Hey Herald: Who is LaRocca Construction?

It is important to know who is funding the people who run Sussex County government. 

George Graham is the boss of the Sussex County Freeholder Board.  He controls three of the five votes on the Board.  That makes him the boss over the millions in property tax revenue and other monies collected and spent each year by county government.

It is important that we know who funds George Graham.  It is so important that it is the LAW that Graham discloses who funds him.  The LAW is clear:

So why has Freeholder George Graham left off sources of income that appear on his personal LinkedIn page:

Why do Freeholder George Graham's official financial disclosure statements differ from his stated sources of income?  Why does he fail to report the income from his relationship with a major construction company with government contracts?

The New Jersey Herald needs to ask these questions and find out.  It's readers will accept nothing less than the truth.

A little too quick on the draw there, Bill Hayden

There are conspirators within the Skylands Tea Party group that are allowing Freeholder George Graham to use the group's email list, mailing list, meetings, even the group's name, in order to conduct a political campaign.  This is in direct conflict with the organization's tax status and places the group in jeopardy, but these conspirators don't care about the Tea Party or its mission -- they care about George Graham.

When Freeholder Graham launched a vicious attack on the wife of a candidate for Assembly, photo-shopping the cancer-survivor's face in a very unflattering way, the Tea Party's own Bill Hayden had the attack posted to his Facebook page before the email even hit.  Either Hayden is clairvoyant or he is in on the deal.

Then there was this disgusting display.  Yep.  Hayden again.

https://www.facebook.com/whowhatwherewhen/videos/10208392022592286/

The fellow behind the urinating video above was one of the four people who attended Mark D. Quick's "rally" on Newton Green on February 25th.  Bill Hayden was another.

And it was Bill Hayden who snapped this picture of George Graham's nemesis, Bill Winkler (aka Wee Willy Winkler, Philly Bill Winkler, The Old Fat Quaker, The Fonz, Gail's Sweetheart, and so on) and Sussex County activist Harvey Roseff on Newton Green back in the autumn:

Wait a minute!  Why does Winkler get so many nicknames and Graham none?  Gail Phoebus and Kim Seelagy had one for George:  "Walk of Shame."  They gave him it after he got up to no good (in their words) down in A.C. at some League confab.  But "Walk of Shame" is too long, don't you think?  He needs something shorter and career-related, like "Freeloader."  Perfect!  Freeloader George Graham!

But we digress.  The photo Bill Hayden snapped above ended up in the rather vulgar post below:

So... it must be Bill Hayden again.  Unless Hayden gave the photo to George Graham and an elected member of the Sussex County Freeholder Board was up at night, in front of his computer, photo-shopping the heads of other Republicans onto vaginas?  Yeah, that sounds about right...

Something is wrong with George Graham.

On Tuesday night there was a wonderful exchange between Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Jay Parini, a professor, author, and poet.  Given the circumstances, they make the salutary point that "we all proceed on insufficient knowledge" and conclude that what is lacking in current political discourse is "modesty" and that we need to "teach modesty" and "inculcate a spirit of modesty" as a corrective.

Given what we've seen from the likes of Quick and Graham, maybe just teaching how not to be nuts would go a long way.

Freeholder Graham's anonymous blog

After spending much of the last few years complaining about anonymous blogs that persisted in calling him out on his less than savory activities, Freeholder George Graham decided to start one of his own -- and it is a real doozy. 

We all knew that George Graham was the master of "whisper" campaigns, those under-handed attempts to spread unsubstantiated rumors and outright lies about people, but give this guy a computer and he really goes ape!  And he had some help too.  A reporter from the Herald, a big-shot member of the Tea Party, and whoever else he could scam. 

The Tea Partier allowed Graham to use the group's name for his blog.  This was done within memory of a stormy lawsuit that the Tea Party had to go through in which they lost the use of their original name.  Why place the group in jeopardy again?  Normally it is older women who fall for George's sweet-talk, but this time it appears to have worked on a guy. 

This blog -- which is trying to corrupt a Tea Party group by using its name -- has spread rumors that Gail Phoebus had an inappropriate relationship with her consultant, Bill Winkler, and that other elected officials had taken bribes.  The blog was publicly admonished by the State of New Jersey for claiming that the Office of Legislative Services was conducting a criminal investigation in Sussex County.  It simply wasn't true.  They totally made it up.

Now they are trying to claim that someone who did the right thing, did the wrong thing.  Freeholder George Graham is trying to claim that simply by following Ethics rules to the letter that makes someone a suspect.  This is one of his whisper campaigns, converted to social media. 

And who is pulling Graham's string?  After all, he is a political consultant.  That is his only source of income... or is it?  His LinkedIn page provides connections to vendors and contractors that do not appear on his Ethics filing: 

Freeholder

Sussex County

April 2013 – Present (3 years 5 months) | Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders

Construction Project Manager

LaRocca Construction

1991 – Present (25 years) | Jersey City, NJ

Various positions from project timeline oversight, customer relations to complete supervision of multi-

million dollar public bid construction. Work on a project by project basis.

Owner

York Strategies

2003 – Present (13 years) | Jersey City, NJ

York Strategies is a Strategic Planning and Public Relations with experience in government and

corporate marketing.

I have also produced media for private companies and organizations including direct mail, radio and

television, newspaper, magazine and internet ads.

Owner

Skylands Business Services

1987 – Present (29 years)

Small business support for bookkeeping & marketing.

Secretary/Treasurer

Sussex County League of Municipalities

January 2012 – Present (4 years 8 months) | Newton, NJ

Former President and Vice President 2009 -2010

But his Personal Financial Disclosure is another thing entirely:

 

Why the discrepancy?

The taxpayers of Sussex County should demand to know who George Graham's clients are?  Who does York Strategies take money from?  Besides Hudson County Democrats, of course.

We all should know the Graham story by now.  A local yokel Democrat political consultant gets pushed out of Hudson County by the bigger fish.  Does odd jobs for some of the politically-connected construction firms out that way.   Moves on the Sussex County market.  Says he's in the "paper business" and a few local businesses get taped and screwed.  Gets elected in Stanhope as a Democrat, switches to Republican, back to Democrat to vote for Barack or Hillary, then back to Republican again. 

Takes over the Sussex County League of Municipalities (which almost immediately experiences "financial irregularities"), one of nature's "ham and eggers" so he needs to play underhanded, he lies and spreads over-the-top rumors in an attempt to push out incumbent Republican political consultant in order to get his business, when that fails, becomes a candidate and wins a Freeholder seat, promptly turns on those who helped him and destroys them (just ask Freeholder Dennis Mudrick). 

As a Freeholder, he is always on the lookout for a dime.  Gets others to pay his bills, fund his campaigns.  Suckers, he calls them.  He participates in every vote to make the solar project worse and then, turns on the board, points the finger, and blames them.  Wrecks any attempt to rationally work a way out of the solar mess by heavily politicizing the issue BUT he does elect his cronies and takes control over the Board.  Promptly hires NYC leftist and forces out long-time, local Republican.  Hires politically-connected NYC law firm to handle solar review -- which goes from a money recovery operation to a therapy session costing half a million dollars.  Gives a no-bid contract to the very lawyers he said were to blame for the solar mess. 

Moves on to state politics.  Sows seeds of discontent between District 24 legislators.  Targets Gail Phoebus, the unstable one, and gets her to spread outrageous rumors about BOTH her running mates and their families.  Horrible, low as dirt stuff they spread, but hey, this is George.  Is there to undo every attempt at reconciliation.  Meanwhile, he is using his political consulting business to cash in.  Claims to be working in other races around the state, claims to be working for a gubernatorial campaign... is he working for some of the firms that do business in Sussex County?  We would need a more detailed ethics filing to find out. 

This is who is running your county government.

This is why Sussex County needs an Ethics Committee.

Tucker Carlson: Our culture could use some modesty

A wonderful exchange between Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Jay Parini, a professor, author, and poet.  Given the circumstances, they make the salutary point that "we all proceed on insufficient knowledge" and conclude that what is lacking in current political discourse is "modesty" and that we need to "teach modesty" and "inculcate a spirit of modesty" as a corrective.

Meanwhile back at the blog run by Freeholder George Graham and his cohort...

https://www.facebook.com/whowhatwherewhen/videos/10208392022592286/

Yes, this is one of the folks from Mark D. Quick's four-man rally on February 25th and he is... yes, urinating on the campaign literature of Freeholder Graham's political opponents.  Nice. 

Last week they were burning literature.  This week, they are pissing on it.  This is the world that Graham has made.

We all should know the Graham story by now.  A local yokel Democrat political consultant gets pushed out of Hudson County by the bigger fish.  Does odd jobs for some of the politically-connected construction firms out that way.   Moves on the Sussex County market.  Says he's in the "paper business" and a few local businesses get taped and screwed.  Gets elected in Stanhope as a Democrat, switches to Republican, back to Democrat to vote for Barack or Hillary, then to Republican again. 

Takes over the Sussex County League of Municipalities (which almost immediately experiences "financial irregularities"), one of nature's "ham and eggers" so he needs to play underhanded, he lies and spreads over-the-top rumors in an attempt to push out incumbent Republican political consultant in order to get his business, when that fails, becomes a candidate and wins a Freeholder seat, promptly turns on those who helped him and destroys them (just ask Freeholder Dennis Mudrick). 

As a Freeholder, he is always on the lookout for a dime.  Gets others to pay his bills, fund his campaigns.  Suckers, he calls them.  He participates in every vote to make the solar project worse and then, turns on the board, points the finger, and blames them.  Wrecks any attempt to rationally work a way out of the solar mess by heavily politicizing the issue BUT he does elect his cronies and takes control over the Board.  Promptly hires NYC leftist and forces out long-time, local Republican.  Hires politically-connected NYC law firm to handle solar review -- which goes from a money recovery operation to a therapy session costing half a million dollars.  Gives a no-bid contract to the very lawyers he said were to blame for the solar mess. 

Moves on to state politics.  Sows seeds of discontent between District 24 legislators.  Targets Gail Phoebus, the unstable one, and gets her to spread outrageous rumors about BOTH her running mates and their families.  Horrible, low as dirt stuff they spread, but hey, this is George.  He is there to undo every attempt at reconciliation.  Meanwhile, he is using his political consulting business to cash in.  Claims to be working in other races around the state, claims to be working for a gubernatorial campaign... is he working for some of the firms that do business in Sussex County?  We would need a more detailed ethics filing to find out. 

This is who is running your county government.

This is why Sussex County needs an Ethics Committee.

Graham hired target of letter after contribution

In March of 2015, a Sussex County Freeholder wrote to the county counsel with concerns about several lawyers retained by Sussex County:

(The full, 17-page correspondence is available from Watchdog upon request)

In July 2016, Freeholder George Graham engineered a no-bid contract for the very law firm identified above as being at the very heart of the solar scam that has cost Sussex taxpayers upwards of $40 million.  Here is what Freeholder boss Graham said in 2015 about the lawyers he turned around and gave a no-bid contract to in 2016:

"It's all the same people that dug the hole, and every time I ask for a clear, third-party fresh set of eyes, they throw in somebody else that appears out of the past. How many times can you recycle the same names? Are they protecting specific people, or are they protecting the county?” (NJ Herald, March 28, 2015)

This is what then Freeholder (now Assemblywoman) Gail Phoebus said:

"Mr. Weinstein had clear conflicts of interest. Far from recommending ‘independent' counsel to guide us through a complex negotiation, you led us to the partner of the attorney who shares responsibility with you for failing to obtain a performance bond... All of this raises serious questions.  (While) Mr. Weinstein negotiated the solar project settlement and rendered advice to the freeholder board, whose interests was he serving”? (NJ Herald, March 28, 2015)

So why -- under Freeholder boss Graham -- is Weinstein back?

...in September 2014, the county freeholder board appointed Weinstein as special counsel to guide it through that process.

The appointment of Weinstein -- whose law partner, John Cantalupo, had been on retainer to the county since 2011 for legal services related to county-backed bonds issued on the solar project -- was criticized last year by then-Freeholder Gail Phoebus, now a state assemblywoman, who called it a conflict of interest.

While offering praise for Wednesday's presentation, Roseann Salanitri -- also of Sandyston -- tempered her praise with criticism over the fact that a large portion of it was given by Weinstein.

"He was the same counsel that represented us on (last year's) settlement, and that settlement contained ‘hold harmless' clauses for just about everybody and their grandmother," Salanitri said. "I don't know Mr. Weinstein and have nothing against him personally, but I believe this presentation is not as credible as it could have been if it had been conducted by someone (else)." (NJ Herald, July 29, 2016)

Freeholder Director George Graham defended the appointment of Weinstein, saying:  "He's the only one who has institutional knowledge after all the other people who ran out the door." (NJ Herald, July 29, 2016)

Why has Graham -- a one-time critic of the solar scam -- become its enabler? 

When Graham was on the outside, as a minority member (with Phoebus) of the five member board, Graham did one thing, now he does the opposite.  Now, as the boss of the Freeholder Board (controlling three of its five members) Graham is comfortable with those he used to call the bad guys and has even taken campaign contributions from them.

What all this means is that Sussex County taxpayers must remain vigilant, must attend Freeholder meetings, and must continue to ask probing questions.