An NA TODAY exclusive:
WHAT DID THEY KNOW AND WHEN DID THEY KNOW IT?
Borough documents show Bianchi, Bocchino and Herrmann all
supportive of EnCap Holdings in their posts as local officials, Bocchino voted
"yes" to appoint EnCap law firm as NARA bond counsel!
NORTH
ARLINGTON - In a series of documents (click here) showing a sequence of
events that took place after the electoral defeat of five-term incumbent Len
Kaiser in 2002, the outgoing mayor work
diligently in moving the EnCap project forward even after voters showed little, if any
support for redevelopment in the borough.
Despite the fact EnCap was one of the reasons for his upset at the polls in November of 2002,
Kaiser wrote a letter dated November 19th to William Gauger stating his support of the project and their
interest in Porete Avenue. Kaiser was defeated by perennial candidate Russ
Pitman who ran on an anti-EnCap platform. Pitman would flip-flop on the issue and be defeated
for re-nomination by then Councilman Peter Massa in the 2006 Democratic Primary
by a 2-1 margin.
Kaiser,
who at the time was a staffer for outgoing County Executive William
"Pat" Schuber would be appointed
Executive Director of the Bergen County Utilities Authority (BCUA) and chosen
by former Governor James McGreevey to serve on the New Jersey Meadowlands
Commission (NJMC). Some believe Kaiser was chosen for both posts because of his
unqualified support for EnCap Holdings.
"The
letter clearly suggests that Kaiser was
supportive of EnCap's efforts as it applied to
Porete Avenue. Anyone who believes the Republicans didn't support the
housing component or the possible usage of eminent domain seem to be in
some kind of political denial," said one Democrat after reviewing the
documents.
Kaiser's
letter to Gauger shows the sense of urgency of pushing a project that was in fact rejected by the voters just a few weeks
earlier.
"Here
we have a lame duck mayor rolling out the
welcome wagon for EnCap. What else can one gather
from this correspondence?" said another Democrat who did not want to be
identified.
A
second letter dated December 5th under the signature of former borough
administrator Robert Landolfi, who also
doubled as the executive director of the now defunct North Arlington
Redevelopment Authority (NARA), asked the Planning Board to "immediately
proceed" to prepare an amendment to the Redevelopment plan to include
the now dormant, BCUA transfer station.
A
member of the planning board at the time was GOP
Councilman Joseph Bianchi.
"Maybe
now we know why Joe Bianchi claimed in his losing 2006 council campaign that EnCap would only talk to the
Republicans. Bianchi was for Encap and did nothing in his capacity as a planning board member to stop it,"
observed Councilman Al Granell, who defeated Bianchi for a seat on the
governing body.
A
third document is a resolution passed by the now defunct North Arlington
Redevelopment Agency (NARA) calling for the appointment of the EnCap legal firm of DeCotiis,
Fitzpatrick & Gluck as bond counsel.
The
resolution shows a vote of 5-0 with two
members absent. Voting in favor of the resolution is council candidate
James Bocchino, who has been a longtime
supporter of the project as well as fundraiser and party leader for the GOP.
During Bocchino's tenure as municipal chairman and district leader, local
Republicans accepted nearly $25,000 in campaign contributions from the DeCotiis
law firm that continues to represent the controversial developer in a lawsuit
against the borough.
"Jim
Bocchino voted "yes" to make the
very law firm that's suing North Arlington on behalf of EnCap NARA bond counsel. I
think Mr. Bocchino should explain to voters why he's on the side of EnCap versus homeowners? It's time
for Jimmy to explain how he was raising money for the local GOP. Why was the
local GOP accepting campaign donations from EnCap's lawyers? The voters have a
right to know," said Granell, the campaign manager for the ticket of
Council President Steve Tanelli and former Councilman Mark Yampaglia.
"These documents show a clear and
consistent pattern of support for EnCap by Republicans who are
now seeking support from the voters in this year's council race. Mr. Bocchino
voted "yes" for the DeCotiis law firm. Joe Bianchi enabled EnCap as a member of the planning
board and Jim Herrmann supported Mayor
Kaiser's push to ram EnCap down the throat's of every
taxpayer days before he was to leave office. These documents confirm the
obvious and the clear distinction between Democrats and Republicans here in
North Arlington," offered Yampaglia, a former councilman and practicing
attorney.
