Wine-Gate and The Bobble Head

Thanks to MSV for posting the clip from this week's City Council meeting-  part one of the growing scandal GA calls Wine-gate (until someone comes up with a better name).

Wine-gate is Terry Castellano's revelation that ingesting "2 glasses of wine" triggered an email request for "confidential legal information" from Corporation Counsel Melisa Longo that 'cced' a political operative.  Ooops!

It appears Ms. Longo was NOT going to publicize Castellano's wine-soaked email until Bobble Head Tim tripped over his tongue and insulted Team Longo's intelligence. (insert something here about pots calling kettles black) 

So in a cool, poised manner, Longo let Bobble Head 'have it' providing two examples of Council minority transgressions that she had observed.  One of those was Wine-gate.

Shocking!

Imagine, an elected official requesting "confidential legal information" from the City's attorney, with an unauthorized person- a political operative- on the distribution!

Castellano blamed it on the grapes.  They made her "press the wrong button".

Ah, that's how the operative's name appeared on the email; Castellano pressed the 'wrong button' and POOF! there it was!

Umm... FAIL.

Drinking wine WON'T make names spontaneously appear on emails  (nor will pressing buttons).

Drinking wine WILL make people type names into the "CC" field instead of the "BCC" field.

(Don't  you wonder how long this 'mistake' has gone undetected before Terry "hit the wrong button".)

Here is the transcript of MSV's vido clip-  Wine-gate The Movie (Part 1):

Longo: You know, I try say as little as possible during these meetings because I believe that they are your meetings and I'm just here to provide legal guidance. Um, but you know I kinda feel like I have to say something tonight.   

When certain Council members ask me to do memorandums and those memorandums are used as exhibits in lawsuits against the city, I don't say anything.

And when Councilwoman Castellano sent me an email and asked me for confidential legal information and copied what I now know to be a political operative, I wasn't going to say anything.

But when I sit here and I have Councilman Occhipinti insult me and the two other attorneys that I work with openly and say that we're not intelligent enough to handle the city's business, I take great umbrage to that, the three of us don't do this for the money (to Occhipinti) and you can shake your head Councilman Occhipinti because that's all you're good at...

Occhipinti: Yeah. Really.

Bobble-head

Longo: ... we're not here for the money certainly, we're not here for politics we're here because we actually believe in what we're doing.  We believe in good government, and we believe that we can make a difference here in the city of Hoboken. So if you want to sit here and and vote down the contracts, that's that's fine, that's your call.  But don't sit here and insult me personally, and don't sit here and insult the two women I work with...  what I don't appreciate is having someone insult my intelligence and the people that work for me. It's not fair and it's not appropriate. 

Nice job, Ms. Longo.  The nerve of that dunce to insult you- you and your team are doing an excellent job for Hoboken.

But, if I may...  going forward I hope that you do 'call out' the ethical transgressions of the Council minority- if not publicly, then privately.  They should not abuse City resources (you) to write exhibits for their litigation against Hoboken.   Nor should Castellano be ccing unauthorized persons on City business and confidential communications.

Castellano's "mistake" certainly explains how so much confidential City business ended up as 'exclusives' on Hoboken411.  

How long has this been going on?  

Trafficking confidential information to Hoboken411- who is responsible?