Concrete Shoes: Jersey Pols

On April 18, Essex County Executive James Treffinger became the most recent New Jersey politician to have his office files carried out by the FBI. Treffinger was set to become the Republican nominee in the upcoming Senate race. At first Treffinger said he'd press on with his campaign, investigation be damned. Four days later he withdrew. Did tapes of secretly recorded conversations the feds played Treffinger make him fold? Probably not. But when the National Republican Senatorial Committee put their collective foot to his butt and shoved, it did the trick. Democrat Robert Torricelli, with his own corruption baggage, is the incumbent to beat come November and logic says voters won't buy an ethics attack from an equally soiled opponent. The "Trefficelli" jokes were already flying, though "Torffinger" had its advocates.

New Jersey residents might well wonder what the hell is going on. Over the past few years, a tsunami of federal investigations, indictments and convictions has washed over the Garden State's political class, carrying a slew of public officials with it. But Jersey is not alone: throughout the Northeast, the pattern repeats itself. The main issues are misuse of federal funds meant for economic development, housing and transportation, and bid rigging and bribery in the public contract process (with side helpings of mail and wire fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, no-show jobs and illegal campaign contributions). The connections are internecine and nonpartisan; a contractor crony of an indicted mayor in one city shows up doing the same job on another city in a nearby state.

But back to Jersey. If Treffinger had made the cut he'd have faced a foe with plenty of money and a solid base. Not that "The Torch" is untouchable: though he dodged the bullet of federal indictments, Torricelli's reputation is so sullied almost no mud need be slung by his opponent. A recent poll showed a significant number of likely Jersey voters associate the name "Torricelli" with "dishonest." And then there are property taxes. Democratic Gov. Jim McGreevey just lowered the boom on Jersey's taxed-to-the-max property owners, so hopping-mad home owners might give Democrats a taste of what they gave Sen. Bill Bradley when Gov. Jim Florio turned taxman. Torricelli is also rumored to still be licking wounds received from the McGreevey organization in the pitched battle for last year's gubernatorial nomination. But potential advantages almost vaporized when the majority of Republican county organizations lined up behind James Treffinger as candidate?about whom corruption questions had already arisen.

The investigation that sank Treffinger is part of what's called "Gunitegate." It began roughly two years ago and ranges across New Jersey. The name comes from the eye of its storm: United Gunite Construction, Inc. Gunite is a patented form of sprayable concrete (also called shotcrete or spraycrete) that's often used in sewers (particularly on older lines where excavation is risky), in swimming pools and on bridges. United Gunite Construction, originally from Alabama, still has interests down South, and has been active in redeveloping Nashville, where they own investment property. They've also worked in New York (shoring up the base of the Statue of Liberty); United Gunite president W. Steven Carroll has falsely declared himself an attorney associated with the New York firm of White &Case. Starting in the 80s United Gunite became heavily involved in New Jersey municipalities. Among the cities they serviced are Newark, Jersey City, Elizabeth, Paterson, Camden, Trenton, Hoboken, Hackensack, Edison, Atlantic City and Woodbridge. Union County was also a client. Early in 2001 Carroll and flamboyant vice president Jerry Free (who "brought a touch of Las Vegas to the sewer industry") pled guilty to federal charges of bribing officials for sewer contracts in Paterson. Apparently Carroll and Free agreed to cooperate with the feds, and for seven months prior to pleading, taped conversations with public officials all over New Jersey. In court documents Carroll and Free testified that bribes were the cost of doing public business in Jersey.

In Paterson, a blighted city with an absentee employment base, Mayor Marty Barnes, a Republican, is now under indictment. United Gunite's high-bid sewer jobs cost financially strapped Paterson $17 million. Though United Gunite built a waterfall in Mayor Barnes' backyard pool, financed pleasure trips and bought him the seemingly de rigueur suits, Barnes swears nothing was given in return. United Gunite's headquarters was in Irvington, a formerly blue-collar town in Essex County with the highest crime rate in Jersey and a no-show economy. Irvington's Democrat mayor, Sara B. Bost, a former Chemical Bank auditor, is also facing United Gunite-related federal indictments.

United Gunite dollars flowed generously to Democrats. The company spent big in ravaged Camden?on ex-Mayor Milton Milan and members of his administration. Milan eventually traded Camden for prison when he was convicted on a string of corruption charges, including laundering drug profits.

United Gunite moved in higher circles than the governments of tottering cities. By the late 90s United Gunite V.P. Jerry Free had hooked up with state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, then-chairman of the New Jersey Democratic Party and assessed by some as the most powerful Democrat in the state. Lesniak was present on the dais when Al Gore accepted the Democratic presidential nomination; an homage paid to his success as Gore's New Jersey finance chairman. In '97 Lesniak served as cochair on the first McGreevey run for governor. At the time, McGreevey was mayor of Woodbridge. Lesniak gave friendly advice to Jerry Free on how to best dispense United Gunite largesse, and the company contributed $10,500 to a joint fund of the New Jersey Democratic Committee and McGreevey's campaign. Free also persuaded various friends and United Gunite execs to contribute $200,000 to Gore.

In 1999 United Gunite relocated its corporate center to Elizabeth in Union County, Ray Lesniak's power center?lured no doubt by the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone's low-interest $1 million loan that Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage (a loyal Lesniak supporter) helped them obtain, along with a 30-year tax abatement. United Gunite had been a presence in Elizabeth's sewers since 1997, doing $3 million worth of work. Mayor Bollwage received consistent United Gunite campaign finance support. Lesniak insists none of this was quid pro quo, and does not answer when asked whether he recently received a letter from the feds?missives a number of Jersey pols have received, informing them their voices appear on wiretaps. Lesniak says Gunitegate worries him not a whit. It didn't James Treffinger either.

Treffinger went after the Republican Senate nomination despite the looming Gunitegate. Essex County contracts were subpoenaed by a federal grand jury two years ago and a number of Treffinger aides, both past and present, are believed to be cooperating with the investigation. United Gunite had the contract for emergency repairs on Essex County roads (a no-bid process also at issue in Paterson) and contributed to Treffinger campaigns. Jersey newspapers have covered all of this; Treffinger had to suspect the spraycrete might hit the fan. Even if pure as a fresh-poured sidewalk ("My faith in...my own integrity remain[s] unshaken") Treffinger should have throttled his ambition and let a less vulnerable candidate step forward, particularly since the opponent would be Robert Torricelli.

Treffinger's abortive run has already taken its toll. After his withdrawal Torricelli's approval numbers climbed in voter-heavy Hudson County. When forced to choose between pols perceived as crooks, folks prefer the poison they know. The remaining Republican hopefuls are relative unknowns. Doug Forrester, millionaire ex-mayor from Mercer County, is appealing to the same people who picked Treffinger. He's been described as "money in a suit," and can match Torricelli's megabucks. But he has the charisma of Grape-Nuts and may seem too tony for voters in urban counties. State Sen. Diane Allen of Burlington County has gender advantage in a party perceived as boy crazy and is liberal enough to appear compassionate. Once a tv anchorwoman in Philadelphia, she can schmooze South Jersey media. But Allen's not well known north of Jersey's Mason-Dixon line, has underdeveloped coffers and the conservative core doesn't like her. The first two negatives can change fast (name recognition has begun to) and Allen might look fresh next to Torricelli, who's morphed into a slice of Sicilian Nixon. Forget John Matheussen: even if the core boosts him in through a back window, the only way Jersey voters would elect an anti-abortion candidate in a statewide race would be if his opponent were caught in bed with a live toddler or a dead deer. Whoever gets the nod, Republicans better make damn sure this one never dabbled in spraycrete.

Prior to 9/11 political reform was building as an issue. Understandably, it got moved to a back burner. But Enron and crew have refocused the public's mind on the issue of trust. Despite blind alleys and ringers (the old machine trick of planting fake candidates to siphon off votes), desire for reform in Jersey is genuine, and will be used as a weapon by new constituencies seeking political power. Already a key state, New Jersey's importance has increased post-9/11. NYC and Jersey now blend together along the Hudson.

Also emerging strongly in Jersey is the national issue of failed urban policies. It'll be yet another tactical blunder if Republicans make less than a full-tilt effort in the Garden State. And if both parties don't realize "corruption" is more than a partisan smear, public trust in our political system will sink into the?dare we say it?sewer.

One last thing. There are a lot of strong New Jersey newspapers that lay out local players and the cookie jars they raid. Their endorsements carry weight. But in state races endorsements by NYC dailies count heavily with "bedroom people" in populous Northeast and suburban New Jersey. The New York Times has been on Torricelli like a pit bull on crack. Surprising, considering Democratic hopes for a shift in the Senate. Is the Times' antipathy to The Torch based on moral outrage? Didn't they go for someone named "Clinton"?