| נשלח ב-15/7/2004 15:48 |
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ארטאדאסישעראיד ארעסטירט אל תתוודע לרשות
אל תתוודע לרשות אזוי האבן חכמינו ז"ל געזאגט
דער גרעסטער ארטהדאקסישער פילאנטראפ אין פין די גרעסטע בעלי צדקה אינעם ניו דזשערסי ארטאדאקסישען אידענטום
איז ליידער געווארען ארעסטירט אויף א בילבול
זייענדיג פארמישט אין פאליטיק איז ער געווען דער הויפט פאנד רעזער פאר פאליטישע קאמפיינס פאר די דעמאקראטישער פארטיי אין פין די מאכטפולסטע פיגורען אין ניו דזשערסי
דער אייבירשטער זאל העלפן ער זאל זיך ארויס דרייען פין דעם פלאנטער אין ער זאל ווייטער קענען העלפען אידן
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July 15, 2004
Democratic Donor Is Known for Short Temper and Big Heart
By RONALD SMOTHERS and DAVID KOCIENIEWSKI
New Jersey developer who was charged Tuesday with hiring prostitutes to compromise potential witnesses in a federal investigation of his business and political contributions is known as a successful and generous man who has left his mark on the real estate, political and social landscape.
At the same time, as a businessman and political player, the developer, Charles Kushner, has a reputation for sharp elbows, a short temper and an eye to expansion, friends and associates say.
Whether it was the brusque dismissal of a request from a powerful Republican state legislator in 2002 or allegations of punitive treatment of former and disgruntled employees he deemed disloyal, his reactions were granite-like and harsh, according to interviews with people who know him.
But there was another side. Charles, his brother Murray and sisters Linda and Esther were pillars of the Jewish community in New Jersey and flowing fountains of philanthropy for hospitals and Israel and schools and social programs.
The philanthropic streak was sustained through even the titanic and public feuds that had sprung up in recent years among family members. One Jewish leader in the state said, to get along with him, friends just had to remember who was feuding with whom and avoid bringing up that name.
"I know it is a cliché, but he is a pillar of the community," said Dave Twersky, a former editor of The New Jersey Jewish Press.
On Tuesday, Mr. Kushner was charged with obstructing a federal investigation into his business dealings and political contributions by hiring prostitutes to try to seduce two men he believed were cooperating with federal prosecutors in the case.
One of the prostitutes succeeded in the seduction plan and the result was a videotape, which federal investigators said Mr. Kushner and his co-conspirators secretly made, then mailed to the man's wife - Mr. Kushner's sister Esther. According to the complaint, the act was in retaliation for his brother-in-law's actions and to discourage further cooperation into the continuing investigation into campaign contributions that Mr. Kushner had made to Gov. James E. McGreevey and other prominent Democrats. The developer, 50, was released on a $5 million bond and, according to his lawyer, plans to plead not guilty to the charges.
Yesterday the lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said he would not comment on any aspect of the case. But when asked about Mr. Kushner's family and business disputes, he said: "I think it would be inappropriate to comment on the personalities involved in these allegations. Suffice it to say, however, that when the dust settles, Charlie Kushner will emerge with his honor and good name intact, whereas those who have tried so hard to destroy him will be exposed for the selfish, venal people that the evidence suggests them to be."
Mr. Kushner's wealth and prominence was built on the foundation of a small construction business started by his father, Joseph, a Holocaust survivor from eastern Poland.
But what the father bequeathed as a real estate management and construction business with about 4,000 apartment units was built by Charles and Murray into an estimated $1 billion amalgamation of limited partnerships and limited liability companies that own 22,000 apartments in northern New Jersey.
In recent years, on his own, Charles has expanded to commercial real estate, a different and perhaps more competitive world. Among the Kushner Companies properties are the 18-story IDT Building in Newark, the Puck Building in Lower Manhattan and 7.5 million square feet of other commercial space. Mr. Kushner also owns a bank and an insurer.
But when he had focused on the more public arena, like politics, and even the high-stakes business of sports franchises, as he did this year with a bid to buy the New Jersey Nets, Mr. Kushner has not always had such a golden touch and has been seen by some as overreaching.
He failed in his attempt to become chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 2003, even with the aggressive support of Governor McGreevey; Mr. McGreevey and his committees had received $1.5 million in campaign contributions from Mr. Kushner and his companies over the years.
"I think he made a mistake getting involved in the public sector," said George Zoffinger, president and chief executive of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and a key adviser to Mr. McGreevey. "He's a great businessman and tough negotiator. But he has too many business interests that could conflict and a lot of people were suspicious of his motives."
Democratic officials said that since the mid-1990's, as he became more politically active, Mr. Kushner had made no secret of his desire to become chairman of the Port Authority, a post that would offer prestige and influence over billions of dollars in contracts. He was a hard-driving figure who wore his ambition on his sleeve and was well known to state political figures, from local county leaders to Senators Jon S. Corzine, Robert G. Torricelli and Frank Lautenberg.
Tom Giblin, state Democratic chairman from 1997 and to early 2001, said Mr. Kushner made moderate donations during that period. While Mr. Kushner was deeply involved in charities involving New Jersey's Jewish community and the Holocaust Memorial, his interest in Democratic Party politics and candidates seemed to be based more on pragmatism than ideology, Mr. Giblin said.
"In the late 1990's, looking up and down the turnpike, all those counties were becoming Democratic," Mr. Giblin said. "So for a businessman, it made perfect sense to devote more of your resources to the Democratic Party."
But while his contributions to political figures and party leaders gave him access, it also began to cause him trouble. While Mr. McGreevey was pushing him for the chairmanship of the Port Authority, questions about his contributions were raised.
State Senator William L. Gormley, then a power in the State Senate Republican leadership, asked him to come to Trenton to answer questions and resolve the matter, before the Senate voted on his nomination to the Port Authority board. But Mr. Kushner refused and instead withdrew his name from consideration in a move that many saw as temperamental and impolitic.
The issue of the campaign contributions never went away, and last month Mr. Kushner was ordered to pay $508,900 in penalties for violating campaign finance laws with donations he made to campaigns from December 1997 to August 2000. Those contributions were among the issues raised by family members in a contentious legal battle stemming from disagreements over business and how proceeds were distributed. The feuds between Charles and Murray in the 90's led to suits and countersuits in state court.
That dispute ended and all lawsuits were dropped in January after mediation. But more recently, Mr. Kushner and his sister Esther Schulder and her husband, William Schulder, were feuding and, according to the criminal complaint, Mr. Kushner believed they were cooperating with federal investigators.
Asked at a public appearance yesterday about the charges against Mr. Kushner, Mr. McGreevey said, "I just pray for him and his family."
Jason George contributed reporting for this article.
הטקסט שלך כאן
תוקן על ידי - ekstein - 15/07/2004 15:53:56
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| נשלח ב-15/7/2004 15:50 |
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Commerce head quits amid scandal
Published in the Courier News on July 15, 2004
TRENTON -- Commerce Secretary William Watley resigned Wednesday amid reports that he funneled state money to businesses he owned and to family members.
"Despite the swirl of speculation and innuendo my departure may generate, I leave this office with my pride intact, confident in knowing that an objective evaluation of my tenure will confirm that I discharged my duties responsibly," Watley said in his resignation letter.
Gov. James E. McGreevey accepted the resignation, saying in a statement that Watley "was in integral part of this administration's highly successful economic development strategy."
"He has made an invaluable contribution, and I wish him all the best," McGreevey said at a public appearance Wednesday.
The Watley resignation was the latest troublesome development for the McGreevey administration.
Charles Kushner, McGreevey's top donor, was charged Tuesday with trying to interfere with a grand jury investigation by hiring prostitutes and videotaping a sex act between one of them and a witness in the case. The grand jury is investigating allegations that Kushner violated political contribution laws.
In addition, Democratic political fund-raiser David D'Amiano faces arraignment Thursday on charges that he extorted campaign donations from a farmer in exchange for help with a land deal. McGreevey acknowledges that he used the word "Machiavelli" during a secretly recorded conversation with D'Amiano, but insists that it was an innocent literary allusion.
Watley had offered to resign four months ago, but McGreevey refused to accept the offer. In a statement, McGreevey said Watley had only agreed to serve for two years.
Recently Watley's business dealings have come under intense scrutiny.
An $11.5 million loan offer to a church affiliated with Watley was canceled by the state after it was determined he was part of a partnership that would have received the money.
State officials found that Watley and his former chief of staff did not indicate on financial disclosure forms that they held positions in a company connected to the church when the loan application was submitted to the Housing Mortgage Finance Agency.
The loan for construction at St. James AME Church in Newark where Watley is pastor had been approved by the HMFA earlier this year. But it came under scrutiny after state investigators raided the Commerce and Economic Growth Commission offices of Lesly Devereaux, Watley's former chief of staff, as part of a separate probe.
Devereaux also served as the commission's senior vice president before resigning earlier this month.
The state Division of Criminal Justice is investigating Watley's decision to award a no-bid consulting contract to Devereaux's sister.
Watley has said no laws were broken when Candace Harper was given the $2,000-per-month contract. Harper, who is on probation for felony embezzlement, eventually was paid $9,250 to compile a database for a program that helps small businesses win government contracts. She completed her work in March, commission officials said.
Questions were first raised about the contract earlier this year during a routine review of the agency by the state auditor. An assistant state auditor later complained that the commission was not being cooperative in turning over records. The audit is scheduled to be completed this summer
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| נשלח ב-15/7/2004 15:54 |
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July 14, 2004
Lurid Charges Against Donor Add to Worries of a Troubled Governor
By DAVID KOCIENIEWSKI
RENTON, July 13 - Last week, when federal prosecutors disclosed that Gov. James E. McGreevey was secretly taped discussing a land deal with the target of a corruption investigation, New Jersey politics was consumed with speculation about whether the governor might be involved in any wrongdoing.
Now, as Mr. McGreevey finds his administration reeling from charges that his top donor hired a prostitute in order to silence witnesses in another investigation, the governor faces a more disturbing question: does the possible wrongdoing even matter any more?
Mr. McGreevey was elected as a reformer, but his 30 months in office have been defined by a dizzying procession of ethical and criminal accusations against his fund-raisers, party operatives, staff members and cabinet members. No one has accused Mr. McGreevey himself of violating any laws or ethical codes. Indeed, the United States attorney, Christopher J. Christie went out of his way on Tuesday to say that the governor was not directly involved in the new charges, that his most generous campaign contributor, Charles Kushner, hired a prostitute to obstruct an inquiry into Democratic fund-raising. Mr. Kushner was indicted for obstruction of justice on Tuesday.
But Mr. Kushner, whom the governor tried to make chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is so closely tied to Mr. McGreevey that his indictment is still a significant political setback for the administration. Mr. Kushner's prominence, and the seriousness of the charges against him, raise the possibility that he or other McGreevey aides who are under criminal investigation might cooperate with prosecutors and allow the scandals surrounding the administration to grow even more.
Even it there are no further revelations, many political analysts say that so many of Mr. McGreevey's associates have already been charged with impropriety that it threatens to hamper his ability to govern.
"Without question, it undermines his leadership," said Ingrid Reed of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers. "Even though he may not have done anything wrong himself, when you are associated with so many people accused of breaking the law, the public can lose their trust. And how long can you govern if you don't have the trust of the people you're governing?"
As recently as Monday afternoon, Mr. McGreevey's aides argued that the governor had regained his footing after being rattled by the damaging revelations that surfaced in last week's indictment of David D'Amiano, who is charged with soliciting campaign contributions by promising political favors to a man engaged in a land dispute. Although Mr. McGreevey was taped discussing the deal and saying the word "Machiavelli," which prosecutors say was a code word for the illicit scheme, the governor insisted his utterance was nothing more than an innocent literary allusion.
After accusing Mr. Christie, a possible Republican contender for governor next year, of using the case to smear him, Mr. McGreevey has tried to focus public attention on his policy initiatives involving transportation, the environment and education.
When news of the allegations against Mr. Kushner spread from the United States Attorney's office, Mr. McGreevey declined to comment, and his press office released a one-paragraph statement saying that the administration was saddened to hear of the allegations that were "unrelated to this office."
But Republicans are determined to remind voters of the many links between Mr. Kushner and the governor. Mr. Kushner and his companies donated more than $1.5 million to Mr. McGreevey and his campaign committees. He also had business dealings with Gary Taffet, Mr. McGreevey's former campaign manager and chief of staff, who is now the subject of a criminal investigation for allegedly using his office to inflate the value of a billboard company he owned.
Last week, Brett Schundler, a former Jersey City mayor, announced that he would again seek to challenge Mr. McGreevey; and Douglas Forrester, a businessman who lost his bid for Senate last year, broadcast a radio ad lamenting what he called the sorry ethical state of New Jersey elected officials.
On Tuesday, the state Republican chairman also demanded that Mr. McGreevey return the donations from Mr. D'Amiano and Mr. Kushner.
The furor swirling around the governor's office is also likely to embolden those Democrats who have quietly been urging party leaders to ask Mr. McGreevey to step aside and let Senator Jon S. Corzine have the nomination in next year's governor's race. But the governor has said he has every intention of running again, and at this point, party leaders are not willing to challenge him.
The problem for Mr. McGreevey is that the various investigations involving his associates are likely to continue their periodic eruptions.
"If these kind of cases keep happening, it becomes a kind of story line that just seeps into the culture by osmosis," said Cliff Zukin, a pollster and professor of political science at Rutgers. "Over and over again, through small drips, it solidifies. And then becomes an anchor around your ankles."
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