Each (transcript) day seems to bring with it a new victim, and today it's Frank.
Buh-bye, Pupster!
HHA Director Carmelo Garcia, all wired-up at Jack Dempsey's restaurant on that fateful lunch of January 16, 2013 blasts Raia amidst fascinating remarks about "750" absentee ballots turned to soup in Hurricane Sandy. GA had posted that rumor on November 27, 2012:
GA has heard an unconfirmed rumor that an astronomical number of VBMs were thrown out- somewhere in the neighborhood of 600. (Were those the rumored soggy, barely-legible ballots that were warehoused at The Citadel? Double-votes? Under-aged dead people?)
Ha! The rumor was true.
Those long, sad faces on the Dark Side were mourning what could have been, but not for Sandy allegedly flooding the basement of 450 7th Street. The mass paper-drowning may also explain Finboy's unprovoked assault on Da Horsey on November 5, 2012 because those VBMs were supposed to spare him a loss-by-Nazi Truck and the disgrace of trashing Move Forward's campaign on a personal obsession.
Here is that excerpt from the transcript. Note the following stenographer errors: Olin = Oland, Liz Vasquez = Felice Vasquez, Rey = Raia.
Also note Garcia says: "I am against vote by mail..." (that's called 'telling it to the wire').
Oh, my! Frank told Dawn to "get rid of" Carmelo!
Alas Mr. Raia, Mayor Dawn can't do that, it's outside of her jurisdiction. The Hoboken mayor has no authority over that HUD position- neither hiring nor firing.
It's the HHA Board of Commissioners who are empowered to "get rid of" the Executive Director, and that appears to be what compelled Garcia to set up the lunch in the first place: to "call off the dogs".
Interesting, no? Don't you wonder what else is on that transcript?
Stay tuned.
good lord. you must have the eyeballs of every dark side knucklehead (and every hudson county politico) coming to your blog throughout the day to learn what else was said about whom. i'm sure your page views are skyrocketing, time to start selling some advertising! ;)
ReplyDeleteremember when the "credentialed media" used to do investigative research and articles like this?? hopefully the iron fists at HR won't stop dean from similar digging. thumbs up, GA. great work.
Ha! Thanks. Traffic's unprecedented for August, usually the sleepiest month of the year.
Deleteit is a sad commentary on the 4th estate has fallen apart. Luckily we have bloggers, like GA and Da Horsey, in Hoboken and in many other cities, picking up the slack. There should be an award or something for these folks.
DeleteNo wonder Carmelo is outa town. Anyone know if he bought a return ticket? Branco may not notice the tire tracks on his back but Raia is no fool.
ReplyDeleteOhhhh My!
ReplyDeleteAnd Carmelo willingly is putting this out there? Is this a career suicide attempt?
RAIA. and Garcia have been at odds for eternity.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't look like prospects are good for mending those fences.
DeleteRaia vs.Ramos - Raia vs. Romano - Rais vs. Garcia -
DeleteRaia for Raia for City Council!
I want to know where Savinos is located. If anything, Raia knows where to eat!
ReplyDeleteIt only goes to prove that no good deed will go unpunished. In a recent civil suit against Garcia, Raia took the stand on his behalf and committed perjury to bolster his position. The judge ruled that both their testimonies were "not credible" and awarded the plaintiff a judgment against Garcia. Well, one low-life deserves another
ReplyDeleteWhat suit was this?
DeleteThe first rule of Vote By Mail Club is: You do not talk about Vote By Mail Club. The second rule of Vote By Mail Club is: You do not talk about Vote By Mail Club.
ReplyDeleteIf its true 750 votes washed away would that have swung any Nazi Truck Candidates to victory? I can't remember how much Kids First won by
ReplyDeleteThey could have hurt Kids First but it definitely would have hurt the rent control vote. MSTA is evil. That's the out-of-town money Carmelo is talking about. He bent over backwards to help them on the Z88 vote. Homeowners, these are not your friends. However, what Nov's vote showed is that if you take the vbm's out of equation, you get a more accurate depiction of what the people want.
Delete"Oh, my! Frank told Dawn to "get rid of" Carmelo!
ReplyDeleteAlas Mr. Raia, Mayor Dawn can't do that, it's outside of her jurisdiction. The Hoboken mayor has no authority over that HUD position- neither hiring nor firing."
Nice spin GA, but the Hoboken mayor has considerable influence in the HHA via her appointment of several members of the HHA, with city council approval. In that context, Garcia's attempt to "call off the dogs" is understandable.
BTW, I believe Savino's Pizza is in Paramus.
Not spin, Mr. Eggplant.
DeleteInfluence is not authority. Influence does not translate to votes.
If it did then Reform appointee Greg Lincoln would have voted down Daglian's contract. If it did then Reformer Judy Burrell would have voted for a Reform Chairman. So you're wrong. Reform Commissioners are independent of the Mayor. I imagine if they were not, Carmelo would have been terminated when they had the chance in February. The influence of the mayor at the HHA is overstated. Zimmer does not call the shots at the HHA. That should be obvious since Carmelo is still there.
Anon @ 2:30 PM, Carmelo's "concern" was based on the wrong assumption that Zimmer-allied HHA Commissioners are a rubber stamp for her. Their voting record shows they are not.
DeleteAt the lunch, Carmelo seems focused on getting Jake to back off, his incorrect assumptions being that Zimmer controls him and that Grossbard controls her.
Wrong, and offensive to women.
Oops, that was directed at Mr. Eggplant @ 2:30 PM, not Anon @ 2:30 PM.
DeleteIn Paramus. Isn't that where joe Garcia lives?
DeleteActualy the mayor has only one appointment and that was Carmello's friend Jeanie Rodriguez. The governor has one appointment and that was Judy Burell. The Guv might ask for recommendations from local officials (like he reportedly did when he was considering appointing Joe Branco to replace Jake Stuiver on the advice of Brian Stack) but he alone makes the decision. The other five commissioners are made directly by the City Council not the mayor with advice and consent. The City Council appointments are Stuiver, Davis, Gonzales, Melo and Lincoln. Seems like a pretty balanced crew to me.
ReplyDeleteDo you really think that Garcia's offer to support the mayor politically in exchange for a quid pro quo - that is the mayor interfering in HHA business to cause the Board not to conduct what Board members considered to be proper oversight - was appropriate?
Of course you said "understandable" not appropriate so perhaps you are correct. Mr. Garcia's inappropriate actions were surely understandable given the exposure he likely faced if objective professionals were hired and the Board's questions were answered.
Look I said what I said and what I said has been written. So let it be written, so let it be done.
ReplyDeleteIt is my destiny of greatness that this tape came out. Even Brian Stack understands my greatness and that I must lead him and others to the promised land of my greatness.
Therefore, Frank must go under the bus. He can keep Joe and Ruben company.
Anon, Thanks for the clarifications on who appoints who. There are several members of the HHA aligned with Zimmer, and the possibility of more if Zimmer & team take control of the City Council in the Nov. election and put people on the HHA who don't follow Garcia. In that context, I'm glad you concur that Garcia's concern was understandable. Appropriate is another matter.
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly understandable that due to serious questions about the ethics and legality of Garcia's conduct over the years that Garcia and his friends would fear oversight and do all kinds of inappropriate things to avoid it and the transcript apparently demonstrates this pretty clearly.
DeleteIs that what you meant Kenton, because if it is I concur. Is that what you meant?
I have to think that Garcia and the dark side are working over time to keep what was on these tape quiet.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear to me that Garcia and Zayas must have had their backs against some legal wall in another case or they would not have released these tapes as they do not seem to back their press release and casts Carmelo Garcia as a devious little creep.
Considering Frank Raia with a little effort and a few bucks can help "get rid of" Garcia and Ramos these tapes could be a game changer.
It was a pure fuck-up on Zayas' part.
DeleteZayas was referring to the transcript in court during Zimmers deposition. She got him frustrated (apparently) so he began to read from it. Once he started READING from it, it had to be given to his adversary per rules of evidence.
It seems Zayas' theory was that Grossbard having lunch w Carmelo suggested something improper or damaging to the mayor. In fact it is quite damaging to Garcia. But they never wanted nor expected the transcript to go public, so there is poetic justice in its release.
Zayas' dumb slip up greased the skids under both Garcia and Ramos' political ambitions.
DeleteThx Louis.
Great summer reading GA!
ReplyDeleteBut really, who does NOT think raia is a F*^&ing Baffoon?
I heard Stacks was back in town having lunch with the power that be. Frank needs to just stay at the sewer authority and keep up the good work of doing nothing for the city, but he sure gives a great hotdog at his Bday party.
ReplyDeleteRaia is no Baffoon...makes some questionable political decisions but he is a very successful businessman who knows how to interact with those in authority when it counts. Garcia was a rising star [being able to fool a lot of people] but he has crossed the line in the sand. He has made enemies of Bernie Kenny who has strongly supported Mayor Zimmer and Steven Fulop. By the way, when it comes to a business deal, he can bridge the gap with some enemies of Zimmer, Fulop and Bernie. Right now Garcia and Stack are together but the relationship is not perfect. And for my 'dear' friend Dave Roberts,[lol] he will be a loser with Ramos.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you smoking?
DeleteRAIA knows how to interact?
Garcia fooled she people?
RAIA has always been a bull I'm a China shop
The only people fooled by Garcia are idiots who didn't bother to read up on that low life scam artist.
Clarification: Garcia has lost the trust of almost everyone and has made many new enemies At times, Raia can bridge gaps with his business deals. Politically, Raia was the 'bull' that helped put Zimmer in as 4th Ward councilperson. He ran his plant that kept Campos from winning a lst round victory without a runoff.
DeleteI never watch TV. Friends in NYC always ask me why, since many of them love the soap operas? I reply, why would anyone watch soap operas on TV when they live in Hoboken? The latest political scandals are always more outrageous and colorful than anything TV can offer and its real!
ReplyDelete