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More ICE

A version of my Tuesday post on the loopholes in Trenton’s Pay-to-Play Ordinance has been published as an opinion piece in this morning’s Trenton Times. Thanks to the editors of The Times for recognizing the importance of this issue, and for giving me space in their print edition today.

The opinion piece was written and submitted before last night’s news that the proposed legal services contract with the Long Marmero & Associates law firm, as well as another proposal from the firm of Eric M. Bernstein & Associates, have been withdrawn from consideration at tonight’s City Council meeting, at the request of the NJ Department of Community Services (DCA). DCA asked to review the two contracts, likely as a result of the questions that have been raised about the relationship between Long Marmero and the ICE PAC Political Action Committee.

ICE PAC earlier this year made a donation to the Eric Jackson campaign on  February 20 this year, Check #1056 in the amount of $8,200, the maximum allowable under state law. The Treasurer of ICE PAC is Albert Marmero, a name partner of the firm. The PAC’s address is the same as the Long Marmero firm. Eric Bernstein has been a contributor to ICE PAC for the last three years, according to records filed by the Committee with the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission.

Mr. Marmero and David Minchello, Trenton’s Law Director, deny that these matters violate Trenton’s city ordinance, and are perfectly legal due to provisions in the city’s law that are effectively loopholes.

Still, DCA asked to review the situation, suspending these two proposed legal contracts, while allowing others tonight to be considered by Council. Director Minchello doesn’t see this move as a roadblock. In today’s Trenton Times article by Jenna Pizzi, Mr. Minchello is quoted as saying, “‘We hope to receive the approval of the DCA’… The additional review, he said, is ‘just in an abundance of caution.'”

Mr. Minchello should be prepared to wait a while for the result of that review. It’s likely to involve some investigation by ELEC on a couple of other ICE PAC-related transactions involving the Jackson campaign.

Back in April, in a piece discussing what I considered to be several puzzling items in Mr. Jackson’s campaign finances, I noticed a contribution from the “Bridgeton Democratic Organization” to Jackson’s campaign, in the amount of $2,600, on February 25 of this year, as can be seen on the Jackson ELEC report for the first three months of this year, filed on April 14 and available here.

I didn’t have a clue then, and still don’t, about what interest a municipal Democratic Committee in Cumberland County would possibly have in Trenton’s non-partisan mayoral election that would lead them to make such a large donation.

At the time I wrote that, I couldn’t look any further into that transaction, both because ICE PAC had not filed any of the legally-required reports with ELEC since 2012, and the Bridgeton Democratic Organization had not filed any ELEC reports since 2008.

One June 3, though, ICE PAC filed all their late reports with ELEC, one day after I wrote another column about the connections between the PAC and Long Marmero. On the report for the first quarter of 2014, which can be seen here, the $8,200 contribution to Eric Jackson on February 20is disclosed on Page 14.

As is, remarkably, a February 20 contribution, Check # 1057 in the amount of $2,600 to… the Bridgeton Democratic Organization.

The notation for that contribution, appearing right next to that to Jackson, is “Primary, Cumberland.” It’s impossible to cross-check that with the financial records of the Bridgeton Organization because, as I have mentioned, they haven’t filed any reports with the state since 2008.

Can it be  coincidental that on the very same day that ICE PAC writes Check #1056for the maximum legal amount – to Jackson for Mayor, ICE PAC writes another check – #1057 – to the Bridgeton Democrats for $2600; and that organization sends a donation – in the exact same amount – to the Jackson campaign, five days later?

Sure, it might be a coincidence.

But this kind of “coincidence”  payment from a contributor to a Trenton Mayoral campaign using a PAC as the conduit is what got Cooper Levenson in trouble in 2010, when that law firm – up for a legal contract with the Mack Administration – donated $7,200 to the “Partners for Progress” PAC, and that PAC made a contribution in the identical amount to Tony Mack’s campaign.

Since the Bridgeton group hasn’t filed any reports in a half dozen years, this will not be easily or quickly resolved.

With the records that are publicly available as of today,  a picture is being drawn which strongly suggests that, apart from whatever the determination is made about ICE PAC and Long Marmero’s compliance with Trenton’s Pay-to-Play law, ICE PAC may have wheeled a separate contribution to the Jackson campaign that would have illegally exceeded the maximum amount allowable under New Jersey election law.

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