AHEM: Lt Gov. Guadagno is probably not the most credible person to attack Mayor Zimmer's credibility

[kpete]

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno is probably not the most credible person to attack Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer's credibility.



Let's look at a little of Kim's background, shall we?

His running mate, CHRISTIE KEEPS PENSION PROBE RECORDS FROM PUBLIC VIEW AS GOVERNOR EYES SECOND TERM & 2016 RACE FOR WHITE HOUSE Investigative Report by Mark Lagerkvist
- See more at: http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2013/09/23/christie-keeps-guadagno-probe-from-public-view-as-he-eyes-2016/#sthash.1m8EDJkb.dpuf

............................

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, is a central figure in a hush-hush pension fraud probe that began more than two years ago. Now the Christie Administration is arguing in court that the outcome, findings and all other records of the investigation should remain state secrets.

In a quest for those records, a New Jersey Watchdog reporter is suing the state Division of Criminal Justice. A hearing is scheduled for October 3 in Mercer County Superior Court.

DCJ began its investigation in May 2011 at the behest of a pension board, according to a sworn statement by a state official. Christie, Guadagno and DCJ officials have declined comment. In court papers, the state refuses to acknowledge whether the case is open or closed.

The inquiry followed an investigative report by New Jersey Watchdog detailing how false statements by Guadagno enabled one of her top aides to improperly collect and keep $245,000 from the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System.

MORE:
http://crooksandliars.com/2014/01/did-christies-lt-gov-help-falsify-docs
http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2013/09/23/christie-keeps-guadagno-probe-from-public-view-as-he-eyes-2016/

[jsr]

1. Recommend

[bettyellen]

2. Rec, I totally trust Mayor Zimmer on this.

[malaise]

3. Oops!!

Drip drip drip!!!

[Aerows]

12. The whole is getting a LOT bigger, isn't it?

As you say, it's delish

[malaise]

18. Delish is the word

[flamingdem]

4. Goodie - watching her on msnbc right now

She looks a bit stressed!

[House of Roberts]

5. It's like peeling a rotten onion.

The nearer you get to the middle, it still doesn't get any better.

[kpete]

6. peeling some more for you here:

As Monmouth County sheriff in 2008, Guadagno hired Michael W. Donovan Jr. as “chief of law enforcement division” at a $87,500 annual salary. She announced the appointment in a memo to her staff. The sheriff’s official website identified Donovan as “sheriff’s officer chief,” supervising 115 subordinate officers and 30 civilian employees.

Donovan faced a legal problem. He was already collecting an $85,000 a year state pension as a retired investigator for the county prosecutor. While double-dipping is often legal in New Jersey, this case was different.

Since the position of sheriff’s officer chief is covered by the pension system, Donovan should have been required to stop receiving benefits, re-enroll in the retirement plan and resume contributions to the pension fund.

Instead, Guadagno falsified Donovan’s job title in several documents so her aide could get two checks, not just one, totaling $172,500 a year.

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/01/did-christies-lt-gov-help-falsify-docs

[TheBlackAdder]

7. Betraying the Trust of their office... That's some Level 9 stuff right there.

[Walk away]

8. Guadagno stinks of corruption, coverup and Governor Christie back sweat!

Did you see who was standing behind her in the interview? A bunch of mayors who looked straight out of Boardwalk Empire. Shouldn't Christie be standing at her side? Shouldn't he be loudly defending her?

Another future resident of the Federal Prison System.

[starroute]

9. There's also this nasty little story about Guadagno

Paul Krugman posted the link this morning, since it's from his local Princeton news site.

http://www.princetoninfo.com/index.php?option=com_us1more&Itemid=6&key=01-15-14guadagno

I lean close to the microphone, state my name, and go on permanent record saying that the site should remain open to strengthen the city, attract people, and move in a positive direction.

As I leave the session I have a queasy feeling and wonder if I had just put myself in harm’s way with the state administration, especially the lieutenant governor. But then think, “But this is the United States where it is our duty to speak up. What could happen?”

With this administration, the answer seems to be plenty.

While the current revelations about the Christie administration waging retribution on Fort Lee may be an eye opener for some, it is something I have lived through.

[Squinch]

11. You should put this up as its own OP. Fascinating and horrifying, like a car crash.

[cleduc]

13. I agree. Give that story some more visibility with it's own thread

[handmade34]

15. Excellent read...

...as 2011 closed out the Ledger...editors called the entire affair “a sloppy power grab, nothing else.”

But the Ledger’s note that Guadagno’s actions were “nothing else” is wrong. There is a something else and it is appearing in the (current) E-mails of Governor Christie’s staff, especially in the glee of seeing people hurt.

In Fort Lee the ridiculed were people attempting to get their kids to school or get to work.

In Trenton it was an arts professional who helped make the New Jersey State Council on the Arts one of the most respected state arts agencies in the nation and dedicated cultural employees and volunteers who were smeared in public by someone who had the power and position to do so.

And around the state it is the teacher, the veteran, or the reporter who disagrees with the governor and gets labeled “idiot” or “stupid” while staff members look on and laugh…"

...it is the teacher, the veteran, or the reporter who disagrees with the governor and gets labeled “idiot” or “stupid” while staff members look on and laugh… vile stuff

[olegramps]

10. Mayor Dawn Zimmer has made statements to federal law officials.

Last edited Mon Jan 20, 2014, 05:19 PM - Edit history (1)

If she is lying then she would be subject to prosecution. So I am convinced at this time that she is telling the truth. I can not believe that she would put herself in such a position especially when she must have had legal advise. What I wonder if Guadagno refuses to answer questions by federal investigators could they bring charges against her? What would happen in that case if Zimmer takes a lie detector test and she is found to be not lying? Maybe someone with legal training could address what is at stake.

[smokey nj]

16. It's Zimmer, not Zimmerman.

[olegramps]

22. Oh lord. I certainly wouldn't to confuse them. Thanks.

[safeinOhio]

17. Those test are legal in civil cases,

but may not be used in criminal cases. For judges and juries in civil cases, refusal to take a test that is offered to both parties and is refused by one and not the other, the one refusing is seen as being untruthful.

[VA_Jill]

14. This whole thing

is like watching a multiple vehicle car crash in slow motion, with bodies flying…..what my mother would call "grimly fascinating." You can't look away.

[arthritisR_US]

19. This should be sent to Chris Hayes or Rachel Maddow. nt

[Dawson Leery]

20. Mayor Zimmer is not backing down.

[bluestate10]

24. She absolutely shouldn't back down. I think that she is telling the truth. nt

[Jack Rabbit]

21. At this point, one should wonder if anyone close to Governor Christie is credible

I don't want to deprive anyone of a presumption of innocence, but to believe that the Governor wasn't in the loop is to assume that Christie is passive manager. Perhaps some New Jersey DUers can weigh in, but whever I see Governor Christie on the net, I see a man whose doctors must be concerned about hypertension as well as his weight. He is what used to be called a "type A" personality; such people, when given the kind of responsibility that goes with being a chief executive, are usually hands on managers. Moreover, Christie can be a good governor when he wants to be, but he often doesn't want to be. Do I believe the Lt. Governor was delivering a message from Governor Christie to Mayor Zimmer? Yes, I do; but more than this will be required to stand up in court.

I also don't believe Mayor Zimmer would make up a story like this. That would be a lot more foolish then for Lt. Governor Guadagno to deny the whole thing, as Mayor said that the Lt. Governor said she'd do. And of course, she did. Whatever the facts are, a person accused of doing such a thing is going to deny it and it means nothing that she did. If Mayor had come out months ago nothing would have come of it; it would have been one person's word against another. However, with the Governor and others around him coming under investigation, she could talk to the press one day and give her evidence to a prosecutor the next.

[bluestate10]

23. Guadagno is a documented liar and crook. nt

[nashville_brook]

25. k and r

[WillyT]

26. K & R !!!

[spanone]

27. this is one rotting fish