Assemblyman Indicted On Federal Corruption Charges

Joseph Vas (file photo)

NEWARK – Assemblyman and former Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas was indicted yesterday along with his longtime aide Melvin Ramos on federal corruption charges, officials announced.

Vas and Ramos surrendered to Special Agents with the FBI in Newark this morning, Acting United States Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr. announced.

The indictment, which was unsealed today, charges Vas and Ramos with, among other things, committing mail fraud in connection with a scheme to misuse Vas’s position as mayor to misappropriate state affordable housing funds in connection with Vas’s sale of a multi-unit apartment building to a contractor in 2006.

Vas, 54, and Ramos, 53, both of Perth Amboy, made their initial appearances in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark this morning. Vas secured his $200,000 bail through a bond on his Perth Amboy home. Ramos also secured his $100,000 bail through a bond on his residence.

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FBI Sweep Arrests Gang Members

ELIZABETH—Federal and county officials arrested 12 people and seized guns and drugs last week in a sweep targeting street gang members. An alleged member of the Bloods street gang and three alleged Bloods associates were arrested who had addresses in Elizabeth.

Overall, three alleged members of the notorious street gang were caught in the raids, which began last Monday under the supervision of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force and the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.

Three other alleged gang members – all from Elizabeth—remain at large, authorities said.
The suspects were charged in Superior Court in Union County with trafficking automatic weapons and drugs. Some of the alleged dealers sold cocaine and heroin within steps of elementary and high schools in Newark and Elizabeth, authorities said.

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Colonia Teen Killed In Car Crash

COLONIA – A Colonia High School sophomore was killed in a single-car crash on Route 9 in Woodbridge last Thursday night.

Jennifer Metzger, 16, was pronounced dead at 9:17 p.m. at the accident scene, authorities said. She was a passenger in a 1997 Ford Explorer driven by Allen McGovern, 18, of Rahway, police said.

Another 16-year-old girl who was a passenger in the car was also seriously injured and was flown to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

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Double-Dipping Costs Climb

STATE—Extensive newspaper reporting on the ways in which the public employee pension systems have been manipulated and abused has not stopped the number of New Jersey government workers with more than one public job from increasing.

According to government payroll data, 8,255 workers had two or more jobs with the state, county, school districts, municipalities or other non-federal public agencies.

There are hundreds of elected officials who also occupy other paid government jobs. The median salary among double-dipping government workers was more than $61,000 and the total tax expenditure for the jobs was more than $538 million.

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Cryan, DeFilippo, Devanney Among Top Tax Takers

UNION COUNTY—While many Americans cannot find employment and even public employees are losing their jobs, one New Jersey government lawyer strung together eight taxpayer-funded posts for a total income of more than $320,000 in 2008.

Damian Murray, a municipal court judge in eight Ocean County towns, made a salary 67 percent greater than that of the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Locally, Assemblyman Joseph Cryan held two government jobs, cashing in on a $49,000 salary as a state legislator and $110,676 as a political appointee in the Union County Sheriff’s Office, for a total income $159,676.

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South Amboy To Reduce Police Force By 17 Percent

SOUTH AMBOY – City officials announced last week that five police officers – 16.7 percent of the police force – could be layed off as soon as July 1.

“It is a difficult decision, and no one in this administration is happy about it, but the action is necessary in order to deal with the budgetary constraints we are experiencing not only here in South Amboy, but throughout the state and nation,” said South Amboy Mayor John T. O’Leary.

Officials did not name the affected officers, but they are the five most junior on the 30-man force according to the mayor.

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Linden Man Charged In 2007 Roselle Street Killing

ELIZABETH – A 32-year-old Linden man has been charged with killing Roselle resident Gregory Fils-Aime in April 2007, authorities said.

Kareem Prunty was arrested Friday night as a result of a joint investigation between the Union County Homicide Task Force and the Linden Police Department. He was being held at Union County Jail in Elizabeth in lieu of $2 million bail, officials said.

Prunty, who had previously served time in federal prison for gun-trafficking, was charged with first degree homicide.

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Accused Murderer Arrested In Sayreville

SAYREVILLE—A murder suspect who had evaded police for three years was arrested last Friday after being featured recently on the television show “America’s Most Wanted.”

Carlos Thompson was arrested at 3:15 p.m. on May 15 in a townhouse on Farnham Square after police received a tip. A team of 14 officers participated in the arrest, authorities said. The suspect had apparently been renting the residence in the Reflections townhouse development since November.

Thompson, 33, allegedly attacked a 15-year-old youth for selling CDs on a street in Harlem, N.Y. on June 16, 2005. He was an enforcer for a group of rap artists called the Dipset Crew, according to authorities.

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Lawyers Present Arguments In FAA Airspace Redesign Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Redesigned flight plans intended to reduce delays at New York area airports will increase noise and pollution, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal argued before a federal appeals court last week.

Blumenthal was supporting a lawsuit filed last year under a joint state-municipal alliance. It was consolidated with several other similar suits, including one filed by Elizabeth. The legal challenge could force the Federal Aviation Administration to rewrite its regional air traffic plan.

The FAA proposal could increase air traffic by as many as 150 planes per day, Blumenthal argued.
“These FAA flight paths fly in the face of reason and law, completely disregarding the impact of noise levels on highly populated areas throughout the Northeast,” Blumenthal said.

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Two Former Governors Praise Independent

STATE – Two former New Jersey governors, Republican Tom Kean and Democrat Brendan Byrne, each had glowing comments about independent gubernatorial candidate Christopher Daggett.

“Chris Daggett is an exceptionally well-qualified candidate,” Byrne said. “If he were Governor of New Jersey, we would be well off.”

“He did well when he served in government, and would do well if he served again,” Kean agreed.
Daggett, who is mounting a bid to qualify for public campaign financing and circulating petitions to have his name placed on the November ballot, has been critical of irresponsible state fiscal policies, pension padding among political insiders who hold multiple jobs and the impact of corruption on government services.

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Rahway Councilman’s Assault Case Delayed

CLARK – A Clark municipal court judge postponed the hearing on assault charges against Rahway City Councilman Bobby Akbar last week to allow the defense time to review new evidence.

Akbar, 32, a fifth grade teacher at Franklin Elementary School, was arrested on Feb. 26 according to his attorney. Court documents list the charge as a simple assault, but Rahway police have not released the arrest report or any information about the incident.

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Edison Gets $1.5 Million Developer’s Fee

EDISON – Last week, Mayor Jun Choi accepted a developer’s fee from Hartz Mountain Industries – the redeveloper of the former Ford Motor Co. plant – that will go toward tax relief.

Hartz President Emanuel Stern presented Choi with a $1.5 million ceremonial check, written out to the “Taxpayers of Edison” and with “For Tax Relief” penned in the memo.

Edison has already received $1 million from Hartz and will receive the second installment of $500,000 on June 8. The total $1.5 million is in addition to a donation of 7.5 acres of land adjacent to Paterniti Park on the site’s Vineyard Road border.

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