Suarez gets a Walk!

January 10, 2011 at 9:30 P.M. "Errors" were reinserted in this text as part of the induced frustration effort. I will struggle to make all necessary corrections.

October 29, 2010 at 9:10 A.M. Attacks on my blogs and obstructions of my computer signal, along with efforts to prevent my access to the Internet, usually intensify after events such as I describe below.

John Schwartz, "Murderer Executed in Arizona," in The New York Times, October 28, 2010, at p. A16.
Patrick McGeehan, "Childhood Abuse Is Cited For a Convicted Killer," in The New York Times, October 28, 2010, at p. A25. ("The Wanderer and His Shadow.")
AP, "North Jersey Mayor Is Found Not Guilty," in The New York Times, October 28, 2010, at p. A25. (With justice for all?)
Karen Rouse & Herb Jackson, "Tunnel Dead on Arrival Christie Expected to End Real Project for Good Today," in The Record, October 27, 2010, at p. A-1. (NJ Senators are miffed. Mafia will lose money.)
Erik Wiener, "On Trail, Obama Responds to Voter Mood: Acknowledges Gloom, Anxiety," in The Record, October 27, 2010, at p. A-9. (50 seats for Republicans?)
Ashley Kindergan, "Mayor Seeks State Probe of Polluted Site: Dumont Republicans Dismiss Move as a 'Political Tactic,'" in The Record, October 27, 2010, at p. L-3.
Liz Sidotti, "Poll Points to Huge GOP Gains: Likely Voters Think U.S. is Going the Wrong Way," in The Record, October 21, 2010, at p. A-9.

"NEWARK -- A federal jury on Wednesday acquitted a northern New Jersey mayor but convicted his associate [Vinnie "The Bag Man" Tabaccino] in a trial stemming from large-scale corruption sting last year." (emphasis added)

The conviction of Suarez cohort Tabaccino should have resulted in the Ridgefield mayor's downfall. However, it appears that the prosecutors failed to emphasize -- or even mention -- the item that I suggested was significant: the deposit by Mr. Tabaccino of some of the bribe money received from FBI informant Dwek in an account accessible by Suarez.

Was this a deliberate mistake by federal prosecutors to protect Mr. Suarez with the cooperation of fellow Cuban-American, Judge Jose Linares? Was the deal "cut" by Senator Bob Menendez? No one knows.

Regrettably, the New Jersey U.S. Attorney in 2010 is a Democrat appointee who is strangely uninterested in prosecuting Democrat machine corruption and has gone out of his way to say that the "Soprano State" is not all that corrupt. ("Law and Ethics in the Soprano State.")

If this single fact ("follow the money!") were not mentioned, or were kept out of the record by highly intelligent defense objections by Mr. Critchley, then I can see why the jury rightly acquitted the main alleged culprit.

New Jersey is one of the few states where a public official is not legally obligated to report a bribe to the authorities. A bribe is a sign of success in New Jersey politics and among members of the state's highly corrupt judiciary.

Mitch Ablom of The Record will be happy to see me capitalizing letters which is what I do when N.J. hackers prevent my use of italics. I wonder whether Mr. Ablom has visited my sites? Does Mr. Ablom know Terry Tuchin? Mr. Ablom, as a journalist, how do you feel about censorship and computer crime? Steve Adubato? Rafael Pi Roman? ("Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture" and "What is it like to be censored in America?")

Prosecutors in N.J. bribery cases must show not only that 1) a bribe was offered; but also that 2) bribe moneys were received or accessed, somehow, by a corrupt public official. In the Suarez case the U.S. Attorney failed to establish these necessary "connections." How curious? ("Anthony Suarez Goes on Trial.")

"The mayor, Anthony R. Suarez of Ridgefield, and Vincent Tabbacino, a tax preparer from Fairfield, each faced two extortion counts and one bribery count. Mr. Tabbacino was acquitted of extortion conspiracy but convicted of attempted extortion and bribery."

"The verdicts were anounced midway through the fourth day of deliberations."

"During the trial, an informer, Solomon Dwek, testified that Mr. Suarez and Mr. Tabaccino had agreed to accept money in exchange for helping him with approvals for a fictitious development project in Ridgefield."

"The public corruption and money-laundering sting led to the arrests of nearly two-dozen public officials, as well as prominent members of Orthodox Jewish communities."

"So far, 23 of the 46 defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted."

The batting average for the U.S. Attorney is excellent on the whole. Most of these prosecutions for political corruption are left over from Mr. Christie's tenure as U.S. Attorney. Corruption is not a big priority for federal officials in the Obama administration, that is, in states controlled by Democrats. Republican corruption they want to "nip in the bud."