New Jersey Official Convicted in Criminal Conspiracy.

February 15, 2010 at 10:09 A.M. An advertisement was imposed on this site, against my will and without my consent, expressing disdain for this conviction or further criminal investigations and convictions of crooked N.J. real estate developers and construction people "connected" to the powers-that-be.

"Apartments in Jersey City, New Jersey Waterfront Apartments, Urban Living in Jersey City, NJ www.libertyharbor.com/the_regent " (Leona Beldini?)

(AP), "Jersey City Official Is Convicted In First Trial in Corruption Sting," in The New York Times, February 12, 2010, at p. A28. (1 down; 43 to go.)
John Eligion, "Concrete Testing Company and Owner Are Convicted of Falsifying Work," in The New York Times, February 18, 2010, at p. A19. (Alleged mafia affiliations and "links" to corrupt officials in N.J. and N.Y. are denied.)
Winnie Hu, "Wealth Gap For Schools In New Jersey Is the Highest," in The New York Times, February 18, 2010, at p. A20. (The difference in the quality of education available to poor as compared with rich children is highest in New Jersey due to the disproportionate impact of THEFT on poor schools.) Please see "Cement is Gold." (A quotation mark was added to this sentence for some reason.)
Howard Swach, "Detectives Visit Comatose Boy Daily," in The Wave, February 12, 2010, at p. 6.
(Reuters), "Britain: Security Chief Denies Collusion With U.S. in Instances of Torture," in The New York Times, February 13, 2010, at p. A11. (Did he have his fingers crossed?)
"A Blue-Ribbon Look at Criminal Justice," (Editorial) in The New York Times, February 13, 2010, at p. A22.
Robbie Brown, "Judges Free Inmate on Recommendation of Special Innocence Panel," in The New York Times, February 18, 2010, at p. A14. (Innocent man freed after 16 years in prison.)
"Justice Kennedy on Prisons," (Editorial) in The New York Times, February 16, 2010, at p. A26. (Justice Kennedy expresses concerns about California's "misguided three-strikes" law that he voted to uphold when the same law came before the Supreme Court.)


"Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini of Jersey City was convicted on Thursday on bribery charges in the first trial stemming from New Jersey's largest federal corruption sting, but was acquitted of the most serious charges against her."

There are several pending investigations of money-laundering by officials and prominent business persons in Hudson County as well as the residue of the exploding "Equinix" scandal in Bergen and Hudson counties. ("Senator Bob Struggles to Find His Conscience.")

Incidentally, these allegations and essays in my blogs are supported by journalistic accounts in most of the major news media. Insulting me will not respond to the allegations. More of these allegations -- with solid factual support from public sources and anticipated news coverage -- will refer to politicians in the Garden State who are subject to open grand jury investigations. ("Does Senator Menendez Have Mafia Friends?")

"The jury deliberated for two days after nine days of arguments and testimony."

"Ms. Beldini was convicted on two counts of accepting $10,000 from a government informant posing as a developer looking to bribe public officials to help him get building approvals. She was acquitted of one count of extortion conspiracy, two counts of attempted extortion and a third bribery count."

Ms. Beldini's counsel, Brian Neary, Esq. -- who is someone I liked and respected -- will argue that the verdict is self-contradictory and makes no sense. This is often true and will, probably, not win a new trial for his client. However, Mr. Neary will earn (deservedly) a nice fee for filing the appeal. Don't spend it all in one place, Brian.

More practically and privately, Ms. Beldini may approach the federales through her counsel (Mr. Neary or others) with a confidential offer and "proffer," i.e., she will provide information that may lead to additional arrests and convictions against "others" in exchange for a prosecutorial recomendation of a lesser sentence. If Ms. Beldini can help the feds with "rumored" pending investigations of the mafia in Hudson County, she may receive a minimal sentence.

"The extortion counts were the most serious and carried a maximum sentence of 20 years each; the bribery counts carry a 10-year maximum sentence."

Ms. Beldini was lucky.

"The nation's criminal justice system is in need of an overhaul. This is particularly true of its incarceration policies. Too many people are being put behind bars who do not need to be there, at great cost to the states, and not enough attention is being paid to helping released prisoners re-enter society."

Lots of people are making big money building prisons and providing prison services. There is plenty of waste and theft from the billions spent on incarceration in America. ("Foucault, Rose, Davis and the Meanings of Prison" and "An Unpleasant Encounter With New Jersey's State Police.")

"The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to create a blue-ribbon commission to study the justice system and other reforms. The bill's main sponsor was Jim Webb, a Democrat of Virginia [,] who is one of the Senate's more thoughtful voices on crime and punishment."

"Among the issues the commission would study is why the United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Prisons are filled with a large number of non-violent offenders, including minor drug offenders. In many cases, it would be more humane, economical and effective to provide drug treatment and MENTAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVES." (emphasis added!)

Most people in prison should not be there. The number of women who are incarcerated may be reduced by half without endangering the safety of Dick Cheney.

"The director general of Britain's MI5 security service denied Friday that his agency colluded in torture, after a court ruling showed that it knew that a detained British resident had been abused by American intelligence officers. The court disclosed information to MI5 by the CIA that Binyam Mohammed, a British resident from Ethiopia, had been shackled, threatened and deprived of sleep in American custody."

I am sure that Mr. Mohammed has been through worse, including sexual assault. This "abuse" is only what the U.S. and British governments will admit to "knowing about." No one is going to prison for torturing this man, sadistically, over a period of years. ("What is it like to be tortured?")

"The MI5 director general, Jonathan Evans, ... wrote in The Daily Telegraph [sic.] that British intelligence had been slow to detect 'the emerging pattern of U.S. mistreatment of detainees' after the September 11, 2001, attacks. ... 'We did not practice mistreatment or torture and do not do so now, nor do we collude in torture or encourage others to torture on our behalf.' ..."

Mr. Mohammed was found guilty of being Ethiopian and dark-skinned. Here is who should be in prison or subjected to involuntary commitment to a mental health facility:

"Two detectives from the 100 Precinct have been visiting a young boy, who remains in a coma, on a daily basis after his mother deliberately immersed him in scalding water, allegedly for having soiled himself, nurses at the Nassau County Medical Center say."

I recall a case from the juvenile court in Jersey City of a mother who placed her son on a lit stove and held him there. Photographs of such events are not easily removed from one's consciousness. Perhaps such horrors should not be forgotten. New Jersey's courts are lenient with such offenders, of course, if they are mob "connected." ("Judges Protect Child Molesters in Bayonne, New Jersey," then "A Killing in New Jersey's House of Healing" and "We Don't know From Nothing.")

" ... Regina Cooper" -- I wonder if she is related to "Helene Cooper" of the Times? -- "30, of 112-34 Rockaway Beach Boulevard got upset when she came home around midday on January 25, and was told that her three-year-old son, Barkim Owens, had soiled his pull-ups."

"It is alleged that Cooper cursed at her son, stripped him of his clothing and placed him in the bathtub without testing the temperature of the water. She allegedly held him submerged in the water for several minutes while the child screamed, cried and pleaded with his mother to take him out. When she finally pulled him out, his skin that had been submerged began falling off his body."

The child was transported to Nassau County Burn Center in East Meadow where he was treated and is placed in a medically induced coma to cope with unbearable pain. Psychiatric professionals could not be bothered to treat this 25 year-old mother because they were probably busy doing favors for politicians, or conducting interrogations under hypnosis (secretly) for prosecutors looking at victims who have committed no crimes, even as these same victims refuse to pay off politicians in New Jersey. ("Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture" and, again, "What is it like to be tortured?")

Diana, how many of your victims do you have sex with? Terry, how much did you steal from my office? "Your book is shit and you're shit!" "Jump off the Empire State building!" Is that right, Diana? How often do you supply sexual partners for judges and other powerful officials, Diana? ("An Open Letter to My Torturers in New Jersey, Terry Tuchin and Diana Lisa Riccioli.")

Do you speak to me of "ethics," Mr. Rabner? I hope and expect to see all of you soon.