Hoboken Mayor Is Said to Have Told of Threat

[Beacool]

Source: New York Times

By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
JAN. 23, 2014


Federal authorities in New Jersey have interviewed several witnesses who said the mayor of Hoboken told them in May about a state official’s threat to withhold hurricane recovery funds if the mayor did not support a development project favored by the governor, people briefed on the matter said on Wednesday.

The statements by the witnesses, two of whom are aides to the mayor, Dawn Zimmer, support the account she gave to federal prosecutors on Sunday, and the interviews suggest that prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have moved swiftly to investigate her accusations.

The aides said she had told them about the threat by Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, shortly after it occurred, according to two people briefed on the matter.
Related Coverage

A Hoboken city councilman, David Mello, said in an interview that Ms. Zimmer had also told him about the threat by Ms. Guadagno, a Republican. Mr. Mello, a Democrat, said he had been upset to hear about what he called “this quid pro quo ultimatum by the lieutenant governor.”


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/nyregion/hoboken-mayor-is-said-to-have-told-of-threat.html?smid=tw-share&_r=2

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The plot thickens.........

[bigdarryl]

1. The plot thickens

[Beacool]

2. Yes, it does.

Their statements are hearsay, but at least they can confirm that Zimmer was talking about this since last May and that it troubled her.

[beachbum bob]

16. Yes BUT corroborates her

Journal entries. Look...if and when charges to come...think how a jury will interpret all this. ..if any player in this drama could be flipped.. It will be the lt. Governor. She knows what her survival odds would be in prison.

[1StrongBlackMan]

17. And that is what gets this around the hearsay rule ...

their testimony will not be offered to prove the truth of her claim (that the Lt. Governor had attempted to extort her); but rather to, knock down the narrative that her silence until now, someone casts doubt on whether she had the conversation.

[B2G]

3. Good, but I can't understand

why she didn't say something 8 months ago.

[DURHAM D]

4. I can.

I guess you get it or you don't.

[B2G]

7. Enlighten me then

Why did she sit on this for so long, given the severity of the charges?

She essentially let him get re-elected by saying nothing. Yet everyone is treating her like a hero.

[warrior1]

10. nobody would have believed her

and she probably didn't feel safe saying something like this with no support.


I just happy it's out in the open.

[pnwmom]

21. Because all she wanted was for Hoboken to get its money

and she was hoping that they'd get it if she just didn't make waves. Also, she knew that if she brought this up amidst the re-election campaign of a very popular Governor, the other side would accuse her of making a partisan political attack -- just like they are now. But the bridge scandal put a major hole into his credibility. Now maybe, she thought, people will believe her.

[Jack Rabbit]

23. She was still negotiating with Christie's administration for the relief funds

In short, the mobsters in Trenton had something she wanted.

Christie won re-election by a country mile. A whiff of scandal involving members of his staff (but not directly him) wouldn't have made enough difference.

[Cooley Hurd]

5. Easy one... because she was embarrassed about her support of Christie in the face...

...of what she ultimately found out about him. I'm sure there was a "denial" period for her.

[B2G]

8. Would have been nice

if she had come out of her 'denial period' before the election.

[Cooley Hurd]

9. Perhaps, but she didn't... and has since made amends.

[Stuart G]

6. I do.

For whatever reason, she was scared at that time that he/Christie would retaliate in vicious ways against her and her city... Once the bridge thing hit, and it was clear that it would be "safer" to come forward, as there were other investigations going on, then she did.

[Beacool]

11. She didn't have Guadagno on tape.

It would have been a she said / she said and not much more. Christie was very popular in the state and his reelection was almost assured. Although she didn't endorse him, she liked the guy and was supportive of some of his efforts. She felt that if she came forward no one would have believed her and she could have done harm to the city. She was afraid that the state would block further funds that Hoboken needed. I think that at first she might have been in disbelief of what had happened. She mentions in her journal how disappointed she was that he was no different than all the other corrupt politicians.

On a human level, I think that it's scary to go after a bully who happens to be popular.

[marias23]

18. Contemporaneous diary entries are great evidence

Contemporaneous diary entries in the regular course of business and reporting to others is great legal evidence and does not show any malicious intent on her part. If she wore a wire, etc. people would have said Zimmer was after Chrstie.

[Bandit]

19. It really isn't relevant at all. What is relevant is whether she is truthful

It makes absolutely no difference at all when she made the accusation, only if they are true or not. That is what the Feds are now attempting to find out.

[riverwalker]

12. her lawyer

is married to author Anna Quindlen.

...Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer is poised to hire prominent New Jersey lawyer Gerald Krovatin to represent her, as federal prosecutors investigate her claims that Gov. Chris Christie's office withheld tens of millions of dollars in Sandy-related funds from Hoboken because Zimmer refused to push for a Christie-connected real estate development.
Hoboken's city council plans to vote tonight on whether to appoint Krovatin as the city's as “special legal counsel.” Krovatin has defended Dawn Zimmer in civil court in the past...
Reached by phone, Krovatin declined to comment this evening...It wasn’t immediate clear what the scope of Krovatin’s work for the city would be, or whether it would go beyond advising Zimmer as the U.S. Attorney’s Office looks into her accusations. According to the city council’s agenda, Krovatin would advise the city on “Sandy Relief Government Funding investigation related matter...

"...Gerald Krovatin just doesn’t care. He’s one of New Jersey’s A-list lawyers. He’s married to Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Anna Quindlen. And in recent times he has been publicly critical of political heavyweights such as Jon Corzine, Chris Christie and Dick Codey...
Krovatin just doesn’t care. About making enemies. About repercussions. About ticking people off. He has made a career out of taking on The Man and is a rarity in the incestuous and clubby world of New Jersey politics and law...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/22/1271795/-Breaking-FBI-Questioning-Hoboken-Mayor-s-Aides

[Beacool]

14. Thank you for the information and the link.

Krovatin sounds like a good choice. I'm glad that Zimmer and the city are getting good legal counsel.

[Beacool]

26. You were correct. This is from the Hoboken Patch.

Hoboken Council Lawyers Up as FBI Probes Allegations of Sandy Funding Threat

Federal agents have spoken to Mayor Dawn Zimmer's chief of staff, Dan Bryan, and Juan Melli, her communications director, according to NBC News.

The City of Hoboken hired a lawyer Wednesday as federal agents conduct an investigation into allegations that New Jersey officials would deny relief funds to storm-battered Hoboken last year unless the city's mayor supported a development project.

City council voted 5-4 Wednesday to hire Newark-based criminal defense attorney Gerry Krovatin to "represent the council’s interests" as the investigation proceeds, according to northjersey.com.

http://hoboken.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/hoboken-council-lawyers-up-as-fbi-probes-allegations-of-sandy-funding-threat

[musiclawyer]

13. Hopefully she told her city attorney

He could have her waived privilege. His testimony would carry more weight than anyone else

[Beacool]

15. She supposedly told five people.

Maybe the city attorney is one of them. So far they have only mentioned two of the people by name.

[fierywoman]

20. Did you know that the meaning of "Guadagno" (from Italian) means:

"nm. earnings, gain, profit, increment, reward

v. earn, get, gain, make, rake in "


??? not that we are our surnames, but in this case ...
I find it hopeful that Zimmer told others in May of the alleged conversation -- makes it no longer "she said-she said."

[Beacool]

24. No, I didn't know.

How apropos.

[Kingofalldems]

22. No way! They're all members of the democrat party,

out to get our next President!

Benghazi!

[Beacool]

25. Yep, that's all they can come up with: Benghazi.