"Mr. Menendez's Ethics Problem: The New Jersey Senator's Dealings With a Major Florida Donor Raise Serious Concerns," (Editorial) in The New York Times, February 9, 2013, at p. A18.
"Senator Robert Menendez was never a distinguished choice for chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the position he 'ascended' to this month by virtue of seniority. Concerns about that quality gap have sharply escalated amid new disclosures about Mr. Menendez's use of his position to advance the financial interests of a friend and big donor. Instead of trying to protect Mr. Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, [allegedly,] the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, needs to remove his gavel, at least pending credible resolution by the Senate Ethics Committee of the swirling accusations of [grotesque] misconduct." (emphasis added!)
Mr. Menendez has never been regarded as an intellectual leader nor as a particularly reflective or profound individual. Mounting accusations of unseemly associations, pay-offs that are too obvious to ignore, brutal "political boss" tactics victimizing honorable persons (like Jersey City's Glen Cunningham), have come to define Mr. Menendez as the opposite of the sort of political figure who should represent America before the world.
Mr. Menendez must not, in fact, represent or become America's "image" on human rights issues. ("Is Senator Menendez 'For' Human Rights?")
"It appears that Mr. Menendez has learned little from his own previous ethics issues or from the fall of a former New Jersey Senator Robert Torricelli, who decided not to run for reelection in 2002 amid allegations that he had inappropriately aided a big donor and accepted expensive gifts. It is unclear whether the Senate Ethics Committee has initiated a formal inquiry into Mr. Menendez's conduct, but a prompt and thorough review is surely called for. In the meantime, Mr. Menendez needs to relinquish his leadership role, at least temporarily. ..." (emphasis added)
Senator Menendez has become a "known factor" in New Jersey's legal and political circles ("He's not a real lawyer!" I was told) since he was Bill Musto's guy. ("More Problems For Menendez -- Tapes!")
The ugly and revealing spectacle of greed and pay-offs as well as bizarre associations with alleged underworld figures has been evident for years -- and has often been detailed in these blog posts. ("Does Senator Menendez have mafia friends?")
Mr. Menendez has always been a "behind-the-back" enemy whose efforts have injured -- sometimes lethally -- political adversaries with little accountability to himself.
I suspect that Senator Menendez -- by means of his friends in the Democratic party in Hudson and Bergen Counties -- will target Governor Christie for attacks in an effort to preempt dealing with this matter that concerns me at the state level. I doubt that such an effort will succeed.
Perhaps now those sleazy tactics by Mr. Menendez have finally produced equally lethal payback for Mr. Menendez:
"Compounding the unseemliness, Senator Menendez 's help comes as Dr. Melgen was in the process of making donations totalling $700,000 to Majority PAC, a Democratic 'Super PAC' set up by former aides to Mr. Reid. Majority PAC ended up shovelling $582,000 to Mr. Menendez's 2012 re-election [sic.] campaign."
One would have to be naive or utterly ignorant of bare knuckles Hudson County politics to fail to recognize that Mr. Menendez's efforts on behalf of his "donor," Dr. Melgen, have been fueled by cash under-the-table, allegedly, to say nothing of Cuban-American tribal loyalties. ("American Hypocrisy and Luis Posada-Carriles" and "Cubanazos Pose a Threat to National Security.")
Free plane rides and partying with willing and available young -- often very young -- women are among the perks of power in New Jersey. Women -- like Marilyn Straus perhaps -- are disposable commodities for some of these self-styled "powerful" men and women, as opposed to human beings with rights that must be respected in the estimation of those of us without power.
No human being is a "door prize" for "services rendered," Mr. Menendez, to be thrown away when you are finished with her. ("Senator Bob, the Babe, and the Big Bucks.")
Senator Menendez's example of quid pro cuo politics and the public persona of Mr. Menendez are not the ideal of integrity in public life that America must embody for the world. ("Is Menendez For Sale?" and "New Jersey's Child Sex Industry.")
Threatening or preventing me from writing on-line is no response to these accusations. Neither is it a response to repeat insults of me that have become boring and irrelevant lies. ("An Open Letter to My Torturers in New Jersey, Terry Tuchin and Diana Lisa Riccioli" and "Law and Ethics in the Soprano State" then "New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System.")
Sources:
New York & the World:
Scott Shane, "Strategy Seeks to Bolster Bid of C.I.A. Pick," in The New York Times, February 20, 2013, at p. A1. (White House refusing access to secret memos as part of their policy of "transparency.")
Lizette Alvarez, "Lawyers Seek Final Appeal for Man Due to Be Executed," in The New York Times, February 21, 2013, at p. A17. (PAUL AUGUSTUS HOWELL may be executed because -- along with 31 others in Florida's crowded death row -- he missed a deadline for filing an appeal. Mr. Rubio is said to host "execution parties" when inmates are killed in Florida. Bring your own marshmellows?)
Michael M. Grynbaum, "Steinem Sets a Condition For Quinn," in The New York Times, February 21, 2013, at p. A21. (Ms. Quinn's obstruction of a vote on sick leave legislation may cost her the support of feminist icon, Gloria Steinem. Ms. Quinn, like Mr. Obama, may experience a tension between politics and ideology.)
Sam Dolnick, "$82 MILLION Fraud Was Staged With Bad Checks, U.S. Asserts," in The New York Times, February 22, 2013, at p. A1. (Wall Street has set the tone for America's financial community's frauds. New Jersey has become symbolic of those frauds.)
Adam Liptak, "Supreme Court Appears to Defend Patent On Soybean," in The New York Times, February 20, 2013, at p. B1. (Patents on organisms are not as new as people may think. Disregard for the intellectual copyright of dissident authors is newer: "What is it like to be plagiarized?" and "'Brideshead Revisited': A Movie Review.")
"A Whitewash of Illegal Government Assassination," in Revolution, February 17, 2013, at p. 6. (Targeted assassination, murders as "collateral damage," drone surveillance for the world. http://www.isr.org and http://www.revbooks.com )
Hilary Mantel, "Royal Bodies: From Kate Middleton to Anne Boleyn," in The London Review of Books, 21 February, 2013, at p. 3. (Not an attack on Kate Middleton, but a feminist interpretation of the British need for the "Princess" -- as an archetype of womanhood -- in a nation accustomed to government by powerful women.)
John F. Burns, "Critique of a Duchess Rubs Some the Wrong Way," in The New York Times, February 20, 2013, at p. A6. (Tempest in a tea pot? Off with their heads!)
Nate Shreiber, "Rubio's Place in the G.O.P.," in The New York Times, February 20, 2013, at p. A17. (Mr. Rubio is not ready for prime time.)
Sam Tanenhaus, "Original Sin: Why the G.O.P. Is and Will Continue to be the Party of White People," in The New Republic, February 25, 2013, at p. 22. (Like Cuban-Americans -- the "Jews" of the Caribbean -- American Jews make a strange fit in the Republican party. Why have so many Jews drifted into the ranks of the very people who detest them? TNR?)
New Jersey's Implosion:
Abbott-Koloff, "State Asserts Sandy Charity is a Scam: Says Only a Fraction of $631,000 Distributed," in The Record, February 22, 2013, at p. L-1. (Persons have received a lovely plaque and no money.)
Charles Stile, "Indicted Lawmaker Serves in Silence: Schroeder Casts Votes, Collects Pay, Refuses Comment," in The Record, February 19, 2013, at p. A-1. (N.J. Assembly member BOB SCHROEDER, Republican indicted for stealing $1.8 MILLION and for writing $3.4 MILLION in bad checks, continues to serve in New Jersey politics and may be on the legal ethics committee. What's the problem? It's New Jersey.)
"Schroeder's Dilemma: Indicted Assemblyman Should Resign," (Editorial) in The Record, February 20, 2013, at p. A-8. ("Menendez Should Give Up the Gavel!" and "Menendez Consorts With Underage Prostitutes.")
John Petrick, "State Halves Bail For Former Sheriff's Deputy," in The Record, February 20, 2013, at p. L-1. (JAMES PENA, Sheriff's Deputy, charged with sex assault on a child in 2000 refuses to discuss "network" of fellow enthusiasts. May we have a look at his "Rolodex," electronic or otherwise?)
Anthony Campisi, "Girl, 4, Abused in Teaneck, Court Rules: Finding Upheld in Dad's Struggle With Cops," in The Record, February 20, 2013, at p. L-3. (Dad struggles with Teaneck cops after striking 4 year-old child. Was the defendant an attorney?)
Chris Harris, "Schroeder Dealt Another Financial Blow: Creditor Wins $300,000 Judgment," in The Record, February 20, 2013, at p. L-3. (Mr. Schroeder may vacation in the Dominican Republic.)
Peter J. Sampson, "Tapes Capture Bergrin Talking of Killing Witness in '08 Case," in The Record, February 20, 2013, at p. L-3. (Mr. Bergrin, Chief Justice Rabner's colleague at the U.S. Attorney's Office, caught on tape plotting murder. Mr. Rabner may have been a recipient of Mr. Bergrin's "hospitality.")
Herb Jackson, "Key Trip Overseas as Scandal Takes Toll: Menendez in Asia; Poll Numbers Fall," in The Record, February 21, 2013, at p. A-1. (Less than 1/3 of N.J. voters regard Mr. Menendez as "ethical." Numbers are lower in the nation at large. OAE will take "no action" against Mr. Menendez -- possibly for a piece of the financial pie -- in ethics proceedings. "New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System" and "New Jersey's Office of Attorney Ethics." Mr. Kelly, continuing attacks against these blogs and other harassments may imperil library patrons and all residents of New York. Someone must take action to halt this absurdity.)
Ben Horowitz, "Morris County Man Convicted in Child Rape," in The Record, February 21, 2013, at p. A-4. (Another alleged Bob Menendez supporter, LUIS SOTO, 43, had sexual relations with a girl during the years when the child was between 11 and 16. Does Mr. Soto also know Dr. Salomon Melgen?)
Monsy Alvarado, "10,000 Bags of Heroin Found in Route 80 Stop: State Troopers Arrest 3 Persons From Passaic County," in The Record, February 21, 2013, at p. L-1. (Can this activity take place -- 100 times this number of "H-bags" makes it across the G.W. bridge every day -- without the cooperation of the authorities in New Jersey? Fort Lee Democrats are among the most corrupt officials in the country. Much the same is true for the tons of child porn manufactured in New Jersey and distributed throughout the country and world. How much is enough, America?)
John Petrick, "Former Sheriff's Deputy Makes Bail On Child Sex Charges," in The Record, February 21, 2013, at p. L-3. (Another child molesting New Jersey cop. Do you speak to me of "ethics," Mr. Rabner?)
AP, "Four Indicted Over Tainted Peanuts: Major Salmonella Killed 9," in The Record, February 22, 2013, at p. A-13. ("'Michael Collins': A Movie Review" and "'The Verdict': A Movie Review.")
