Feds wiretapped Norcross

Good Wednesday morning!

NORCROSSED WIRES — “Federal investigators wiretapped Norcross’ phones in 2016,” by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: Federal authorities wiretapped the phones of New Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross for several months in 2016, according to a document obtained by POLITICO. The document — a letter from William McSwain, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to an unidentified recipient whose “electronic, oral, and/or wire communications“ with Norcross were recorded — does not say why Norcross’ phones were tapped. According to a source with knowledge of the inquiry, authorities have looked into tax-break legislation that spurred development along Camden’s waterfront through generous incentives from which Norcross’ insurance company benefited. Norcross, whose insurance brokerage has millions of dollars in public contracts across the state, is one of the most powerful people in New Jersey — and arguably the single most powerful unelected person in the state. He holds sway over a major legislative delegation from South Jersey, giving him the power to make or break any piece of legislation, and is close to state Senate President Steve Sweeney. Michael Critchley, a criminal defense attorney who is representing Norcross, acknowledged in a statement to POLITICO that “some of Norcross’ phone calls were monitored“ but said the wiretapping “ended quickly after it became clear that neither he [Norcross] nor the people with whom he works or associates did anything wrong or untoward.” Read the full story here

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A couple notes on this article: As the two former prosecutors quoted note, wiretaps are not done lightly. Prosecutors have to show that there’s probably cause to believe they will find evidence of a crime.

Also, it was the First Assistant U.S. Attorney from New Jersey, Rachael Honig, who sent a clearance letter to Norcross’ lawyer saying the case was closed, even though the wiretaps were requested by the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. While Norcross attorney Michael Critchley says the Pennsylvania office twice verbally confirmed to him that this matter is closed, that office has not confirmed that for me.

Clearance letters are very rare, though Christie famously issued one for Joe DiVincenzo when he was in the middle of a campaign. Honig started at the U.S. Attorney’s Office under Christie in 2003, according to her LinkedIn page. She worked there during the Paul Fishman years until 2016, when she left to take a job at Celgene — the drug company led until recently by Bob Hugin that has close ties to Christie. It even employs Christie’s former chief of staff, Richard Bagger, as a high-ranking executive. And Honig’s husband, Elie, was a top prosecutor in the Christie administration. So Rachael Honig comes from Christie world, and the Christie-Norcross alliance was the single most important relationship in the Christie era. I draw no conclusions from this, but I believe it’s worth pointing out — just like I think it’s worth pointing out that the Pennsylvania office has not provided a clearance letter.

WHERE’S MURPHY? In Newark for a noon discussion on the New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Treasury spox Jennifer Sciortino, NEON’s Daniel O’Meara. Missed yesterday: state Sen. Jim Holzapfel

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I am not a crook.” — Independent CD11 candidate Robert Crook during a candidates forum last night

POLL OF THE DAY —Monmouth: Democrat Mikie Sherrill maintains a small, within the margin of error lead over Republican Jay Webber in CD11, a district held by Republicans for more than 30 years. More here

TELL US SOMETHING WE DON’T KNOW — ”Audit finds NJ Transit funding ‘inadequate, uncertain, and unsustainable’,“ by POLITICO’s Ryan Hutchins: A long-awaited, $1.3 million audit of NJ Transit faults the agency for having no long-term strategic plan, no road map for improving its technological capability and, importantly, no predictable source of outside funding. “Funding is inadequate, uncertain, and unsustainable,” concludes the assessment, prepared by the North Highland Company. “New Jersey Transit’s operational and maintenance costs have risen nearly 30 percent in the past 10 years while subsidies have declined, forcing the agency to fund operations through dollars intended for capital projects to meet rising ridership demands.” Gov. Phil Murphy, who released the 197-page report at a Tuesday press conference, said some of the recommendations were already being implemented and others will take time to put in place. “We are not going to let this audit collect dust,” Murphy said at the Metuchen train station. But the governor offered no answers to the agency’s biggest and perhaps most vexing problem: that lack of a long-term funding source. “We need to take this audit, sit down with legislative leadership on both sides of the aisle and figure that question out. I have to say, today, I’m open-minded as to how we get there,” Murphy said when asked about the funding problem. “We’ve got to get there in a responsible way.” Read the report here

—“Unnamed culprit in Phil Murphy’s NJ Transit audit? Chris Christie,” by The Record’s Curtis Tate: “The audit confirmed what Christie administration officials repeatedly denied: Some NJ Transit employees were hired because of their political connections rather than their technical expertise … Further, NJ Transit’s assistant executive director for human resources had nearly dictatorial control over hiring decisions, overruling hiring managers regardless of their preferences or needs and slow-walking applications … An investigation last year by NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY Network New Jersey found that at least 10 Christie allies received promotions and pay increases at NJ Transit while the agency crumbled around them.” Read the report

—“5 ways N.J. Transit Is failing commuters” Read the report

—“Forget running the railroad. NJ Transit can’t manage Twitter, Facebook either, report says” Read the report

NEW DEADLINE FOR LEGALIZATION TO BE SET FOR APRIL, 2020 — Marijuana discussions stall amid dissension among Senate Democrats, by POLITICO’s Sam Sutton: Senate Democrats on Tuesday failed to find common ground on marijuana legislation — an issue that continues to divide the caucus — as a closed-door, two-hour meeting at the Statehouse quickly deteriorated into a heated exchange with frequent interruptions. ‘Chaos and confusion,’ Sen. Ron Rice (D-Essex) told POLITICO after the meeting when asked to characterize the talks. ‘We didn’t even get through the recreational use bill because the Senate president was really disappointed in our behavior. Myself included.’ The dissension was audible from outside the conference room. Read the report here.

— Sweeney sets cap on recreational marijuana tax at 12 percent Read the report here.

— Vitale still undecided on marijuana legalization as October deadline looms Read the report

WE’RE NOT ILLINOIS! — “Well, at least N.J. isn’t dead-last in this ranking of states’ fiscal health. But it’s close,” by NJ Advance Media’s Samantha Marcus: “If there’s any good news in the Mercatus Center’s latest comparison of state’s fiscal health, it’s that two states are actually worse off than New Jersey. The Garden State’s fiscal condition clocked in a 48th worst, an improvement from the Mercatus Center at George Mason’s 2017 ranking, in which New Jersey was dead last. With the highest unfunded pension liabilities in the nation, volatile tax collections, frequent revenue shortfalls and low reserves, the Garden State regularly resides at the bottom of such rankings. The report compares states over 10 years, from fiscal year 2006 to 2016, a period during which New Jersey’s tax revenues struggled to rebound from the Great Recession and the state routinely underfunded the public pension system. New Jersey landed in the bottom five, along with Kentucky, 46, Massachusetts, 47, Connecticut, 49, and Illinois, 50.” Read the report

SEA CHANGE — “Battered by Sandy, New Jersey plans against sea level rise,” by The AP’s Wayne Parry: “New Jersey is working on a plan to better protect its coast and inland waterways from the effects of sea level rise and severe storms. The state Department of Environmental Protection said Tuesday it will seek input from residents, businesses and coastal sciences over the next year. The resulting plan will become a blueprint for protecting lives and property by guiding state policies, regulations, resources and funding with sea level rise in mind. It comes as pockets of the shoreline still have not fully recovered from Superstorm Sandy six years ago, and it attempts to address an issue on which environmentalists and scientists have long sought action.” Read the report

EMBEARASSING — “Bear hunt banned from N.J.-owned land but that didn’t put a dent in kill count,” by NJ Advance Media’s Rob Jennings: “More bears were killed on the first day of the annual hunt than on opening day in 2017, despite Gov. Phil Murphy’s ban on using state land. A total of 36 bears were brought to check stations on Monday, slightly up from 34 on the hunt’s first day in 2017, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. Four bear hunt opponents were arrested Monday during a protest outside a state check station in Fredon. Monday’s total may yet rise, as sometimes hunters wait until the following day to bring in a bear killed after sundown. DEP, at the end of the hunt’s first day in 2017, initially counted only 26 bears. Officials in 2017 attributed the low total on opening day, in prior years the busiest day of the hunt, on unusually rainy and warm weather. The total rose to 62 on the second day, en route to 409 bears killed over 16 days — six days in October and another 10 in December.” Read the report

HMMM… — “Top Murphy administration staffer abruptly resigns. Murphy not saying why,” by NJ Advance Media’s Matt Arco: “A top staffer for Gov. Phil Murphy abruptly resigned last week without any explanation of his departure from the governor’s office. Albert J. Alvarez, who most recently served as chief of staff to the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, abruptly left the administration last Tuesday, according to multiple people with knowledge of Alvarez’s departure. The sources requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk about the resignation. Murphy himself acknowledged Alvarez left the administration, but he declined to give any details about the departure Tuesday when asked at a public event. ‘I know that Al has resigned and beyond that I have no more color,’ the governor said in Metuchen.” Read the report

BADLOTS — “Thousands of voters received ballots with errors, but they’ll still count,” by The New York Times’ Nicholas Corasaniti: “There were two unusual lines, both confusing and concerning, on Jonathan Latimer’s vote-by-mail ballot: “MAIL 6619” and “BROWN UNIVERSITY.” Neither line is part of his actual address in Middlesex County, N.J., and so Mr. Latimer, 76, who went to college in California many years ago, was concerned the erroneous and random insertions threatened to invalidate his mail-in ballot for November’s midterm elections. If the address on his ballot didn’t match the address the state had on record, he wondered, would it be counted given New Jersey’s strict vote-by-mail requirements? Turns out, Mr. Latimer is not alone. More than 43,000 vote-by-mail ballots were sent out, and the Middlesex County Clerk’s office estimated that ‘a large percentage of them’ contained erroneous address information, though they were not able to give an exact number of affected ballots. The clerk’s office said the problem, which came to light after ballots were sent to voters like Mr. Latimer last weekend, was due to an error ‘during preparation at the mail house.’ All of the ballots that have problematic addresses because of the error will still be counted.” Read the report

—“Insider NJ’s 2018 Insider 100: Media publication” Read the report

—“I’m among many N.J. police chiefs who believe legalizing weed will lead to more vehicle deaths” Read the op-ed

—“Murphy signs bill directing sports betting taxes to CRDA” Read the report

— “I’m among many N.J. police chiefs who believe legalizing weed will lead to more vehicle deaths” Read the op-ed

—“NJ considers not suspending drivers for failure to pay tickets” Read the report

ADVERTISING OVERDOSE — “NJ Senate race sees Hugin, Menendez hurling tales of medical misery in growing attacks,” by The Record’s Nicholas Pugliese: “Health care, perennially one of the biggest issues in federal elections, has moved front and center in a nasty Senate race in New Jersey that now features ads claiming a senator `protected‘ a doctor who blinded elderly patients through faulty medical treatments. The ads are the latest attack by Republican Bob Hugin on the ethics of Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez, who is facing a closer-than-expected re-election campaign after his federal corruption trial ended in a hung jury last year. Menendez responded Tuesday by calling the ads `an absolute fraud‘ and drawing attention to the $280 million Hugin’s former company, Celgene, paid last year during Hugin’s time as CEO to settle a whistle-blower lawsuit claiming it had marketed cancer drugs for unapproved purposes. `The lawsuit specifically alleged that Celgene put patients at risk to boost sales,‘ Menendez said during a news conference in a Harrison doctor’s office. `If you’re willing in the private sector to prey on the most vulnerable who need a drug, in most cases, to stay alive, what will you do if you have the power of a United States senator?‘” Read the report

BECAUSE IMMIGRATION IS SUCH A HUGE ISSUE IN THE 11TH DISTRICT — “Mikie Sherrill, Jay Webber spar over immigration, Pelosi at first debate,” by The AP’s Michael Catalini: “Democrat Mikie Sherrill, a former federal prosecutor and Navy veteran, and Republican Assemblyman Jay Webber met at a fire hall in Ogdensburg, in rural Sussex County, about 60 miles west of New York, along with two other candidates in the open 11th District seat … Webber started on the offensive, praising the economy under Trump and casting Sherill a ticket-mate of fellow Democrats who have called for abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. ‘I want an immigration system that enforces the law. Mikie runs with people who want to abolish ICE. Mikie runs with people who want open borders,’ Webber said. Sherrill responded that she doesn’t want to abolish the agency and said she would not support Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi for speaker if Democrats take back the House. She ignored a Webber jab at Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, whom he called ‘disgraced ’over a federal corruption indictment that later resulted in charges being dropped. Menendez is on the top of the ticket this year. `I’ve always worked with people from very different backgrounds and gotten the mission accomplished and Jay Webber hasn’t,‘” she said.” Read the report

—“Spike in calls to NJ rape crisis centers after Kavanaugh probe” Read the report

—“They may not like him, but New Jersey voters aren’t ditching Menendez, yet” Read the report

—“Menendez Goes off on Hugin: ‘You’re a Fraud’” Read the report

—“Malinowski raises nearly $2.3 million in the third fundraising quarter” Read the report

—“Lance, Malinowski both swing hard for 7th District’s centrist mantle” Read the report

AT LEAST ONE THING NOT RISING IN CAMDEN — “State police: Crime down sharply in Camden,” by The Courier-Post’s Jim Walsh: “The city’s streets grew safer over the first nine months of 2018, with double-digit percentage drops for murders and four other major crimes, New Jersey State Police statistics show. But the lower figures, which mirrored a statewide improvement, also indicated Camden residents remained more vulnerable to violent crime than their suburban counterparts. ‘We still have a long way to go and we will continue to work as hard as possible to further reduce overall crime,’ said Camden County Freeholder Louis Cappelli Jr., who described the city’s gains as ‘historic.’ Overall, the city saw decreases of 22.5 percent for violent crimes and 5.7 percent for nonviolent offenses. The biggest improvement was a 28.6 percent decrease for murders over the year’s first nine months, according to the state police.” Read the report

JERSEY CITY — “One-year jail term for ex-cop who admitted role in off-duty jobs scheme,” by The Jersey Journal’s Terrence T. McDonald: “A federal judge sentenced a former Jersey City cop on Tuesday to one year and one day in prison over the ex-officer’s role in a scheme to accept cash for off-duty jobs he never worked. Jimmy Cardinali, 38, who will also spend three years on probation following his prison sentence, called his actions ‘100 percent’ wrong during a roughly 40-minute hearing in U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez’s third-floor courtroom in Newark. ‘I stand here before you a man filled with shame and regret,’ Cardinali said …. Cardinali is the fourth ex-cop to receive a prison sentence in the federal probe of Jersey City’s police department … His lawyer, Matthew Beck, requested probation or, at most, house arrest.” Read the report

TECH CITY — “How Amazon could change higher education in Newark,” by The Record’s Catherine Carrera: “The presence of Amazon in Newark would transform higher education in New Jersey’s largest city. Students and faculty at New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers-Newark would get a chance to assist in research and development side-by-side with the tech giant — an edge the institutions would use to attract more students. ‘When you work with a company like Amazon, the research goes across many, many disciplines, from artificial intelligence to information technology, computer science, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, business,’ said Joel Bloom, president of the New Jersey Institute of Technology … Newark’s research institutions hope they will get to meet those needs with their combined 24,000 enrolled students, 5,500 graduates in the city and hundreds of faculty. Dozens of universities in the region help to bolster the number of graduates to well over 100,000.” Read the report

—“Glover to lead Newark Alliance” Read the report

TIME TO STEP UP, GEORGE R.R. MARTIN — “WWII vet leaves $2M in scholarships each year for students at his alma mater,” by NJ Advance Media’s Corey W. McDonald: “Seniors at Bayonne High School will soon be eligible for some $2 million in college scholarships each year thanks to the generous last wishes of a distinguished alumnus. Students interested in pursuing a career science, technology, engineering or math may be eligible for a sizable amount of scholarship money later this year following the contribution from William Gawor, who graduated from Bayonne High School in 1937 and went on to a successful career in engineering. Gawor died in October 2016 at the age of 97.” Read the report

THE DEVIN NUNES OF NJ — “Court documents allege Toms River official owned fake news sites,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Toms River Councilman Dan Rodrick was served with a defamation lawsuit during tonight’s Township Council meeting. Robyn Gedrich, the Brick Democratic Municipal Vice Chair, is alleging that Rodrick owns various fake news sites, including the Ocean County Chronicle. She says that a story on the site, `Job Given to Mayor Ducey’s New Democratic Party Underboss‘ was false and damages her reputation. According to Gedrich’s suit, Rodrick owns and operates at least two other seats, the Brick Beacon and the Toms River Weekly, as well as a series of Facebook pages — Jackson Watch, Brick Watch, Toms River Watch and Toms River Taxpayers — that direct people to his websites.” Read the report

—“Bergen County Elections: Three independents looking to fill sheriff’s vacancy” Read the report

—“Brown: Fix Atlantic City tax assessor’s office, avoid countywide assessments” Read the report

—“Bradley Billhimer sworn in as new Ocean County prosecutor” Read the report

—“Paterson: Sayegh proclaims ‘great future’ in speech about first 100 days” Read the report

—“Embattled Hamilton Animal Shelter had no standard operating procedures prior to state raid” Read the report

—“New mural at TPD headquarters depicts police as Black Panther superheroes”Read the report

—“New Hoboken hotel deal to include over $4M in community givebacks” Read the report

—“Hudson cities get perfect score from gay rights group” Read the report

WE JUST GRADUATED MSU BECAUSE WE’RE REALLY SMART! — “’Blue’s Clues’ returns with New Milford High alum as host,” by The Record’s Ricardo Kaulessar: “Joshua Dela Cruz is in a Toronto production studio standing in front of a green screen, talking to imaginary figures. There is a good reason for this. He is the new human host of `Blue’s Clues & You,‘ the reboot of the much-loved children’s show that ran on Nickelodeon from 1996 to 2006, about an animated puppy named Blue who left a trail of clues so the viewing audience could figure out her plans … For Dela Cruz, a 2007 graduate of New Milford High School and 2011 graduate of Montclair State University, it’s a role that has challenged him, yet has amazed him … And for the 29-year-old Filipino actor, who was born in the United Arab Emirates, lived in New York, and moved to New Milford when he was in the first grade, being the host is a dream coming full circle. He remembered watching the original ‘Blue’s Clues,’ with his younger sister at their aunt’s home in Bergenfield. ‘It was such a huge part of my childhood and my younger sister’s childhood.’” Read the report

—Barry Carter: “This N.J. centenarian helped integrate the U.S. military. He has advice for all of us.” Read the column

—“Second trial beings for Ridgewood doctor accused of stockpiling bomb materials” Read the report