"You have no problem OPRA-ing other email"
Arch Liston to Beth Mason, December 7 2011
Let's revisit the exchange that took place on December 7, 2011, between former Business Administrator Arch Liston and Councilwoman Beth Mason at the City Council .
That exchange happened 7 months AFTER forensic investigators discovered the Mayor's email in an Archive file on Patrick Ricciardi's hard drive. Yesterday at a civil hearing, Arch Liston testified to prescient OPRA requests for documents he had just received-- the red flag to the administration that their emails had been leaked.
Here's what we know NOW: (source: Patch.com-Oct 12, 2012)
Fire Chief Richard Blohm and former Public Safety Director Angel Alicea both received emails allegedly hacked from the Mayor's office, former Business Administrator Arch Liston said during a civil service hearing on Friday.Speaking of prescient, the Jersey Journal's Augie Torres wrote this in his 'Insider Notes' on May 22, 2011:
The complaint against Ricciardi listed two recipients of the leaked emails, but neither were identified.
The two addresses to which the emails were forwarded, Liston said, were those of Alicea and Blohm.
Liston said that the city first suspected there was a security breach when he started receiving Open Public Record Act requests for documents he had just received.
"It got into a pattern," Liston said. "I'd be receiving documents and got OPRA requests a day or two after I got [the documents]." This went on, Liston said, for about two or three months.
The incident that ultimately caused the city to call in a forensic agency to investigate the issue was leaked information about a candidate for public safety director, Liston said.
While the city had not released any information about that candidate, "his name got out to the street, people were doing background checks," Liston said. "I was told [the name of the candidate] got to the fire and police chief."
As an explanation to the rest of Hudson County, this past week has been much talk about an investigation in Hoboken by an "unknown" agency. At least this is the on-record explanation by Mile Square officials who know more than they are publicly saying.BINGO.
What has caused a stir was City Council anti-administration members Beth Mason and Mike Russo attempting this week to introduce a resolution demanding the release of email from Mayor Dawn Zimmer and her communications (or is that the city's) communication staff members. The measure was tabled but everyone in Hoboken took the request as either a personal affront or as trying to champion transparency in government -- both political grandstanding.
Whatever the motives, I don't see anything wrong with releasing email. They are public records. If you want privacy, go on your home computer. If the city believes they involve personnel, a standard excuse for denying access, then fine -- for now. It may get to the point of an OPRA request.
Q: Then why did Mason and Russo AVOID filing OPRA requests for the emails they wanted?
A: Because that would be like giving the answers to a test before the teacher asks the questions.
And that's the 'tell'. The FBI knows it, too.
From The United States of America vs. Patrick Ricciardi:
ATTACHMENT BSo, let's go BACK to the Liston-Mason exchange at the City Council on December 7, 2011. Pay close attention to what Liston says to Mason, and (if you play the above video) HOW he says it, knowing what HE KNEW THEN.
I, Christian Schorle, am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"). I have knowledge of the facts set forth below from my involvement in the investigation, a review of reports and other evidence, and discussions with other law enforcement personnel. Since this affidavit is submitted for the limited purpose of establishing probable cause to support the issuance of a complaint and arrest warrant, I have not included each and every fact known by the government concerning this investigation. Any statements attributed to individuals are described in substance and in part.
6. As part of the investigation, law enforcement learned that the City's political culture is currently divided into two main factions. The current Mayor was sworn in to office as Acting Mayor on or about July 31, 2009, after the previous mayor was arrested on federal corruption charges. The Mayor subsequently won a special election to fill the remainder of the previous mayor's four-year term.
7. The investigation has also revealed that many of the elected and appointed officials in the City retain strong ties to the previous administration or are otherwise politically opposed to the Mayor, and have sparred with the current Mayor on a variety of municipal issues, large and small. These officials include several members of the City Council, as well as high-ranking employees of different City municipal agencies, such as Public Safety Department, the Fire Department, and the OEM.
8. Evidence of this schism in the City is apparent through the postings of articles and comments on City-related issues to different weblogs, or "blogs."
9. Given this environment, after learning of the possible leaks unauthorized disclosures, on or about May 16, 2011, the Mayor's office hired a private company to perform a security audit the "Security Audit") on the computers located within the Mayor's office.
10. During the course of the Security Audit, the private company identified an e-mail archive file (the "Archive File") on the hard drive of defendant RICCIARDI's work computer.
11. The Archive File contained copies of e-mails that had been sent to the Mayor's e-mail account and to the e-mail accounts of certain Mayor's Office Employees.
12. In the normal operation of an e-mail account, these e-mails would reside on the e-mail server that distributed mail to legitimate senders and recipients, and also on the particular computers of the e-mail's sender and recipient(s). The Archive File, however, contained a copy of all e-mails sent to and from the Mayor's official e-mail account and the accounts of certain Mayor's Office Employees.
13. The Archive File was not a standard backup kept in the normal course of business. This is true for at least two reasons:
a. First, the Archive File did not follow information technology best practices for backing up and storing e-mails. For example, true e-mail backup systems use tape backups or other electronic media to systematically save data.
b. Second, a true backup system would typically be housed remotely, on a server or other external location. The Archive File, however, was also saved on defendant RICCIARDI's computer.
14. Based on my training and experience, I know that software can be configured to download new e-mails from particular e-mail accounts for storage on particular computers. For example, emails appearing in Microsoft Outlook are typically downloaded from an e-mail server to a user's computer. More than one computer can be configured to download copies of e-mails from an email account.
Mason: Council President, I could ask a question there are more to ask, and actually GETTING information is only a START to being able to ask questions. Being kept in the dark is when you CAN'T ask questions. I have to.
Liston: Believe it or not my phone and my email works if you had questions you can contact me at any time as other Council members do on a regular basis and I will answer your question. Don't come to a meeting and say I have a question when I am available all during the week and anytime you want to contact me by email like I said and I'll be more than happy to get your answer. Coming to a meeting and saying I have no information and I (garbled) a question...I"M NOT PLAYING THAT GAME... That's a game. Oh, please. It's not a game? I'll take a vote, I'll take a vote of the majority. Can I have a vote of the majority to see if that's a game or not?
Referee Bhalla: Director, Director Director...
Mason: Council President, please.
Referee Bhalla: Let's let Councilwoman Maosn proceed. Thank you, Director.
Liston: It's a GAME!
Mason: It is not a game.
(Liston shouts something)
Referee Bhalla: Director,Director...
Liston: It's a GAME!
Referee Bhalla: Please... Councilwoman... sorry.
Mason: The public... I represent the public- not you. The public has a RIGHT to know what questions I wish to ASK and they have a right to have the answers. NOT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS IN YOUR OFFICE OR or on a TELEPHONE.
Liston: How about an email? I'll make it public. Email is public. Email is public. You have no problem, you have no problem OPRA-ing other email. You can have mine too. I'll give you mine. You can have mine. You have a question? I'll make it a public document, I'llk put it on the web site for you if you have a question. Not a problem!
Referee Bhalla: Councilwoman Mason, continue.
Mason: It seems to be difficult to do such.
Referee Bhalla: Well he's answering your questions.
(long pause)
Mason: I think there's an item here which kinda gives the impression or the attitude of what is going on. When you take $600 in a line item transfer to cover QUOTE "immaterial budget error".
Cunnigham: $600?
Unidentified: In a $100 million budget?
(LAUGHTER from spectators)
Mason: And it's actually disturbing that someone would LAUGH and say that's immaterial for SOME people that's a week's salary. A WEEK'S SALARY for some people. Excuuuuse me, I have the FLOOR. (reads a written speech)... I can't support that resolution.
Liston: I'll bet you spent more than $600 to have someone write that for you.
Mason: Excuuuuse me?
 |
| "Excuuuuuuuuse me?" |
Referee Bhalla: Hold on, hold on.OK, Bhalla didn't really say that last part though I'm sure somebody did.
Mason: All due respect, I write my own stuff, Mr. Liston.
Liston: Oh, I believe that.
Referee Bhalla: Ok, we're getting off-topic here. There was a mention about City Hall layoffs, I would say if it weren't for four city council members refusing to vote for a garage bond refinance we wouldn't be stuck with a 4.5 million budget gap that causes a necessity for increased taxes or layoffs. So don't direct responsibility on the mayor. The responsibility if there are layoffs are squarely on four members of the city council. I just wanted to address that issue because it was raised by Councilwoman Mason.
(Bhalla stands up)
Referee Bhalla: It looks like you knocked her out, Arch. Somebody call over at Sanitation to see if we can bag her and put her out. And get the procedure for disposing Hazardous Waste. Just make sure she's not recycled.
Now that we know what we know- thanks to Liston, that exchange sure sounds different doesn't it?
Updated, October 15, 2:50 pm
Let the record show Liston said "OPRA-ing" not "opening". Thank you, Horsey.
I just re-listened on my slammin' new Toshiba with Dolby Advanced Audio blasting... and stand corrected.
Even better.
Smoking gun, anyone?
I run 300-400 meetings a year. Not something I'm especially proud of or anything. But I can well imagine how Liston felt having to put up with her crap every two weeks, all the while knowing what an utter fraud and cancer to the city she is.
ReplyDeleteThe gotcha game of demanding information during a meeting that you should request long before a meeting shows Mason (and Russo) at their worst. It will inevitably be an inefficient use of everyone's time (and the taxpayer's money). A city council meeting, like any meeting, should focus on activities for which the inconvenience of bringing the quorum together is necessary. That would typically be discussion of already gathered, prepared, and presentable data - and voting. Requesting information is inherently either the result of poor preparation or, in our case, cheap theatrics. I am grateful to GA for delineating the falsehoods in Mason's resume. But I had only to see her as council president for one session to know she had done little of any consequence in the private sector. You can't hide that kind of incompetence in the for-profit world. The same could be said for Occhipinti. If he does more than ask if your computer is plugged in before forwarding your call to a grown-up, I'd be astonished.
In professional life I have the luxury of telling people like Beth (and Tim) to leave the meeting and instructing their managers to never ever send me someone who is going to waste my time and the time of everyone else in the meeting.
Liston could not do that, though I'm sure he wanted to, every 2 weeks at a minimum. I'm glad he finally took his shot. It was less than 1/10 of what she deserved. Not to mention good for Liston's health. Pretending a charade is not a charade, and a fumbling, lying time-wasting ditz is part of the democratic process is bad for the digestion.