According to a document which shows fuel usage for county take home vehicles Undersheriff Joe Cryan used the most taxpayer funded gas out of all employees assigned cars in 2009 at 1302.7 gallons.

Excerpt Bob Ingle article from 5/20/10 “Cryan Speaks with Forked Tongue”:

…… from Assembly Democratic Leader Joe Cryan, who’s also a undersheriff (Where does he find the time?) “Gov. Christie just made life more unaffordable for more than 600,000 senior and disabled citizens while awarding 16,000 millionaires with a tax cut.” That would be the same Democrat leader Cryan now proposing an 8-cents-a-gallon gas tax for the next three years (total, 24 cents a gallon more) then an inflation-related hike every year for the rest of your life.

Cryan and the Democrats he speaks for have some nerve to talk about making life unaffordable for seniors and the disabled. Not only do they and the rest of us have to get to the grocery, pharmacy or the doctor’s office, but everything delivered or transported by motorized vehicles — drugs and groceries, for instance — will cost more because of Cryan’s proposed hikes….

Vehicle List Referenced

Bob Ingle Article Referenced

The Star-Ledger reported today that a former Trenton lobbyist gets probation for stalking ex-girlfriend of state Assemblyman Joe Cryan.

Judge Maenza, who recently replaced Judge Ahto, ordered the prosecution to return to Golding her computers that had been seized by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office. The judge also said the criminal case, which began in and stayed in Union County for some time before being transferred to Morris County, should not have been handled in Union County because of a conflict of interest — Cryan was a public official there.

Maenza said, “I agree (with Greenman, Goldings attorney), Union County should have dropped this thing a long time ago. They didn’t and kind of lost their objectivity.”

Cryan was friends with Union County investigators who didn’t believe Golding about her relationship with Cryan, and that she had the emails to prove it — and never bothered to forensically examine her seized computers to check out her story, Greenman said. Instead, she was portrayed as making up a “fantasy,” he said.

“I have no comment on her sentencing, however she pled guilty,” Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow said after the hearing. “The Attorney General’s Office reviewed - at the request of Ms. Golding - the investigation, prosecution and disposition of this case and said it was appropriate. I think the judge did not have the luxury of looking at the (entire case) file, and only saw the presentencing report. His statement is misplaced.”

However, former Assistant Attorney General Debra Stone, who has been a county prosecutor and overseen prosecutor’s offices from Trenton, said in a Star-Ledger article from May 2006 that the time and manpower expended on the Golding investigation appear disproportionate to the charge of fourth-degree stalking.

“The whole case is not normal. It sounds like it was certainly not a run-of-the-mill stalking case in terms of the investigation. It’s highly unusual,” Stone said. She said the number of investigators following Golding that day was “more similar to something we would use on a homicide investigation.”

Read the article in its entirety: Complaint by Democratic boss mobilized a small army of investigators

When I first read an on-line article published by the Star-Ledger yesterday regarding a charge being downgraded to a lesser offense against a former Morristown councilman, who is Assemblyman Joe Cryan’s cousin, I found it very interesting that the Judge - Ahto, was the same judge assigned to the Karen Golding PTI drama. So much so that I re-read the article this morning and the judge’s name was no longer mentioned. Hmmm even more interesting.

The same judge that could send Karen Golding to jail, wouldn’t recuse himself from another Cryan case? Further, he goes light on a Cryan cousin who according to published articles had become “combative and assaulted an officer”, police said in a statement at the time of his arrest. Plus he’s an elected official, shouldn’t he be held to a higher standard than the average drunken bar patron?

Thinking I could be possibly mistaken about reading Judge Ahto’s name, after all it was just two words within an entire article, I emailed the reporter and he was kind enough to get back to me with his take on the situation - that it was a simple edit for the print version, that the reference was deleted; then, at night, the most-recent versions of stories are swapped in for the earlier postings.

Are we to believe that two words needed to be removed in order to cut down the size of the article for print? Two words that made the article so much more interesting and journalistically important?

According to the article the assault charge was downgraded because of “proof issues” and both violations were sent back to the lower court because the officer “had no objection to having it remanded to municipal court”.

Gee, it would take a special New Jersey career law enforcement officer not to want the opportunity to do a favor for a powerful power broker. Special prosecutors and judges too.

The case had been transferred out of Morris County due to a potential conflict of interest, because Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi knows the Cryan family members. Who doesn’t?

As a part of her plea deal Golding was forced to plead guilty in order to enter PTI, although pleading guilty is not ordinarily required to be admitted to the program. She is currently fighting to have her guilty plea remanded. Ahto recently ruled against her – again. I guess there are no “proof issues” between an officer and an alleged criminal when 19 investigators from the Union County Prosecutor’s office are involved with the case.

Who could believe we have a just justice system that holds all men equal? Or that the Star-Ledger doesn’t have room to print two little words “Judge Ahto”.

Post previously reported on the Golding matter: HERE

Christmastime is a time of reflection for me. An old school Catholic, I believe the Advent season isn’t about shopping and Santa, but it is supposed to be a time of personal reflection and Jesus.

This year’s snow storm offered me the chance to couple this belief with my County Watchers year in review, which is a huge task and one I always push off until after Christmas and pull it off just in the nick of time feeling resentful of having to get it done and motivated by the year’s daily countdown.

While working on the review last night (Sat.) I realized I had left something unrecorded on this blog and quickly drafted an entry. When reading the Ledger today (Sun.) I decided to change it a bit, an epiphany of sorts when I was reminded of Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow’s stellar reputation and Governor Elect Chris Christie’s putting aside politics to nominate the Democrat to the State’s Attorney General’s post.

I’ve heard of the Union County Prosecutor’s office being used as a political weapon for politicians and county hacks alike. My experience this past year with the Sussex County Prosecutor’s office cemented my beliefs that local prosecutor’s offices are all politically driven and unethical despite exceptions like Essex County Prosecutor Paul Dow. They shouldn’t be trusted or cooperated with willingly.

According to the Sussex County Website office of the Prosecutor:
The Prosecutor is the legal advocate of the people of the state and is responsible for the enforcement of its criminal laws. Because the supreme interest of the citizenry is to see that its laws are enforced justly, that is the Prosecutor’s duty. The Prosecutor must both refrain from the use of improper methods calculated to produce a wrongful conviction and must use every available legitimate means to obtain just convictions.

According to my experience with them:
April 20, 2009 Sussex County Prosecutor gives new meaning to the term “out to lunch”.
Tina Renna is accused of perjury but never charged. The incident involved her full cooperation in an on-going criminal matter regarding Karen Golding and Union County Undersheriff/State Democrat Chairman/Assemblyman Joseph Cryan. After Mrs. Renna gave testimony under oath, which was apparently contrary to the prosecutor’s goals, he announced to have taped Mrs. Renna’s phone conversations and threatened to charge her with perjury, although not in the courtroom but afterwards to a Star-Ledger reporter. After it turned out that the alleged recordings were not audible, it was then revealed that the conversation just happened to have been overheard by two fellow prosecutor investigators that were not involved with the investigation but who just by coincidence were having lunch in the conference room where the call was allegedly on speaker phone while being taped. The testimony of these fellow investigators regarding what they overheard was as fuzzy as their tapes. Golding is appealing the judge’s decision and Renna is waiting for the matter to be settled before pitching the story line to Law and Order and writing her full accounting of it for the County Watchers blog which will hopefully include all transcripts of the incident which currently would cost thousands of dollars to obtain. The Sussex County Prosecutor’s office went ahead and faxed Freeholder Daniel Sullivan documents to be used to harass Renna during a public meeting in which he ranted “she is going to be charged with Perjury any day now”. Until such time as she deems decent to write her accounting of the matter, Renna would like the record to reflect that she would have gladly spoken clearly into any recording device of the prosecutors choice in front of however many out to lunch investigators and Union County freeholders as he pleased.

I ended this draft entry for the year in review around mid-night and ticked off: In the meantime Renna recommends that the public never trust any NJ county prosecutor’s office and never willingly cooperate with the ethically challenged, politically motivated, corrupt bastards.

Then this morning I was reminded of Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow and U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and how both of these good people beat politicians against the odds and will now be in the position to change things for the better in this state. Proof to me that God does exist.

However, so does Satan. Proceed with caution.

Submitted by: Bruce Paterson

Statement read at the Union County Freeholder meeting on 11/12/09.

Good evening, acting Chairman Sullivan, ladies and gentlemen of the freeholder board, this is Bruce Paterson, Garwood, NJ.

When I think of the term sheriff I think of a position of integrity, that we should feel of sense of security and that laws of society will be upheld due to this integrity. I am sure each of you can only agree on this. The sheriffs department is considered an integral part of good government.

And it is here in this sheriff’s department we have a major impediment to good government, I’ll call it a disease that in my opinion must be removed. I have spoken before on this subject to you. This disease as I call it comes in the form of Joe Cryan, who is under-sheriff of Union County and I am fed up that he has embarrassed Union County time and again. I have stated to you to get rid of this Joe Cryan and you did nothing. You have allowed it to continue to fester.

As I stated before, this person who is under-sheriff is supposed to protect the county’s assets, yet he has no safety, security, or law enforcement experience. He only owned a bar. As I noted previously, he is under investigation along with another county director in his ownership of Camelot title for the possibility of self serving government business to his company. A while ago, he was accused of pocketing $2000 in political donations, but skated since this was past the statute of limitations. He was reprimanded for not declaring political gifts on his public financial statements. He was found out to be using our county car funded by our taxpayer money for non-county business. He abused his position as under sheriff to have 19 prosecutors follow just 1 woman who was stalking him. What a waste of taxpayer money. But all this was pointed out to you before and yet you allowed this disease in the sheriffs department to fester. Since then new rot has occurred. Just recently leading up to Election Day we found out that Cryan as head of the NJ democrat party was allowing the NJ residents to be deceived with anti-Christie, pro-Dagget political communication. When accused of this, at first he vehemently denied it, but then after proof was presented, he admitted it was done.

And even worse as reported in the Star ledger this past week, during a recent legal motion by the same woman who was accused of stalking under-sheriff Cryan, information came out alleging that Cryan used a union county computer in sending emails of a sexually explicit and pornographic matter. He allegedly invited this woman to his office to perform sexual acts under his desk. This office desk they refer to obviously must be his Union county under-sheriff desk in the Union county sheriff’s department. Subsequently, Cryan denies all this.

Isn’t this exactly what President Clinton did and he got impeached for it?

Apparently, this disease we call Joe Cryan has spread too far, consisting of many alleged public actions of:

deception, fraud, lying, abuse of power, abuse of county taxpayers money, abuse of county taxpayers assets, which by the way he is suppose to protect, lack of proper job credentials, perversion, even attempted lewdness and he’s also under ongoing investigation by the attorney general.

If it were only one or two items, they might possibly be dismissed, but when you have item after item, question after question of his actions, personally, financially, politically, one can only come to the conclusion that this disease must go. What kind of example of integrity does he set for the rank and file law enforcement officers in the sheriffs department? What example does he set for us residents when we look for trust and integrity in the sheriffs department?

As leaders of Union County, it is your job to get rid of this disease affecting the integrity of good government. At the very least this perversion should be publicly dragged up before the freeholder board and made accountable for his actions, then fired. Maybe a commission should be convened to investigate all this perversion. And for any of this he offers no apology to the public, just excuses. This is just too much to take.

To you, as stewards of good government, we taxpayers ask you to do something about this. Most of you, I hope, do believe in good government.

Please, get rid of this embarrassment to the union county residents and the disease Joe Cryan brought to the integrity of the sheriffs department.

Thank you.

Postscript (not read at the freeholder meeting): they say an organization is only as good as its management style. This very questionable character we call Joe Cryan as head of the NJ democrat party just could be the reason why there is so much corruption and flaunting of society’s laws through out that political party. There is neither leadership nor any influence of integrity coming from the top.

A funny debate is going on in Monmouth County where Democrats have taken over the majority of the freeholder seats.

Last week the Asbury Park Press reported that after taking control of the freeholder board Democrats in Monmouth County continued pushing to fund the creation of an inspector general’s office to investigate and resolve complaints of fraud, conflicts of interest, corruption and criminal activities within the government. It’s been reported that high-ranking state Democrats circulated a list last month of Monmouth County government jobs for which they were seeking qualified people, including the inspector general post.

Now here’s the funny part: An e-mail sent by the office of Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, D-Union, who is also the chairman of the Democratic State Committee, to Rutgers officials — in seeking help to find candidates for the various county positions — stated that the inspector general would be paid between $95,000 and $105,000 and would need experience in “law enforcement or judicial activities.”

If Assemblyman Cryan used his legislative office to conduct a job search for Monmouth County wouldn’t that be a misuse of his public office? And by the way, when Assemblyman Cryan applied for his Union County Undersheriff’s position did he beat out anyone with law enforcement experience?

Republican Monmouth county freeholders said they wanted to review any job applications collected by Cryan’s office, but the Democratic freeholders said they wanted the hiring process to be handled completely by the freeholder board. How does Cryan find time to be an honorary member of the Monmouth County freeholder board?

At least two other New Jersey counties, Mercer and Middlesex, have their own inspectors general. Somehow I don’t think an Inspector General hired by the freeholders and the appointed county manager, who is Senator Raymond Lesniak’s nephew, would turn up anything here in Union County. This person would be reporting to the same people that have power over the position and in a politically charged atmosphere it stands to reason it would be used as a weapon against enemies, and they already have Prosecutor Romankow.

If the Union County Prosecutor’s office has a unit that specializes in public corruption I’ve never heard from them. But to be fair, I’ve never trusted the office to ask them to investigate anything beyond whether the freeholders were violating the Open Public Meetings Act, and the prosecutor’s office did find that they were.

We don’t need no stinkin’ badges here in Union County to ferret out waste, a forensic audit conducted by an outside firm of Union County departments would do the trick. It only makes sense doesn’t it? Assemblyman Joseph Cryan should ask for one pronto and it would be perfectly above board if he did it from his Union County Undersheriff’s office.

Imagine if Union County had an Inspector General, hired by the all-Democrat controlled freeholder board (a.k.a. Charlotte DeFilippo). Would the Inspector investigate how many hours Assemblyman Joseph Cryan puts in at his county job and if he is performing non-county business while there? How does a man hold down a full-time job as an undersheriff, hold an elective office as an assemblyman, be chair to the State Democratic committee as well as Union Township’s, where it’s been reported he handles the hiring of employees there as well, and yet still find time to job search for Monmouth County and be an honorary member of their freeholder board? Fantastic isn’t he!

In 1999 the democrats took control of the freeholder board and replaced a part-time Union County Improvement Authority director position with a salary of $40,000. Union County Democratic Chairman Charlotte DeFilippo was hired for the position and her salary in 2000 was set at $104,000. Charlotte’s current salary is $143, 409.

Since Assemblyman Cryan is so concerned about corruption and waste in Monmouth county you would think he’d have a ready explanation as to why his Sheriff’s department last year added 6 new captain positions. Coincidently DeFilippo’s daughter-in-law scored 7th on the Lieutenant’s exam and she needed a spot to move up to. The promotions waiting list was replaced with a new one. A public explanation was never given as to why we needed these new captains’ positions. which added approximately $300,000 annually to the payroll.

Despite her $143,410 county position it has been said that DeFilippo never leaves her house. An employee lawsuit charges, among other things, that she routinely ordered county department heads to her home to hire and fire employees. I personally witnessed that there were no working computers at 10 Cherry Street where the Improvement Authority is supposed to be doing business. When I brought this up during public comment at a freeholder meeting I noticed a change on the Improvement Authorities bills list the following month – they started paying for internet service.

No inspector general needed here – the County Watchers are volunteering their services as investigators and any county law enforcement personnel can sweep in and clean up Union County government any minute now. That’s a laugh riot isn’t it?

Will the Monmouth County Inspector General be instructed by the freeholder board to investigate nepotism and cronyism and set her to find out why the State Democratic Chairman is involved with county hiring’s? Will the State Democratic Chairman push Union County government to follow Monmouth county’s lead and start cracking down on themselves? These and so many other mysteries are waiting to be solved. Stay tuned to the same blog channel.

For Immediate Release

Union County Republican Chairman Phil Morin issued the following statement in response to former Assemblyman Neil Cohen’s resignation in the wake of allegations that pornography involving underage children was found on his legislative office computer:

As the investigation of child pornography allegations apparently continues against former Assemblyman Neil Cohen and election laws mandate that a special election be held this November as a result of the legislative vacancy, the Union County Republicans are calling for both his individual and joint legislative campaign accounts with Assemblyman Cryan to be frozen until the investigation is complete.

No campaign funds should be used for Mr. Cohen’s personal legal defense or doled out as campaign contributions in the interim.

If the allegations are true, we call upon Mr. Cohen to donate all funds in his campaign accounts to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to help in the fight against child pornography and to assist the only true victims of such a heinous crime. According to their website, financial donations to the NCMEC “help advance their mission to prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation” and “assist victims of abduction and sexual exploitation, their families and the professionals who serve them.”

Election Law Enforcement Commission advisory opinion AO-01-2008 limits the use of campaign funds for criminal legal defense.

Charitable donations are specifically authorized at N.J.S.A. 19:44A-11.2 and N.J.A.C. 9:25-6.5

Currently Union County Assemblyman Neil Cohen, (D), is hiding out in a psychiatric hospital somewhere while everyone else discusses his future. And there are those who are waiting for the announcement of his resignation as that will determine their own futures. While the waiting and watching has been going on for give or take the past 36 hours there are those who had knowledge of the Assemblyman’s so called “troubles” days ago.

I am referring of course to his office partners, running mates and fellow legislators State Senator Ray Lesniak and Assemblyman and State Democratic Committee Chairman, but in this situation more importantly Union County Undersheriff Joe Cryan.

News reports have indicted that the discovery of child pornography on Cohen’s legislative computer occurred late last week, yet the news reported the incident just this past Thursday evening when his buddies Lesniak and Cryan issued a statement praising both their own actions when the situation was brought to their attention and expressing their despair.

Their action, Cryan and Lesniak’s, is said to be that they reported Cohen to the Office of Legislative Services after confronting him last Monday. The OLS in turn reported him to the State Attorney General’s office on Tuesday and somewhere between then and Thursday night Cohen hot footed it to a psych facility, his computer was confiscated by the state police and “Fric and Frac” taped a statement about their joint disappointment to their legislative office door in Union.

Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, D-Union, just happens to be one of the highest ranking law enforcement officers in Union County. Currently an Undersheriff, it is said that he is considered to be next in line to succeed Uncle Ralph Froehlich as the top guy should the Sheriff one day decide he has had enough. But what has transpired this week could give one cause for concern and raise the question is Cryan capable of doing his county job?

With repugnant criminal activity suspected to be taking place right under their very noses why did our county undersheriff go running off to the OLS instead of immediately contacting the UC Prosecutor or his own boss, Froehlich.

With news reports indicating that the disturbing discovery was made last Friday and the OLS notified on Tuesday, does that mean that Undersheriff Cryan sat on this information about illegal activity for at least four days before reporting it to any law enforcement authority greater than himself. Was he being derelict in his duty as an undersheriff by looking the other way?

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall on Monday when Cohen was confronted by these two; Lesniak and Cryan, was it at this meeting that it was decided that Neil would disappear and take the “rest cure” at an undisclosed location? Who made that decision? How was it decided to go to the OLS instead of local law enforcement, and what did these two experienced legislators think that the OLS could do or should do. And further didn’t Cryan know what to do, he knew who to call in to handle the Golding situation, but seemed at a loss when an actual real crime was being committed.

The maneuvering that has taken place in the last week makes the Cryan/Lesniak tale appear questionable and Cohen’s disappearance from the scene suspect. There has been speculation surfacing that questions the extent of what was actually discovered on the computer in question and there has been at least one report that pornographic material may have shown up in this office on at least one other occasion previously.

Weather or not there is any substance to any of the allegations remains to be seen but judging from Senator Lesniak’s actions and Assemblyman Cryan’s inability to act there is definitely something sinister afoot.

When in anyone’s memory has a covey of democrats been willing to abandon and hand over one of their own, rather they usually circle the wagons and will loyally defend the accused all the way to the gas chamber even in the case of a guy who has murdered his own mother on Main Street. Because this current behavior is so out of the ordinary for this crew it will be interesting to see what direction this investigation and possible prosecution takes including who says what about who, especially since Cohen’s attorney has told the Star Ledger that he/she has advised Cohen NOT to resign his position in the legislature just yet.

Breaking news from the Star-Ledger informs us that Asemblyman Neil Cohen was turned in by Senator Raymond Lesniak and Assemblyman Joseph Cryan for having child porn on a computer they all shared in their Legislative office in Union Township.

Is there a connection to the Jamel Holley voter fraud incident in Roselle? Holley, who was the Chief of Staff to Assemblyman Cohen when the fraud was reported, was never indicted for the illegal election scheme in Roselle and I can’t help but wonder what that has to do with Cohen’s friends turning him in.

A legal battle ensued over absentee ballots connected to Holley in a Roselle Council race. Holley’s candidate lost:

“This ruling serves as an unambiguous shot across the bow to campaign workers everywhere. Illegal election schemes like this one undermine our guarantee of free and fair elections.” says NJ Appleseed’s Director of Government Accountability Programs Diana H. Jeffrey, Esq., “The clear victors today are the people of Roselle.”

More on the scheme:
Courage is the secret of liberty

A Victory for Democracy

.

Imagine a buffet table somewhere in Union County:

Hey Joe, how is that new business venture of yours going?

Pretty good Ray, but could be better.

What seems to be the problem Joe?

Just some pesky state regulations Ray that are getting in the way of our tapping a specific target market for our service.

Sometime Later>>>>>>

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/S2500/2229_I1.HTM

According to its synopsis, a bill, introduced in the NJ State Senate in October of 2006 by State Senator Raymond J Lesniak, a Union County Democrat, permits title insurance companies and agents to offer certain inducements in connection with the business of title insurance. There is no companion bill in the assembly at this time.

Has anyone else noticed this proposed piece of legislation which pertains only to title insurance companies and agents?

It is certainly interesting that other high ranking Union County Dems just happen to own shares in a title insurance company, “Camelot Title Agency LLC” in Woodbridge, NJ. They are said to be Union County Democrat Committee Chairwoman/Director Union County Improvement Authority/Legislative Aide to Neal Cohen - Charlotte DeFilippo who has had personal and business records subpoenaed by the State of NJ and Assemblyman/ NJ Democratic State Chairman/Union County Undersheriff - Joe Cryan, both appear to hold shares in the company and both are also Union County employees.

Surely there are those who would rather that this little extra tidbit of information not be put out there, but hey, to think that these people don’t talk to each other would certainly be naive to say the least. Could it be that title insurance companies/agents are one of Mr. Lesniak’s special interest groups? Where did his inspiration to craft and sponsor this piece of legislation come from originally? Was this just a case of incredibly bad, bad timing? Certainly doesn’t look good; does it?