It's OPRA! No, you won't win a car but...
We may get to the bottom of how District 32 Senator Nick Sacco-ally's "gift" of legal services to a Hoboken legislator supporting changes to Hoboken municipal law came to be, and more importantly, whether this "gift" was offered with a quid pro quo*.
*SAMPLE (not actual) quid pro quo: "Here you go, now we want control of the Hoboken Democratic Committee."
Or it could be anything. WE DON'T KNOW. We do know that Hoboken elected officials are not allowed to accept gifts valued at or above $25.
When a Legislative District 32 Boss gives a gift of value to a Hoboken legislator, its not an act of charity. Political favors comes with strings.
Let's see if any of those strings are evident in OPRA-able communications between said Hoboken legislator and the North Bergen law firm. Let's see who else may have been on the distribution.
Hear, hear, for Truth, Transparency and Sunlight!
In pursuit of the truth, GA emailed Corporation Counsel explaining why I believe that the Ryglicki communications are which are responsive to a previous OPRA request, and are being withheld, are not subject to "attorney-client privilege."
An excerpt from my letter:
"Please be advised I will be re-submitting an OPRA request made earlier by [redacted] on the basis that I believe Giattino has no attorney/client privilege and is improperly withholding responsive documents.
Giattino admitted publicly that she received the legal opinion for "free." Accepting free legal services is in violation of Hoboken anti-corruption law- that alone should waive the privilege on the crime-fraud exception:
§ 30-1 Gift policy of the City of Hoboken
"No officer or employee of the City of Hoboken shall directly solicit any gift or accept or receive any gift having a value of $25 or more, whether in the form of money, services, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, thing or promise or any other form, under circumstances in which it could reasonably be inferred that such gift was intended to influence the officer or employee, or could reasonably be expected to influence the officer or employee in the performance of official duties or was intended as a regard for any official action on the officer's or employee's part."
(1) Does attorney-client privilege exist when no money is exchanged (a "freebie")?
(2) Further, she received it in her capacity as a councilwoman, not a private person, to advise on changing Hoboken municipal law. How is that "privileged"?
In pursuit of the truth, GA emailed Corporation Counsel explaining why I believe that the Ryglicki communications are which are responsive to a previous OPRA request, and are being withheld, are not subject to "attorney-client privilege."
An excerpt from my letter:
"Please be advised I will be re-submitting an OPRA request made earlier by [redacted] on the basis that I believe Giattino has no attorney/client privilege and is improperly withholding responsive documents.
Giattino admitted publicly that she received the legal opinion for "free." Accepting free legal services is in violation of Hoboken anti-corruption law- that alone should waive the privilege on the crime-fraud exception:
§ 30-1 Gift policy of the City of Hoboken
"No officer or employee of the City of Hoboken shall directly solicit any gift or accept or receive any gift having a value of $25 or more, whether in the form of money, services, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, thing or promise or any other form, under circumstances in which it could reasonably be inferred that such gift was intended to influence the officer or employee, or could reasonably be expected to influence the officer or employee in the performance of official duties or was intended as a regard for any official action on the officer's or employee's part."
(1) Does attorney-client privilege exist when no money is exchanged (a "freebie")?
(2) Further, she received it in her capacity as a councilwoman, not a private person, to advise on changing Hoboken municipal law. How is that "privileged"?
GA got this back:
OPRA
Stay tuned, people!
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