
Fox will submit a retirement application dated Dec. 1 to the state Division of Pensions.
The
agreement released Wednesday by Wyckoff officials contained no details
about any conditions of Fox's retirement, the pension he will receive or
what other benefits he will keep or sacrifice.
Fox was
disciplined after the county prosecutor's office determined his 2014
email that said profiling has its place in law enforcement if done
correctly "explicitly" violated a state directive prohibiting racial
profiling.
Fox's email said profiling has its place in law
enforcement if done correctly. It also said that "black gang members
from Teaneck commit burglaries in Wyckoff. That's why we check out
suspicious black people in white neighborhoods.
Wyckoff is a
mostly white suburb, 30 miles west of New York. In his email, he also
noted that New York police stop white kids in black neighborhoods there
because "they know they are there to buy drugs."
County
Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal said an investigation didn't uncover "any
substantiated instances" of racial profiling by Wyckoff officers. Town
officials said Fox's actions were an "isolated incident" and that there
were no "systemic problems" in the police department.
Wyckoff
police officers underwent mandatory training in cultural awareness, use
of force, internal affairs, discrimination and liability compliance.
Racial
profiling is widespread in New Jersey. This idiot was caught because
he was stupid enough to put his thoughts into an email. Most of the
racial profiling is conducted by the traffic officers. Their most
common excuse to illegally stop a driver is that "he was swerving to the
right or to the left". This way they target Asians, blacks, Hispanics
and others who fit several other characteristics, including: out of
state plates (Texas, LA, etc), tattoos, long hair (mainly Asian
drivers), etc. There are thousands of illegally stopped drivers in the
court system, most of them in county jails.
Here is a case that illustrates the corrupt and illegal behavior of the New Jersey officers:
A
young Asian driver (Vietnamese-American and US citizen) drives at night
from Upstate New York (where he had visited his mother) to Louisiana.
Inside the car is his girlfriend, sleeping on the passenger side.
He
unfortunately has to drive through New Jersey Route 17 and then I-95.
Around 2 am on the 6th of July, he is illegally stopped by Ramsey police
based on the excuse that he was swerving to the right. Video from the
police car shows that the Asian driver had Texas plates and had his
window down. The video does not show that he was swerving to the left
or the right.
There is almost no traffic on the Route 17 at that time.
The
Ramsey cops stop him, but they never tell him that he was swerving to
the right. They instead tell ask him if he was smoking marijuana. The
driver replies that "I am just smoking a cigarette". However, the
Ramsey cops claim that they smelled marijuana and that he was smoking
the cigarette to mask the smell of marijuana.
These corrupt Ramsey cops order the Asian driver (who has chest-long hair, facial hair and tattoos) to get out of the car.
They
immediately put him under detention and hand-cuff him. All that
without probable cause, as no marijuana is visible by visual inspection
of the car. These corrupt cops then demand that the driver allows them
to search the car. The poor Asian driver is scarred shitless at this
time and allows them to search the car. They search the car for at
least half an hour and they do not find any drugs (as this poor driver
did not have any drugs with him).
Eventually
these corrupt cops always find an excuse to bring charges against the
driver they have illegally stopped, including planting evidence,
illegally jailing the driver, blackmailing the driver, etc. This is
happening at an alarming rate in New Jersey.
=============
Wyckoff, New Jersey police chief on voluntary leave during racial profiling investigation
Toni Yates reports investigators are looking into whether a New Jersey police chief defended racial profiling in an e-mail.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
WYCKOFF,
New Jersey -- A police chief is taking a temporary leave while
prosecutors investigate whether he told his officers that racial
profiling, including checking out "suspicious black people in white
neighborhoods," has a place in policing.
Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy and acting Bergen County prosecutor Gurbir Grewal said in a statement Tuesday that their offices are investigating an email from Wyckoff police Chief Benjamin Fox.
"On
its face, the email appears to be a clear violation of the Attorney
General's policy strictly prohibiting racial profiling by police
officers," they said in the statement. "We are conducting a full
investigation and will take all appropriate measures."
At an
emergency township committee meeting Tuesday night, Fox asked to go on
administrative leave while the investigation is pending. A statement
from the town said that Fox will explain the email to investigators and
"demonstrate that neither he nor our police department has ever condoned
or engaged in profiling."
The December 2014 email was released
by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey on Tuesday. The
group says it obtained it anonymously last week.
"Encouraging
police officers to act with racial bias is unacceptable," said Alexander
Shalom, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU in New Jersey. "Sowing
mistrust at this level damages civil rights, and it threatens public
safety by diminishing the faith people have in the police."
The
email says that profiling has its place in law enforcement when used
correctly and applied fairly. It says that officers should "check out
suspicious black people in white neighborhoods" because "black gang
members" from a nearby town commit burglaries in Wyckoff, a mostly white
suburb, 30 miles west of New York.
The email says that New York
police stop white kids in black neighborhoods there because "they know
they are there to buy drugs."
"It's insane to think that the
police should just 'dumb down just to be politically correct,'" the
email says. "The public wants us to keep them safe and I'm confident
that they want us to use our skills and knowledge to attain that goal."
The
email says officers should continue to be fair to people and treat them
with respect but should use "counter reaction as the law allows" if
someone resists an authorized demand.
======
Investigation into NJ police chief's email defending racial profiling
Toni Yates reports investigators are looking into whether a New Jersey police chief defended racial profiling in an e-mail.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
WYCKOFF,
New Jersey -- New Jersey prosecutors are investigating whether a police
chief told his officers that racial profiling has a place in policing,
including checking out "suspicious black people in white neighborhoods."
Tuesday night, there was news that the police chief would take temporary leave while prosecutors complete their investigation.
Acting
Attorney General Robert Lougy and acting Bergen County Prosecutor
Gurbir Grewal said in a statement Tuesday that the offices are
investigating an email from Wyckoff police Chief Benjamin Fox.
"On
its face, the email appears to be a clear violation of the Attorney
General's policy strictly prohibiting racial profiling by police
officers," they said in the statement. "We are conducting a full
investigation and will take all appropriate measures."
Someone
answering the phone at Fox's office said he wasn't available to comment.
A message left with the mayor of Wyckoff wasn't immediately returned.
The
December 2014 email was released by the American Civil Liberties Union
of New Jersey on Tuesday. The group says it obtained it anonymously last
week.
"Encouraging police officers to act with racial bias is
unacceptable," said Alexander Shalom, a senior staff attorney for the
ACLU in New Jersey. "Sowing mistrust at this level damages civil rights,
and it threatens public safety by diminishing the faith people have in
the police."
The email says that profiling has its place in law
enforcement when used correctly and applied fairly. It says that
officers should "check out suspicious black people in white
neighborhoods" because "black gang members" from a nearby town commit
burglaries in Wyckoff, a mostly white suburb, 30 miles west of New York.
The email says that New York police stop white kids in black
neighborhoods there because "they know they are there to buy drugs."
"It's
insane to think that the police should just 'dumb down just to be
politically correct,'" the email says. "The public wants us to keep them
safe and I'm confident that they want us to use our skills and
knowledge to attain that goal."
The email says that officers
should continue to be fair to people and treat them with respect, but
they should use "counter reaction as the law allows" if someone resists
an authorized demand.
"Above all, do what you have to do and that which the law allows you to do to remain safe," the email says.
==================
Dr. Basilis N. Stephanatos, Ph.D., P.E., J.D., Q.E.D.
THE SERIOUSLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL CASE OF STATE V. BASILIS STEPHANATOS
Tax
foreclosure companies in New Jersey (American Tax Funding, LLC, and
others see for example this link:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-new-jersey-investors-plead-guilty-their-roles-bid-rigging-schemes-municipal-tax-lien)
failed to follow the Anti-eviction laws and the Summary Dispossess Act
and obtained a writ for removal without a hearing before a law-division
judge - they basically used a self-certification and fooled the Office
of Foreclosure in Trenton that had no jurisdiction over his real estate
property as he had objected to the legal proceedings and no issues were
ever adjudicated.
American Tax Funding, LLC, Robert Del
Vecchio, Esq. and others also lied to the sheriff that he had threatened
them with violence if they try to evict him from his home that he fully
owned (no mortgage on the home). The sheriff then lied to the grand
jurors that he displayed a gun at them and lied that they were injured.
In
any event, five years ago, the grand jury indicts Dr. Stephanatos based
on the fraudulent grand jury presentation and the willful failure to
disclose to the Grand Jury clearly exculpatory evidence. In 2011, Dr.
Stephanatos asked for speedy trial, but that never happened.
In
early 2016, Dr. Stephanatos had been publishing in a blog the
proceedings of the meritless criminal case against him. Based on the
publishing, a good Samaritan came forward who provided evidence that Dr.
Stephanatos was framed by Passaic County sheriff officers Lucas and
d'Agostino. In his blog, Dr. Stephanatos has been complaining about the
violation of hisspeedy trial rights: the delay of the case is now at 5.5
years and running!
In March 2016, and in order to prevent
the spreading of the truth, the Passaic county prosecutor, Peter Roby,
then claimed that Dr. Stephanatos was crazy and that he must be
submitted for psychiatric evaluation. He also claimed that the State’s
witnesses could be threatened by Dr. Stephanatos.
Dr.
Stephanatos' lawyer, Mr. Miles Feinstein, Esq of Clifton, NJ vehemently
opposed the incarceration as violative of his first amendment rights,
etc. In any event, they locked him up at the Bergen county jail from
March 21, 2016 through May 25, 2016. During the last two weeks of his
jail time, a state psychologist came and evaluated him. He found him
intelligent, sane and competent. When Dr. Stephanatos asked him why it
took them two months to show-up at the jail to evaluate him, he said he
only got the assignment during the last week of April 2016.
Dr.
Stephanatos then filed a complaint against judge de la Carrera (the
judge who ordered his incarceration) with the presiding judge Ernest
Capossela. Judge Capossela immediately dismissed Judge de la Carrera
from the case and started presiding over the case on his own. He said
that what de la Carrera and Passaic county prosecutor, Peter Roby, did
was illegal and unconstitutional, as no threats were ever made by Dr.
Stephanatos against anyone. All this stuff is in on the record. He made
these statements and much more in open court on May 26, 2016 when he
ordered Dr. Stephanatos' release.
After more than five
years on bail, the accuser, Ronald A. Lucas (a sheriff employee) is
convicted for insurance fraud for faking his injury. The judge in Dr.
Stephanatos' case is fired by the assignment judge, who then proceeds to
dismiss the case for a number of reasons: violation of speedy trial
rights, perjured testimony, failure to provide discovery, misleading the
grand jury, prosecutorial misconduct.
Dr. Stephanatos suffered significant economic and non-economic losses. Many millions in damages.
In addition to the loss of his freedom and the loss of his dignity, he also lost income, family time, etc. You can understand.
The
criminal case against Dr. Stephanatos is meritless, that is why it has
been delayed for 6.5 years and counting. They have not even provided
discovery! And the Passaic County Sheriff, Richard Berdnik, claims
that all information about the names of the sheriff's officer's and
their telecommunications, emails, phone calls does not exist anymore.
Basically Berdnik has destroyed all the evidence to prevent the
conviction of his officers for perjury, conspiracy to violate civil
rights, and many other offenses. The thugs, who call themselves law
enforcement officers, at work in Passaic County, the most corrupt county
in New Jersey.
Here are some links regarding Dr. Stephanatos' criminal case:
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2016/03/explosive-bombshell-ronald-lucas.html
https://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2016/03/proofs-that-ron-lucas-was-not-at-scene_17.html
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2015/12/perjured-employees-and-prosecutorial.html
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2016/03/is-passaic-county-sheriff-richard_13.html
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-corrupt-andor-incompetent-chancery.html
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2016/01/walter-dewey-jr-of-passaic-county_14.html
https://sites.google.com/site/metropolitanenvironmental/explosive-bombshell-ronald-a-lucas-defrauded-new-jersey-s-police-and-firemen-system-by-claiming-that-he-suffered-on-the-job-injury
=================
FORMER PASSAIC COUNTY
SHERIFF OFFICER RONALD A. LUCAS LIED DURING HIS GRAND JURY TESTIMONY
WHEN HE CLAIMED THAT HE INJURED HIS LEFT SHOULDER DURING A FALL AT A
WAYNE TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY PROPERTY. HE IN FACT HAD PRIOR INJURIES BY
PLAYING FOOTBALL FOR MANY YEARS AND LIFTING WEIGHTS
As part of
an investigation we have been performing, we discovered that Ronald A.
Lucas, a former Passaic County sheriff officer with the Civil Division
lied about his on-the-job shoulder injury. Lucas claimed that he fell on
the job on June 28, 2011 at 687 Indian Road, Wayne, NJ and that he
injured his left shoulder requiring several pins. He then filed a
disability claim with the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits
(Police and Firemen Retirement System). He was granted disability for
one year with subsequent review. After he retired with claimed
disability, he obtained a job as part-time security guard at the
Pequannock High School.
We discovered that Mr. Lucas suffered
shoulder injuries while playing football and lifting heavy weights over
his lifetime. He was a linebacker with the Pompton Lakes Cardinals,
using his shoulder to hit and tackle his opponents during practice and
during football games. We are attaching a picture showing that he was
#41 in the Cardinal’s Pompton Lake football team. Lucas has fallen on
his shoulder probably thousand times during his athletic and training
career.
Everybody knows that linebackers hit and tackle their
opponents using their shoulders. These athletes also lift heavy weights
and they end-up injuries their shoulders. He even made the All County
Team in 1980, showing how hard he was working out. Based on our
investigation, we found that weight lifting athletes do suffer shoulder
injuries of the type claimed by Lucas.
He also trained his two
sons (Dean Lucas and Ronnie Lucas) into playing TE and DE positions also
with the Cardinals football team. In fact, linebackers suffer at least
13.5 percent of all football injuries and at least 65 percent of the
linebackers end up undergoing surgery.
We have obtained photos
showing Mr. Lucas lifting weights, after his alleged job-ending
disability. See for example the attached image that is dated December
2013.
It is obvious to a reasonable and objective person that
Lucas (in his mid-50s) took this incident on June 28, 2011 to claim
on-the job-injury to be able to repair his previously injured shoulder
at taxpayers’ expense and to retire and then blame Basilis Stephanatos
for his injuries. After he retired, he started the double dipping. The
finest of New Jersey at "work". But he was caught and he will face the
consequences.
=====================
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 30, 2013
Two New Jersey Investors Plead Guilty for Their Roles in Bid-rigging Schemes at Municipal Tax Lien Auctions
Investigation Has Yielded 14 Guilty Pleas
Two financial investors who purchased municipal tax liens pleaded
guilty today for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids at auctions
conducted by New Jersey municipalities for the sale of those tax liens,
the Department of Justice announced.
A felony charge was filed
today in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark,
against Robert U. Del Vecchio Sr., of Hawthorne, N.J. According to the
charge, from in or about 2000 until approximately December 2008, Del
Vecchio Sr. participated in a conspiracy to rig bids at auctions for the
sale of municipal tax liens in New Jersey by agreeing to allocate among
certain bidders which liens each would bid on. Additionally, a felony
charge was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of
New Jersey in Newark, against Michael Mastellone, of Cedar Knolls, N.J.
for participating in a similar conspiracy from in or about 2000 until
approximately February 2009. The department said that Del Vecchio Sr.
and Mastellone proceeded to submit bids in accordance with the
agreements and purchased tax liens at collusive and non-competitive
interest rates.
“By conspiring to rig the bids of municipal tax
liens, the conspirators profited at the expense of those already
struggling financially,” said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant
Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement
program. “Protecting Americans from these types of bid-rigging schemes
remains a high priority for the division.”
The department said
the primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and restrain
competition in order to obtain selected municipal tax liens offered at
public auctions at non-competitive interest rates. When the owner of
real property fails to pay taxes on that property, the municipality in
which the property is located may attach a lien for the amount of the
unpaid taxes. If the taxes remain unpaid after a waiting period, the
lien may be sold at auction. State law requires that investors bid on
the interest rate delinquent property owners will pay upon redemption.
By law, the bid opens at 18 percent interest and, through a competitive
bidding process, can be driven down to zero percent. If a lien remains
unpaid after a certain period of time, the investor who purchased the
lien may begin foreclosure proceedings against the property to which the
lien is attached.
According to the court documents, Del
Vecchio Sr. and Mastellone were involved in the conspiracy with others
not to bid against one another at municipal tax lien auctions in New
Jersey. Since the conspiracy permitted the conspirators to purchase tax
liens with limited competition, each conspirator was able to obtain
liens which earned a higher interest rate. Property owners were
therefore made to pay higher interest on their tax debts than they would
have paid had their liens been purchased in open and honest
competition, the department said.
A violation of the Sherman
Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million
fine for individuals. The maximum fine for a Sherman Act violation may
be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss
suffered by the victims if either amount is greater than the $1 million
statutory maximum.
Today’s pleas are the 13th and 14th guilty
pleas resulting from an ongoing investigation into bid rigging or fraud
related to municipal tax lien auctions. Nine individuals – Isadore H.
May, Richard J. Pisciotta Jr., William A. Collins, Robert W. Stein,
David M. Farber, Robert E. Rothman, Stephen E. Hruby, David Butler and
Norman T. Remick – and three companies – DSBD LLC, Crusader Servicing
Corp. and Mercer S.M.E. Inc. – have previously pleaded guilty as part of
this investigation.
Today’s charges were brought in connection
with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task
force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive
effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20
federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local
partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory
and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its
formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating
increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing
coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities;
addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and
conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and
other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice
Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly
15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants.
For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust
Division’s New York Office and the FBI’s Atlantic City, N.J., office.
Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to
municipal tax lien auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s New
York Office at 212-335-8000, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm or contact the Atlantic City Resident Agency of the FBI at 609-677-6400.
American Electric Power (AEP) retired one of its plants in West Virginia, as part of its compliance plan with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mercury Air Toxics Standards. The plant is located along the Ohio River and the closure of the coal yard and ash disposal sites is part of the overall disposition of the plant site. AEP retained Tetra Tech to provide engineering, design, and permitting services required to close the fly ash and bottom ash ponds and the coal yard. 
