The trail of corruption in New Jersey goes back to Aaron Burr, described as the original rogue of American politics. He was indicted for murder and treason in a conspiracy to capitalize on a possible war with Spain.
In a tragic moment in U.S. history, in 1804, Burr challenged Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers, to a duel. Burr killed him on a cliff overlooking the Hudson in Weehawken, New Jersey. Later, Burr tried to create a separate western empire with himself as ruler. He was a wily man but a traitor.
If you look back at the history of the Garden State, it has been fertile ground for office holders on the take -- and political bosses not shy about putting their hands in the till.
The Hall of Fame -- or, rather, Hall of Shame -- includes mayors and legislators who robbed the people long before the 44 mayors, assemblymen, rabbis and dozens of others who have just been arrested for corruption and international money laundering.
Back in the first half of the last century, perhaps the most notorious political figure was Mayor Frank "I Am the Law" Hague of Jersey City. On a meager $7,500-a-year salary he was able to control a powerful political machine that forced municipal employees to kick back 3 percent of their salaries . He became a very wealthy man and, when people tried to inquire into the sources of his income, he would tell them to back off and growl: "I am the law!" No grand jury ever dared to take him on -- and he ruled for 30 years.
Democrat Hugh Addonizio was the corrupt mayor of Newark in the sixties. Then there was the FBI investigation of New Jersey public officials in the 70s. It was called Abscam, when agents dressed as Arab sheiks offered bribes to politicians [recorded on video cameras]. Those indicted in the Abscam scandal included the mayor of Camden, U.S. Senator Harrison Williams, Congressman Frank Thompson and others. One accused politician, State Sen. Joe Maressa, had an excuse for taking the money offered by the FBI agents dressed as sheiks: "I thought it would be patriotic to get some of the OPEC [oil] money and get it back to the United States."
In 2001, Mayor Milton Milan of Camden and his wife wept as he was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for taking mob payoffs. "People believed in me and trusted in me," he said. "I let them down. I'm sorry."
While Democratic officials seem to dominate the Hall of Shame, at least one Republican lived up to the New Jersey tradition.
William Cahill, a Republican, was elected Governor of New Jersey by the largest margin in state history, 500,000 votes. But, after two years, things started to disintegrate. Several people with close ties to Cahill were indicted, including his former campaign manager, the former state treasurer, the former secretary of state. They were accused of advising fat cat contributors to write off campaign contributions as business expenses. One Cahill aide was accused of seeking a kickback from a highway contractor.
Much of New Jersey's corruption troubles come from the fact that there are hundreds of government units rather than an essentially centralized government, according to Ingrid Reed, a professor at the Eagleton Institute who has studied Garden State corruption. She has just completed a study on the ethics of government on a local level.. The splintering of government, she believes, offers more opportunity for corruption.
Her study found that these local governments -- she and her students looked at 17 towns in five counties -- often failed to install good safeguards against corruption, including 800 numbers to report suspicious activities. Also, her task force found that local authorities did not guard well against nepotism and conflict of interest.
So why is there so much of this in New Jersey? She replies: "It's not something in the water. It's just a combination of factors."
A Brown University study found that, sometimes, voters weren't turned off by corruption. Thus, Huey Long, the legendary Governor of Louisiana, was "widely considered to be dishonest, but also was very popular with voters and respected for his ability to get things done." The same was true of Mayor Curley of Boston and Governor Edwards of Louisiana, "convicted of political corruption but seen as popular, effective and charismatic leaders."
Go figure.
