Hoboken's new generation discovers a 2011 "he said-she said"

#MeToo

The audio has been in the public domain since 2011. Sacco's spokesman has called it "doctored" and denied its authenticity.  

The #MeToo movement has not only stirred the conscience of a nation, it may have opened Hudson County's archives on a 2011 sexual harassment complaint filed against North Bergen Senator Nick Sacco.  

This story is old news to GA. 

I heard it 7 years ago when NJ political gadfly Bill Brennan played the alleged audio taped sexual harassment on his cable show The New Jersey Civil Circus (either on Episode 1 or Episode 2.)   

Two years later, the sexual harassment complaint was dismissed-- prior to being heard-- by New Jersey's Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards.  The basis for dismissal was time elapsed between the alleged incident and the complaint filing date. In her complaint, former North Bergen Recreation Department employee Lydia Coleman had "submitted audio recordings of a man, whom she identified as Sacco, leaving four separate voicemails ordering her to return his calls and calling her a “retard” and a “pig.”  Coleman alleged the messages were left in February 2003 after she rebuffed Sacco’s advances at a local restaurant." After the complaint's dismissal, Sacco spokesman Paul Swibinski denied the authenticity of the audio, calling it "doctored" and "part of a political scheme."

The merits of the case were never adjudicated.  In the eyes of the law, the complaint was time-barred. The court of public opinion is another matter. Hence, it's interesting to see our new generation of Hoboken activists-- and feminists-- find this story on the Google. 

As an issue for Hoboken, it may find relevance again.  Why? Because the anti-Bhalla faction on the Hoboken City Council has allied with North Bergen's Nick Sacco against Hoboken's own Senator Brian Stack.

That is not speculation.   Recently, Council VP Giattino accepted a "free" legal opinion from a North Bergen Sacco-allied attorney.  DeFusco's mayoral candidacy was openly backed by Sacco and Sacco Aide Joey Muniz- who is a pal of Ruben Ramos'. Tiffanie Fisher is believed to have leaked all contact information for Hoboken Democratic Committee members to Sacco's handpicked candidate, Amy DeGise.  When asked how she obtained contact information for the Hoboken Democratic Committee member Amy DeGise reportedly claimed she "looked them up on social media."  Impossible. This data does not exist on social media.  

Enquiring minds want to know: how did Ms. DeGise get the contact information for the entire Hoboken Dem Committee- data that only Fisher had (and had previously withheld from her own Executive Committee)? 

So, we have a City Council that wants to empower North Bergen's Senator and weaken Hoboken's Senator.  What exactly are they getting for their betrayal of our city?

Tonight we'll see how effective the anti-Bhalla council's backdoor efforts for Sacco have been.