Will investigation derail Eustace's appointment?

Word comes to us that the Doyen of the LGBT caucus -- Tim Eustace (AKA Brother Eustace, Major Eustace, the Kingfish, Great White...) -- shouldn't get too comfy in that new six-figure job of his.  Eustace's new job puts him in charge of water supplies in northern New Jersey. 

Eustace -- an ally of Sussex Democrats Kate Matteson and Gina Trish, and friend to Bergen politicos like Josh Gottheimer and John McCann -- was appointed by Governor Murphy as the deputy director of North Jersey District Water Supply Commission.  The appointment was considered by many as a "consolation prize" for his being blocked for the State Senate, after a vacancy opened.  Just why he was blocked is still unclear.

Sources confirm that multiple ethics violations are being prepared -- and perhaps a New Jersey Election Law Enforcement (NJELEC) violation as well.   Some of this appears to involve the former Assemblyman's use of money raised for his re-election campaign to send a staffer to Nepal with a stop-over in Dubai.  It appears that Eustace accompanied the staffer on the far-east excursion. 

Dinner in Dubai?
 
What's up with these Democrats?
 
Now take a look at this...

So let's get this straight.  Democrat Assemblyman Tim Eustace collects money from special interests, so that he and his legislative aide can fly around the world to do what?  You are a state legislator, not a congressman.  New Jersey doesn't have a foreign policy.

It looks like the former Democrat Assemblyman has some explaining to do. 

Are these Democrats aware that Nepal is one of the worst centers for human trafficking and modern slavery in the world?  While dining with some bigwigs there did they know that, according to the U.S. State Department, "the government of Nepal does not fully comply with minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking"?  Here is more, from Wikipedia:

"Human trafficking in Nepal is a growing criminal industry affecting multiple other countries beyond Nepal, primarily across Asia and the Middle East.   Nepal is mainly a source country for men, women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking... Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, second to drug dealing and tied with arms dealing."

"Trafficking victims often are taken to locations within Nepal, often from rural areas to the urban centers. Mainly young girls and women are trafficked for sexual exploitation in places such as cabin/dance restaurants, massage parlors, and other places within tourism sector... Within Nepal, labor trafficking is also common: victims often end up in carpet and garment factories, embroidering sweatshops, brick-kilns, and others." 

"The trafficking of girls from Nepal into India for forced prostitution is perhaps one of the busiest slave trafficking routes anywhere in the world, with estimated 5,000-10,000 Nepali women and girls trafficked to India each year.   An estimated 100,000-200,000 Nepali trafficked persons are in India.   Nepali girls are especially desirable as prostitutes in India because they are considered more attractive due to their lighter skin color, and because Nepali virgins are believed to be able to cure AIDS.   Victims are also trafficked for labor in circuses, agriculture, and other manufacturing sectors.   The 1850 kilometers of open, porous border between Nepal and India make trafficking simple and difficult to catch.   In addition, there is no immigration control for Nepalese migrating to India or Indians coming in Nepal under the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty between India and Nepal.   In addition to being a destination, India is also a transit country for Nepalese and Bangladeshi women trafficked to Pakistan, Western Asia, and the Middle East and for women trafficked from the Russian Federation to Thailand."  

"Victims, especially girls and women, are trafficked to Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Russia, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states.   Experts believe China is also becoming an emerging hub for Nepali victims.   Many victims who end up overseas are passed through India first before their final destinations... Girls are sold to brothels at prices ranging from 50,000 to 70,000 Indian rupees.   The younger the girl, the higher the price she will be sold for.   Once sold, the girls are property of the brothel owner until they can pay back the amount that was paid for them... One study reported that girls were forced to serve an average of 14 clients per day, with a minimum of three and a maximum of 40 men."

It is a very sad thing to see members of New Jersey's political class -- rich, liberal, and fortunate-to-have-been-born-in-America -- turn a blind eye to their impoverished sisters overseas.  Very sad indeed.

John Cesaro is politically correct but legally "ineligible"

If you want to know what is wrong with New Jersey, just wrap your mind around this:  Municipalities will jump through hoops to make sure that the attorneys they hire are compliant with politically correct affirmative action mandates, but they will not make sure that the attorneys they hire are eligible to practice law in New Jersey.  No kidding.

Take the case of John Cesaro, a Freeholder in Morris County and candidate for the State Legislature.  Cesaro holds a whole lot of jobs that require an active law license, as his personal financial disclosure statements make clear:

The municipalities that hire Freeholder Cesaro make him sign disclosures that bind him to upholding... "county employment goals determined by the Affirmative Action office..." and to give written notice of this to "employment agencies, placement bureaus, colleges, universities, labor unions..."

A great many paragraphs are devoted to these concerns:

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But apparently, maintaining an up-to-date license to practice law is not a concern in New Jersey, because nobody seems to make you sign a disclosure about that.

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http://www.njcourts.gov/notices/2016/n161021a.pdf

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https://portal.njcourts.gov/webe5/AttyPAWeb/pages/AttorneyStatusDefinitions.pdf

An October 19, 2016 order by the New Jersey State Supreme Court, reflected in a search of the New Jersey Attorney Index, notes that attorney John Cesaro has been administratively ineligible to practice law in New Jersey since October 21, 2016 for failure to maintain compliance with the requirements of Rule 1:28A-2(d).  The failure by these local governments to ensure that Cesaro was eligible to practice law could pose serious problems for those towns.

The outcome of any case in which Cesaro served as a prosecutor or public defender could now be called into question by those involved.  They could all be subject to motions to vacate, or requests for a new trial.  Any party dissatisfied with an outcome could bring such a motion.  This could end up costing these towns big -- and leave property taxpayers with a enormous bill.

Stay tuned...

Did Hank Lyon break NJ Election Law again?

Everyone remembers how Hank Lyon won a seat on the Morris County Freeholder Board.  A late infusion of cash from a corporation controlled by his father -- an infusion allowed because of an election law loophole that says if a candidate still lives at home with his parents, their money is treated as if it was the candidate's own money.

D. Use of Personal FundsUse of a candidate’s personal funds on behalf of his or her campaign must be deposited into the campaign depository and must be reported as either contributions or loans to the campaign in the same manner as all other contributions or loans. If the candidate intends to be reimbursed fully or partially for personal funds used on behalf of his or her campaign, then the funds must be reported both as a loan and as an outstanding obligation to the campaign if still outstanding at the end of the reporting period. Once a candidate’s personal funds are reported as contributions, the funds cannot be later characterized as loans and be repaid to the candidate. There is no limit to the amount of personal funds a candidate may contribute or lend to his or her own campaign (except for publicly funded gubernatorial candidates). See Gubernatorial Public Financing Program Manual for more information.  Also, a corporation, of which one hundred percent of the stock is owned by the candidate, or by the candidate’s spouse, child, parent, or sibling residing in the candidate’s household, may make contributions without limit to a candidate committee established by that candidate, or to a joint candidates committee established by that candidate.

That infusion of corporate cash was improperly reported.  A judge overturned a close election, a lawsuit followed, another judge overturned the first decision, while an appeal wasn't pursued after the opposing candidate received a gubernatorial appointment.   Lyon's campaign still owes a huge amount of money to this corporation: 

But apparently, this large infusion of corporate cash is only legal while Hank Lyon and his father reside in the same household.  So we find it strange that Freeholder Hank Lyon is so reticent about providing his legal address on personal financial disclosure statements as required by law:

And the financial disclosure statement he submitted to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJELEC) claims his father's address as his own:

And yet, sloppily, Freeholder Hank Lyon's biography on his official Morris County website page provides this conflicting information:

"He is a lifelong resident of Morris County, specifically the Towaco section of Montville Township, where he was a member of the Montville Housing Committee.  He now lives in Parsippany."

What is up with this guy?

Lyon's father was his Freeholder campaign's treasurer and its principal financier.  The lawyer who won the case for him was an alumnus of the Brett Schundler for Governor campaign and a movement conservative.  Lyon tried to screw him:

Lawyer seeks $162,000 from Morris County Freeholder Hank Lyon

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Morris County Freeholder William “Hank” Lyon has been accused of owing his former lawyer $162,000 in unpaid legal bills while Lyon also is battling with the state over alleged campaign violations.

“What a worm,”  said attorney Sean Connelly about his former client, Lyon. “We never expected to be in this position. We won precisely how we said we would win.”

Lyon, a Montville resident, did not return several calls for comment and an email to his freeholder address.

Connelly and the law firm of Barry, McTiernan and Wedinger of Edison represented Lyon during a nine-month court battle that ended up with Lyon winning the freeholder seat.

Lyon had won the 2011 Republican primary by four votes over Freeholder Margaret Nordstrom of Washington Township.  Nordstrom sued and won, gaining her seat back.

Lyon appealed the ruling and a state appeals court ruled in his favor in February 2012 and removed Nordstrom from the position. Lyon later won the freeholder post at a special election in November 2012.

Connelly said that after Lyon refused mediation and other offers to settle, the firm finally filed the suiton June 13 in Superior Court in Middlesex County against Lyon and his father, Robert A. Lyon, both of Montville, and their organization, “Lyon for Conservative Freeholder.” Connelly said Lyon has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.

Connelly said that before the court action, he had told Lyon that the lawsuit would be very costly.

“They said they were going to fund this to the end,” Connelly said.

The legal effort included extensive court representations and $18,000 for transcripts.

“We filed motions upon motions upon motions,” Connelly said. “It tied up my practice for six months.”

Connelly said his firm has offered several discounts on the outstanding legal bills.  “They kept ignoring us,” Connelly said. “We offered them great terms to pay over time.”

Connelly also said he filed the lawsuit in Middlesex County in an effort to limit publicity in Morris County.

“I don’t want to embarrass him,” he said. “I want to get paid.”

Connelly said the freeholder avoided being served with the lawsuit summons, forcing him to hire a professional toserve him at Lyon’s freeholder office.

Connelly said he also named Lyon’s father, Robert, in the lawsuit because the elder Lyon initially had agreed to pay the legal bills.

Connelly said he believes Lyon and his family have significant assets, including real estate holdings and restaurants.

Lyon’s income includes $24,375 a year as a freeholder. He also works with his father in the family’s business, which owns four restaurants, including Qdoba Mexican Grill restaurants and Maggie Moo’s ice cream parlors.

Election Violations

The N.J. Election Law Enforcement Commission also has accused Lyon of four violations of campaign finance laws during the 2011 Republican primary. Each violation could result in a maximum $6,800 fine.

The same alleged violations were cited by Superior Court Assignment Judge Thomas Weisenbeck when he ruled against Lyon and in favor of Nordstrom.

The commission names Lyon and his father who was the campaign treasurer.

One alleged violation involves a $16,000 loan made to the campaign a week before the primary but not reported until July 8. The state says that because the contribution was more than $1,200, it should have been reported within 48 hours.

Another alleged violation occurred when Lyon and his father certified the information on the loan and campaign report was correct but that they changed it in a subsequent report. Initially, Lyons reported that he had made the loan but it was later changed to identify Robert Lyon as the contributor, the state said.

Additionally, the state claims the information about the contribution was submitted after the June 27 deadline.

Further, the complaint says that $16,795 in expenditures were listed on July 8 but were due on June 27.

(Editor Phil Garber, December 11, 2013, newjerseyhills.com)

The Lyon family operates a group of interconnected corporate entities out of the same office and same post office box they share with Hank Lyon's political campaign -- Post Office Box 193, 20 Indian Hill Road, Towaco, New Jersey.

Stay tuned...