The Star-Ledger has posted that another Union County inmate, Addison Wilcox, 33, died at the Union County Jail. The post doesn’t mention what day the death occurred. The Ledger reported that Newark attorney Gerald Saluti, who represented Wilcox, said members of the family told him that Wilcox had been complaining since Monday of having shortness of breath and upper respiratory problems. “The family complained that nothing was done about it,” Saluti said. “I saw him the day he went into the jail. He was as healthy as a horse. He had no respiratory problems whatsoever,” the attorney said. “From speaking to the family, it sure doesn’t look like he got the attention he needed.”
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Sadly Wilcox joins a growing list of dead and mistreated prisoners.

On May 22, 2008 Dexter Gelfand posted on the Countywatchers about his son. “On April 15, my son Geoffrey Gelfand passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He experienced much unnecessary and unfortunate suffering at the hands of the powers that be during his imprisonment in Union County Jail in 2004. He was frequently denied medication for his removed thyroid, to the point where he was debilitated mentally and physically as often as not, and as his disease returned to his throat, causing bleeding, and pain to the point where eating was so difficult that he’d lose as much as 30 pounds a month. His jailers denied proper medical examination and treatment despite his pain and suffering, which was quite alarming to his cell mates.”
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On October 13, 2007 Kathy Figgs posted on the Countywatchers about her brother, Johnathan Dawkins, who was an inmate in the Union County jail. “He was pepper sprayed and restrained by jail personnel. He was then transported to a hospital where he was placed on life support and remains to this day. He was not breathing and unconscious. He had two black-eyes, bruising on his neck, and a swollen face.”
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In 2006 within just weeks of each other Union County inmates Aaron Pittman died of Crohns disease and Donald Davis from a stomach infection. According to family members, both were left untreated and their screams of pain were ignored. Both families have filed separate lawsuits against the county which are pending.
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The County of Union has recently settled a wrongful death lawsuit in the matter of Edward Sinclair, Jr., the 17 year old who died in their Juvenile Detention Center on May 10, 2003.
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Just after Eddie’s Death his family and friends visitied a freeholder meeting.
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Isn’t it ironic don’t you think that every postal patron in Union County received the taxpayer funded Union County Directions newsletter just before Primary Election Day on Tuesday which headlines the appointed county manager George Devanney’s uncle, Senator Raymond Lesniak, and his book, The Road to Abolition: How New Jersey Repealed the Death Penalty.

George Devanney is responsible for the running of the Union County jail and oversees the publishing of the Union County Directions Newsletter.

Submitted by: Dexter Gelfand

On April 15, my son Geoffrey Gelfand passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He experienced much unnecessary and unfortunate suffering at the hands of the powers that be during his imprisonment in Union County Jail in 2004. He was frequently denied medication for his removed thyroid, to the point where he was debilitated mentally and physically as often as not, and as his disease returned to his throat, causing bleeding, and pain to the point where eating was so difficult that he’d lose as much as 30 pounds a month. His jailers denied proper medical examination and treatment despite his pain and suffering, which was quite alarming to his cell mates.

The jail’s idea of medical responsibility was to give him access to a doctor who told him “You’re fine”. Well, he wasn’t fine at all. When he complained about pain and bleeding from his throat, this “doctor” callously responded, “You didn’t care about that when you were out on the street, did you?”, ordered no tests, and sent him back to his cell to suffer.

By the grace of God, after 6 months of degradation and suffering, my son Geoffrey was transferred to state prison. By this point his condition was so obviously dire that within 48 hours of the transfer he was mercifully brought to a hospital intensive care unit. I received a phone call from the prison to give me the horrifying news: my son had a new incidence of cancer. Had he remained in Union County jail, it would not have been long at all before he’d have expired. Ultimately, delay in treating his tumor necessitated his losing his voice box. He spent his last 2-1/2 years unable to speak.

Geoffrey spent the last months of his life preparing for his passage-more precisely, preparing others. He carefully planned out gifting his loved ones, spending time with them, saying all that he wanted to say, giving and leaving something for everyone. He spent much of his last year trying to prepare his father to be able to accept his coming passing. Despite his pain and fear, he was magnificently thoughtful of those he loved.

His character dwarfed that of the petty and small minded children charged with responsibilities at the Union County Jail. I hope each person who made that choice to be so inhuman to my son and others reads this story, and through some small miracle, in some slight way, feels just a little ping of conscience about what a vicious and hurtful being they have reduced their self to. Maybe, just a little bit, they will think about this the next time they find their self in a position to treat a defenseless prisoner with or without consideration for that person’s well being.

On March 24, 2008 another employee lawsuit was filed in Superior Court. Here are some excerpts of the complaint:

11. On May 10, 2003, Mr. Hamilton witnessed the suicide of a teenaged resident. This event left Mr. Hamilton psychologically scarred, and required extensive psychological care.

12. During this event, Mr. Hamilton entered the cell, loosened a sheet that had been tied around the teen’s neck, lowered the boy, removed the noose from around his neck, and immediately reported the incident and requested assistance for the resident as there was no onsite medical staff.

13. Mr. Hamilton reported to the shift commander, Senior Officer Louis Gray, that the room where the youth resident was being held was dangerous because it was a “suicide threat,” but because the facility was over crowded, the county disregarded safety protocol.

14. In fact, the youth’s parent’s sued the county as a result of this incident and revoked monies for the facilities wrongdoing.

19. …due to the work environment and the witnessing of the suicide, Mr. Hamilton took a leave of absence.

28. When Mr. Hamilton returned from his 10 ½ month leave of absence, he was placed back on the 7:00 am to 3:00 pm shift, however due to his depression, and the medication he was taking, he had great difficulties making the 7:00 am shift.

29. At this point, the county issued Mr. Hamilton a notice of discipline for “lateness.”

34. Mr. Hamilton again requested for a shift change, and formally applied for said shift change, but was again denied.

36. In 2006, after Mr. Hamilton returned to duty, and during said time, he witnessed an incident which involved a sexual relationship between a guard, and a youth resident which comprised of a daily fraternization and even sex.

37. Based upon a search of the youth’s room, Mr. Hamilton found handwritten letters that had lipstick and perfume, as well as typed written letters from the guard.

38. Mr. Hamilton submitted a report detailing his findings to Senior Officer Brian Koon.

39. Mr. Hamilton’s accurate report detailed the sexual relationship, which was also corroborated by other guards as well as evidence found in the youth’s room.

41. The acts of the guard where clearly illegal and of serious public importance and were being swept under the rug because of her close relationship with superiors.

43. The allegations of the sexual affair resulted in an investigation which found that Mr. Hamilton’s allegations were accurate.

Read complaint HERE

Submitted by Kathy Figgs

On October 13, 2007 my brother, Johnathan Dawkins, who was an inmate in the Union County jail, was pepper sprayed and restrained by jail personnel. He was then transported to a hospital where he was placed on life support and remains to this day. He was not breathing and unconscious. He had two black-eyes, bruising on his neck, and a swollen face.

Who is going to be next? That is my question to you. Maybe your friend, husband, father, brother, son, sister, or even mother will wind up behind bars. No one is exempt, situations happen and people make mistakes. People are sent to jail short term and long term.

Who is to say that the law enforcement officers in the jails that are there to assure that the facility that is housing your loved ones runs smoothly on a daily bases, won’t decide that your family member, like they did with my loved one, is displaying abnormal behavior, and it is necessary for them to remove them, or as they so pleasantly use the term “send in a specially trained team of officers” to exact the inmate. And they inflict to much force in removing the inmate, that now someone else’s loved one is laying in the hospital fighting for their life or maybe dead.

Then will society see the importance of standing up and saying: “We will not allow the system to abuse in anyway anybody that is institutionalized anymore and if it does happen, we will hold the State, County, City, and the Administration accountable for the actions of their employees. We the tax payers pay their salaries and just because our loved one, for what ever reason, is now in jail this does not mean that you have the right to abuse him or her. The penalty for the crime should be what was set by the law for that crime and not a death sentence.

Well what I’m saying is we as the family members have to step- up and make sure justice for these inmates is ensured and not just swept under the rug and forgotten about.

The media will not address the issue. I’ve tried that route and all I got was “we can’t print that of which we have no proof”. Well I say you haven’t tried to even look into to what I’m saying to find the proof. Humm think about it.. But let some inmates escape and it’s all over the news but anything about how inmates are being abused, the news media doesn’t want to report about that… “We have no proof”, “we can’t substantiate these allegations”, that’s what I’ve been told. They hold up reforming the system and it’s wrong.

The media will not attempt to do what Geraldo Rivera used to do, you know, “investigative reporting” to expose the illegalities and human abuses of the prison system and instead will print statistics that lie to the people stating that incidents of police abuse and brutality are down.

The incidents of police brutality and the abuses by law enforcement and correction officers are not down, they are simply being ignored by said system and the media in an attempt to make people believe that incidents like Michael Bell in New York, my brother Johnathan Dawkins, my nephew whose mother is a police officer who was shot by another police officer in the back for being young and in the wrong place at the wrong time…this same young man, fifteen years old and already being considered as a hopeful track star for the next Olympics… Go back twenty or so years… names like Eleanor Bumpers, an elderly black woman, shot and killed by an officer… it doesn’t make a difference what the ethnic background of the person is or what crime was allegedly committed, it is not right that they are caused harm by the system and ignored by the media.

Pay to Play, the practice of companies making monetary contributions to political parties, usually the one in power and being awarded lucrative professional contracts seemingly in return, is one of those outrageous situations that Gov. Jon Conzine promised he would tackle during his tenure.

Though legislation has been attempted on more than one occasion over the past couple of years what has resulted has been watered down and containing loopholes. Interestingly the principal players have managed to find some intriguing ways to discreetly continue to do what they always have been doing.

Reviewing the list of “sponsors”, obtained through OPRA, for the Freeholders so called free concert for county residents, MusicFest 2007 proved to be a veritable who’s who of the county’s vendor list.

Case in point:

• In 1998 the Westfield Leader reported that the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders awarded a $3.4 million contract to Correctional Health Services, Inc. of Verona, to provide health services to inmates at the County Jail and detainees at the county’s juvenile detention center, they would be helping the county switch from public to private management of the two facilities.
• Citing reports of other counties utilizing CHS then County Manager Michael Lapolla predicted the savings would be at least $350,000 over the following two years. Union County has awarded contracts to CHS since that time to provide medical/health care services at the jail, detention center and also the children’s shelter, for the term of January 2004 thru December 2006 at a cost not to exceed $3.6mil for yr. 1, $3.7mil for yr. 2 and $3,968,940 for 2006.
• According to reports filed with NJ Elec., Correctional Health Services, Inc. of Verona had awarded contributions to the Union County Democratic Committee in excess of $60,000 for the period from Sept. ’98 thru October’04.
• Double checking the NJ Elec website showed that indeed, the last contribution to the UCDC was in October of 2004 however lo and behold Correctional Health Services pops up as a MusicFest sponsor to the tune of $5,500.
• Coincidentally just this month the all Democratic Freeholder board authorized the County Manager to enter into a month-to-month contract with Correctional Health Services, Inc., Verona, New Jersey, to provide medical/health care services for inmates and residents of the Union County Jail and the Juvenile Detention Center for the period of January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008 in the amount of $2,249,373.

Some other MusicFest sponsors doing business/having done business with the county include: Schoor DePalma Engineers, Pennoni Engineers, 4 Connections, Maser Engineers, Waste Management, Ricci Green Architects, Access Systems and Spruce Industries who contributed a combined $35,500 to the event thus giving the incumbents an actual stage to appear on before thousands of county residents without them having to spend a single campaign dollar.

“Union County Freeloaders” was the message emblazoned across this photo dipicted on t-shirts worn by protesters during a May 10, 2007 vigil which ended with a visit to a freeholder meeting.

The County of Union has recently settled a wrongful death lawsuit in the matter of Edward Sinclair, Jr., the 17 year old who died in their Juvenile Detention Center on May 10, 2003.

After the death of Sinclair, the State’s Child Advocate released a blistering report of the facility which stated that “Union County’s “disregard” of rules let the teen hang himself. The advocate went on to report that the county “set the stage for his death”. The Child Advocate also stated that the county had a disregard for basic human rights and held “juveniles” three to four to a cell for 18 - 20 hours a day in which they ate and slept in 8 x 10 cockroach-infested cells.”

The Juvenile Detention Center is a basic service of County government, instead of building a much needed new facility or even doing needed repairs on the old facility, the county chose instead to construct new buildings to house county employees. The state directed the county to fix the sprinkler head that Sinclair hanged himself on, 17 months prior to his being put in the filthy cell. The county never bothered to make the recommended repairs.

The county also ignored pleas from the corrections officers union. The Star-Ledger reported on May 13, 2003: “A lawyer for Council 8 representing 30 officers at the detention center said the union had filed numerous complaints with the county, warning that “Something like this would happen because of the overcrowding and under staffing” at the facility. “For the last couple of months the union has been documenting and complaining about the conditions there, but I don’t think they really addressed our concerns,” said attorney Michael Bukosky.

In a November 30, 2000 Worrall newspaper article it was reported that after spending more than $2 million the freeholder’s scrapped its plans to construct a new detention center. At that time freeholder board chairman Daniel Sullivan said the cost to build a new center “is just not worth it” given a declining population at the current facility.

According to records obtained by the Union County Watchdog Association through the Open Public Records Act it shows the center was at over capacity at the time of Sullivan’s statement. In the same article Freeholder Louis Mingo, stated he did not want to “waste a lot of money if we don’t have to. We want to make sure that if we make an investment, its on solid ground.”

The cost at the time to build a new center was projected to be $20 million. The cost of the current project is roughly $40 million - plus a 17 year old human life.

Other costs to date associated with scrapping the original 1998 plan:

Sinclair law-suit county attorney’s fees and settlement to date: $1,110,000; State mandated updates to make the old facility clean and safe(r): Approximately $800,000; Maintaining the state mandated cap on the facility and housing youths out of county: $555,952

Total wasted money since the death of Edward Sinclair, Jr.: $2,465,952

The future of the 42-year-old detention center, which is located above the county employee parking garage is undecided. The UCWA recommends the freeholders move their offices to the facility and have freeholder meetings up there to remind them and the public of what happens when government can’t be held accountable.

The new detention center is 8 months past due from its last promised opening date. With the settlement of this lawsuit only the Union County taxpayers have been held accountable for the death of Edward Sinclair, Jr. No employee or elected official of the state or the county has been held accountable for Sinclair’s death, the condition of this facility or the treatment of countless other juveniles. No one has been written up, reprimanded, fined, suspended or voted out of office.

Freeholder Daniel Sullivan was the highest vote getter this past Election Day. We get the government we deserve.

In memory of Eddie Sinclair, Jr.

Eddie’s family and friends visited a freeholder meeting shortly after his death.

It was brought to the Union County Watchdog Association’s attention this week that another prisoner held in the Union County jail was near death after possible medical mis-treatment. Allegedly several members of the medical staff have been released from their duties. The staff work for Correctional Health Services, the contractor in charge of medical treatment at the jail. The firm is a heavy democrat party contributor and has also contributed upwards of $10,000 to Union County concerts.

The County of Union uses it’s website as a campaign tool. Only fluff stories that mostly feature freeholders that are up for re-election are posted, negative press releases are only sent to insistent media.

When we learned that a press release was sent to just a select group of media and not placed on the county website we placed an Open Public Records Act Request for all releases sent to media outlets and was sent the following release which was issued 10 days after the prisoner fell ill and fails to inform us of any details while strongly implying that the county had nothing to do with this prisoners illness and care. Notice the county makes sure they mention the prisoner’s crimes in case anyone should feel sympathy for a human life and forget that this isn’t a ‘law abiding citizen’.

The county to date also refuses to accept any responsibility for the death of a 17 year old held in their juvenile detention center despite a report released by the States Child Advocate which stated “the county set the stage for his suicide” and other strong evidence of neglect of the center and its inhabitants. This lawsuit is scheduled to be officially settled conveniently after this upcoming Election Day.

An email to Freeholder Chairwoman Bette Jean Kowalski asking for information regarding this prisoner’s health has gone unanswered. Because of the lack of public information and freeholder accessibility, the Union County Watchdog Association will now include asking for all press releases in our weekly routine OPRA requests. It is very tedious keeping an eye on Union County government, all the more reason for the need for government watchdogs.

Other recent prisoner deaths and abuses: In February 2006 The Star-Ledger reported that the county was facing its second lawsuit in five weeks for the death of an inmate who died in custody because of a lack of medical treatment. Aaron Pittman was convicted for drug possession. He died 18 days after he was detained and his medication for Crohn’s disease was confiscated. Another inmate, Donald Davis, died from an untreated stomach infection on Oct. 25, 2005. Davis was arrested and locked up at the Union County Jail for stealing an undershirt from a store in Elizabeth. Five days later, the 44-year-old man from Newark was found dead in his cell, from an untreated stomach infection — peritonitis. It was also found that a 22 year old prisoner had to have his voice box removed, and is currently fighting for his life, due to a cancer that went untreated. (Management in charge of the jail were given raises in December 2006.)

OPRA response:

From: Sebastian Delia
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 6:07 PM
To: Marlena Russo
Subject: This is the one not on the website

October 23, 2007
For immediate release
Contact: Sebastian D’Elia
Communications Director, Union County
908-527-4419

UNION COUNTY INMATE IN INTENSIVE CARE AT
UNIVERSITY MEDICAL HOSPITAL

ELIZABETH–Jonathan Dawkins, an inmate at the Union County Jail, is in intensive care at the University Medical Hospital in Newark.

On Saturday, October 13th Dawkins had to be removed from his cell after exhibiting behavior that posed a potential risk to himself and those around him. During the course of his removal by a specially trained team of corrections personnel, medical intervention became necessary. Dawkins was transported by Elizabeth Emergency Medical Services to University Hospital in Newark.

Dawkins, a 35-year old resident of Newark, was in jail on Union County warrants for aggravated assault and resisting arrest. He had been in the Union County Jail since October 1st, awaiting pre-trial processing.

This information has been released following the notification of Dawkins’ family members.

The Union County Prosecutor’s Office and the County Police Department are conducting a joint investigation of the matter.

–30–

Submitted by Yolanda Padilla
For Immediate Release:
Annual Prayer Vigil to be held on Thursday, May 10th at 6 pm outside of the Union County Juvenile Detention Center, located above the County’s Employee Parking Garage on Elizabethtown Plaza in Elizabeth (There will be a freeholder meeting following the prayer vigil at 7pm)

My son, Edward Sinclair Jr., was found dead on May 10, 2003, while being detained in an unsafe cell in the Union County Detention Center. The state’s Office of the Child Advocate investigated and released a report, which blamed the county for setting the stage for my son’s death. The advocate cited deplorable and dangerous conditions and stated that the county had a fundamental disregard for basic human rights.

I have vowed to hold a prayer vigil every year on the date of my sons death for not only the memory of my son, but for all the juveniles who were held under these same deplorable conditions, until I feel these children are safe and receiving decent county services.

For over 10 years, the county has ignored the juvenile detention center problem while building several other county buildings. One building project that took precedence over a new detention center was the new Prosecutors building in Elizabeth. A site which was originally slated for a new detention center. The sign on the front of the facility reads, “The Andrew K. Routolo Justice Center.” Justice for who?

It unnerves me that they would have the disrespect to post the word “justice” on one of their brand new facilities while still holding juveniles in that run down, unsafe facility which is located on the top floor of their parking garage.

While ignoring the juvenile detention center problem county leadership took no responsibility for what they had done and what they had failed to do. On Dec. 16, 2005, Freeholder Angel Estrada spoke at a freeholder meeting where he blamed my son for being “Caught in a loop that he couldn’t get out of.” Freeholder Estrada did not know my son; how dare he judge him. He went on to say “…society and individuals in society have to take on the responsibility of things that they actually do that may cause harm to other individuals.” No other county official present commented on Estrada’s public statement.

If only his statement were true and the freeholders and county manager would have to take on the responsibility of things that they actually did that caused harm to my son and all the juveniles who passed through that center and were held under the same deplorable, unsafe conditions.

I will hold a vigil at the detention center every year on May 10th until I am satisfied that justice has been served and juveniles are safe.

YOUR TIME IS UP! Freeholders called the cops to take County Watcher Tina Renna away when she went a minute over time discussing the boy the county government allowed to die.

At an April 10, 2001 Elizabeth city council meeting, Councilman Tony Monteiro was removed in handcuffs and subsequently arrested. It has been reported that Monteiro was arguing with then council president Patricia Perkins-Auguste about a proposed spending plan. Perkins-Auguste accused him of being behind anti-budget fliers distributed before the meeting, and Monteiro reportedly interrupted her. She ruled him out of order and ordered him to keep quite. Monteiro refused and Perkins-Auguste ordered officers to arrest him. He was led from council chambers in handcuffs.

Monteiro was later cleared in court of the disorderly persons charge. Perkins-Auguste’s excuse for his removal and arrest was that she has the right to maintain order at council meetings. Perkins-Auguste tried to shut up an elected official and he wouldn’t cooperate. In a healthy democracy Montero would have gone on to a long political career as a beloved mayor, but this being New Jersey, Monteiro never ran for municipal office again.

What about the rights of Monteiro’s constituents? They elected him in a democratic fashion to speak for them, not to be put under the thumb of the majority on the council. After his arrest Monteiro asked for an apology from Perkins-Auguste and Mayor Chris Bollwage; when none was given he moved forward with a law suit.

In March 2004 a federal jury eventually ruled that Perkins-Auguste had violated the First Amendment rights of Monteiro and awarded him $10,750 in damages. Perkins-Auguste, with the blessing of the mayor, appealed. So far the city has spent nearly $124,300 arrogantly defending Perkins-Auguste right to shut up a fellow council person.

At a December 19, 2004, Union County freeholder meeting, I was removed while making a public comment regarding the death of a juvenile at the county-run detention center. Although I was speaking peacefully, two county police officers were called forward and pinned my arms behind my back and physically moved me out of the room even though I was not resisting them. My offense was that I spoke one minute and six seconds over the allotted five minutes a citizen is given to speak.

Like Perkins-Auguste, freeholder chairman Angel Estrada, also claimed he had a right to keep order during meetings and that I was out of order for going over the time limit. I knowingly went over the allotted five minute speaking time because I wasn’t done with what I had to say and other speakers at the meeting that night were allowed to go over their five minute time limit.

A copy of the VHS taping of the meeting obtained through the Open Public Records Act shows the freeholders and county manager didn’t keep themselves in order during my removal. You can clearly hear the freeholders and county manager laughing and joking while I was being roughly shoved out of the room by their security guards.

Not one to have anyone shut me up, I shouted “its Christmas can’t you offer Eddie Sinclair’s mother your condolences for the death of her son?” Sinclair’s mother had spoken earlier and was interrupted repeatedly by freeholder Estrada who was trying to shut her up as well. The appointed county manager’s, who just happens to be state Senator Raymond Lesniak’s nephew, response to my request was “I’d like to offer my condolences to Joe Renna” (my husband) which was followed by hoots from the freeholder board.

The death of a juvenile and his mother’s grief is a huge joke to our county government which controls a quarter of our property tax bills. The joke is obviously on the taxpayers because since Sinclair’s death all who were up for re-election sailed back into office and we are facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit stemming from the mismanagement of this facility and the utter lack of regard for basic human rights shown by this autocrat-appointed and controlled, legalized-organized crime family.

The Union County Democrat machine with their autocratic ruling power and disregard for basic human rights is inviting every man to become a law unto himself; they are inviting anarchy.

Decency, security, and liberty alike demand that government officials shall be subjected to the same rules of conduct that are commands to the citizen. In a government of laws, existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. Our government is the potent, the
omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. “ Justice Brandeis
–Olmstead v. United States (1928)

This Thursday, Dec. 15, there will be two important meetings held regarding Union County government. Please choose one to attend.

At this Thursday’s freeholder meeting the one party ruled board will be giving themselves a $1,588 pay increase which will bring their salaries to $29,500 for their part-time positions. The freeholder chairman will get an additional $2,000 and the vice chair $500. This increase will be retroactive as were the last three. Despite the county spin from their million-dollar public misinformation department, which was reported in the Westfield Leader this week, Union County salaries are not sixth in line in the state. The Star-Ledger reported that they are fifth in line in the state. Open Public Records requests which were placed to all 21 counties this year show our nine Union County freeholders are the THIRD HIGHEST PAID IN THE STATE. Behind: Hudson (nine freeholders @$36,569); Essex (nine freeholders @ $30,884); Monmouth and Ocean County freeholders are paid $30,000 but there are only five on their boards.

Their arrogance is breathtaking. They have no sense of decency to give themselves yet another raise when a law suit has just begun which resulted from the death of a juvenile while being held in their care. Not only is the detention center going to cost $20 million more then it would have five years ago, when they refused to build a new one, but the taxpayers are facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit because of their negligence.

If that’s not enough to take your breath away let me remind you of the recent Star-Ledger article that showed freeholder Daniel Sullivan driving an SUV 30,000 miles in one year with the taxpayers also picking up the bill for his insurance and gas. Sullivan and Freeholder Debra Scanlon will now be turning in their SUVs at the end of the year as well as former Freeholder Luis Mingo.

Mingo was quietly given a $60,000 county job last January after “he decided” not to run again. There were no press releases on the county website or laudatory resolutions announcing his new position “that was created for him”. Just an entry that showed up on the employee payroll list.

State Senator Raymond Lesniak’s nephew, the appointed Union County manager, George Devanney, has been driving a nine-seater Chevy Suburban which is designed for heavy hauling. Devanney told the Star-Ledger that he will be turning in his vehicle for “something smaller” in the New Year. We are one of 11 counties that offer our manager a vehicle. We also give our deputy county manager a vehicle.

Haven’t lost your breath yet? We have the second highest-paid upper management. Most counties do without deputy county managers. Only seven out of 21 counties have this position. It was created for Sen. Lesniak’s nephew. Sen. Lesniak’s nephew in one of the top three paid managers in the state at 151,471. Our deputy county manager is the highest paid at $132,500. Their combined salaries put them behind only Camden, which employs a county manager and three deputies.

At the Dec. 15 freeholder meeting there will be a public hearing in which the public can speak, for no more than five minutes, and let the freeholders know how they feel about their retroactive pay raises. I’ve been there and done that and can testify to the fact that the freeholders and county manager don’t care what the public think of them. But, don’t let me stop you from telling them off. There is some satisfaction in that.

I will be attending the Change County Government forum to be held in the Summit municipal building on the same evening, Dec.15, at 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. Essex county citizens have been studying what can be done to rein in their out of control county government. It has been long overdue for Union County to join this conversation.

Please either join me in Summit or go yell at the freeloaders and Sen. Raymond Lesniak’s nephew in Elizabeth. Enough is enough.

Contact me for directions:
tinarenna@unioncountywatchdog.org

Salary information of all 21 counties:
http://www.unioncountywatchdog.org/Reasearch/countyadmins.pdf