Public Trust the story of 51 Monmouth St & Cedar Crossing Red Bank NJ

Here is an article related to government officials and the NJ Criminal Code.

By Edward J. Kologi. Esq. League Associate Counsel

Many individuals seek public office with the genuine intent  of trying to effectuate positive change. Although only a small percentage of  elected officials ever engage in actual criminal behavior, it is imperative  that all officials remain aware of precisely what constitutes criminal conduct  to ensure that they never cross over the line.

The New Jersey Criminal Code (N.J.S.A 2C:1-1 et seq.)  contains a number of offenses which are specifically directed at public  officials and/or employees. Although this article is not intended as an  exhaustive treatment of all state law on this subject, it will hopefully  provide a working knowledge of the major acts or omissions which may give rise  to criminal culpability.

Official Misconduct (N.J.S.A. 2C:30-2) A public servant commits official misconduct if with a purpose to obtain  a benefit for himself or herself or another (or to injure or deprive another of  a benefit) he or she knowingly commits an act relating to his or her office  constituting an unauthorized exercise of official functions: or knowingly  refrains from performing a duty which is imposed by law and is clearly inherent  in the nature of the office. The “benefit” obtained may be of minimal value.  Investigation Into Hamilton  T.P. Board of Education 205 N.J. Super. 248 (App. Div.1985). This also includes  benefits not received by the public official but rather by a third party. State  v. Schenkolewski 301 N.J.Super.115 (App. Div.), cert. den.151 N.J. Super.  (1977). To violate this section, the individual must be a public servant and  the act must relate to the office. State v. Bullock 136 N.J. 149 (1994). Unlawful Business Transaction Where Interest Is Involved  (N.J.S.A. 2C:27-9) A public servant violates this law if, while  performing his or her official functions on behalf of a governmental entity, he  or she knowingly transacts any business with him or herself, a member of his or  her immediate family, or a business organization in which the public servant or  an immediate family member has an interest. The term “business organization”  shall not include aggregate familial ownership or control of one percent or  less of an interest in the capital or equity of the business organization.  Further, it is not a violation if the public servant’s performance of official  functions would not affect him or her, his or her family or business  organization differently than such performance would affect the public  generally.

Acceptance or Receipt of Unlawful Benefit by Public Servant  for Official Behavior (N.J.S.A . 2C:27-10) If under color of office and  in connection with any official act performed or to be performed, a public  servant directly or indirectly knowingly solicits, accepts or agrees to accept  any benefit for himself or another person to influence the performance of any  official duty, a violation occurs. Further, the term “benefit” includes any  benefit from or by reason of a contract or agreement for goods, property or  services awarded by the public entity employing the public servant. There are  three exceptions in the statute as to conduct not constituting a violation: (1)  fees or any other benefit prescribed by law to be received by the public  servant to which he or she is otherwise legally entitled and if said fees or  benefits are received in the manner legally prescribed and not bartered for  another benefit to influence his or her official duties; (2) gifts or other  benefits conferred on account of kinship or other personal, professional or  business relationship independent of the official status of the recipient if  same are not bartered for another benefit to influence the performance of an  official duty; (3) trivial benefits which involve no risk that the public  servant would perform official duties in a biased or partial manner. For  grading purposes, this section is a crime of the second degree unless the  benefit solicited or accepted is of a value of $200 or less, in which case it  is a crime of the third degree. Hence, an occasional lunch or even perhaps a  round of golf may not be problematic; however, using a vendor’s condo in Florida on a regular  basis may certainly raise problematic issues under this section

In  sum, there is little room for error in terms of conduct which falls within any  of the above categories. While the official may not be aware that such acts may  constitute a criminal act, ignorance of the law continues to be no excuse, nor  should it be. If an official has the slightest question as to whether a  proposed action or course of conduct is illegal, appropriate advice from either  the local public entity attorney or in appropriate cases, the County Prosecutor  should be sought prior to acting. The career you save may be your own.

Edward J. Kologi, Esq. has represented public entities for 25  years and currently serves as Linden’s  Municipal Attorney and as Associate Counsel to the New Jersey State League of  Municipalities.

After reading the above report you start to question whether the 51 Monmouth St (Old Red Bank Police Station) and the Cedar Crossings development were handled properly. The 51 Monmouth St property was gifted to Mayor Ed McKenna’s Kid’s Bridge Charity which then borrowed over 1 million dollars from Amboy Bank for possible renovations. Kid’s Bridge Charity was taken over by the Red Bank YMCA about a year after the town gifted the property. Eventually the property was sold for over 1 million dollars while the Borough of Red Bank received no money thus costing the taxpayers of Red Bank over 1 million dollars. A judge as noted by the plaintiff pre-wrote her decision which also happened to me involving the Courtyards at Monmouth project and led me to create this site. The decision appears to allow the sale to go through between the YMCA and Red Bank Catholic but does not address an allegation that it was not disclosed that Ed McKenna’s charity would be the organization that received the property for $1. This transfer occurred while Ed McKenna was Mayor of Red Bank.  Another situation involving Mayor Ed McKenna was that in August 2006 he pushed for the Red Bank Council to acquired land at above the appraised value using State Grant Money designated for the creation of affordable housing.  At the time Ed McKenna never indicated that he would be creating a non-profit development corporation known as Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp in which he was designated Vice President. This corporation was created in the Spring of 2007 just months after Ed McKenna stepped down as Mayor of Red Bank. Here is information from the Decotiis lawfirm on the creation of Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp.

DeCotiis’ helps create Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation  

Thirty-six units of affordable housing already in development

DeCotiis, FitzPatrick & Cole, LLP, in its role as Counsel to the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp., recently helped lead the successful development of Cedar Crossing at Red Bank, a 36-unit, for sale, affordable housing project in the Borough of Red Bank, New Jersey.

This project is being constructed on a site that was acquired by the Borough using Municipal Land Acquisition Funds obtained from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. As part of this project, DeCotiis worked with other project consultants to secure necessary state, county and local funding and approvals. DeCotiis attorneys also worked to organize and incorporate the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp., the nonprofit developer created exclusively for the charitable purpose of promoting, developing, constructing, operating and selling affordable housing in the Borough.

“We are proud to have played a role in the development of this very important project,” said Frank Borin, a Partner at DeCotiis and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. “I hope we can replicate this project elsewhere in order to bring new affordable housing options to the State’s residents. The leadership of the Borough and of the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp. should be commended for their commitment to this project and their tireless efforts to see the project through.”

The project consists entirely of two and three bedroom units to be constructed in two phases. All of the units will be owner-occupied by affordable households, as defined by the Fair Housing Act and the COAH regulations. The first phase of the project should be ready for occupancy in the Spring of 2011, with the second phase being completed shortly thereafter.

Please join DeCotiis, FitzPatrick & Cole in congratulating Frank Borin, Maurice Stone and Amy Shotmeyer for their exemplary work with the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation.

When the Decotiis law firm speaks of working with consultants to obtain government grant money you have to wonder who they worked with. What I do know is that the Decotiis firm has crossed paths with the people involved in the following article and that they had not been arrested at the time Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp was  established. This article also mentions an investigation into the Paramus Affordable Housing Corp in which William Katchen is involved as well as being involved in the Red Bank Affordable Housing  Corp. Chances are  that this explains why Bergen County Democrats were involved in the creation and operation of the Red Bank Affordable Housing  Corp.

Bergen County Democratic Organization Chairman Joseph Ferriero indicted

• Written By: News Media
• 9-9-2008
• Categorized in: Bribes, Payoffs, and Politics, Government, U.S. Attorney  District of New Jersey

Bergen County Democratic Organization Chairman Joseph Ferriero Feds say Ferriero bragged of influence

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Federal authorities indicted Bergen County Democratic Organization Chairman Joseph Ferriero and the party’s chief counsel, Dennis Oury, today.

A federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment accusing Ferriero and Oury, who was fired as the Bergenfield borough attorney in January, of conspiracy to commit fraud against the borough and mail fraud.

“I am done being surprised in this job,” U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said. “We’ve had these conversations before about others we’ve prosecuted … for some reason, greed and power seem to corrupt them and overcome what otherwise might be good sense and good decision-making.”

The indictment charges that in December 2001, Ferriero and Oury conceived of a plan to form a company called Government Grants Consulting LLC that would be paid by Bergen County towns to assist them in obtaining state and local grant monies. According to the indictment, Ferriero indicated that Government Grants would be successful because he could use his “influence” to help the municipalities “get a better result.”

Federal investigators began issuing subpoenas for records related to Oury, Ferriero and Governmental Grants Consulting in May. Since then, they have executed more than 30 subpoenas in North Jersey, and in August, conducted searches of both Oury and Ferriero’s respective law offices.

Ferriero’s troubles were compounded last week following allegations of sexual misconduct. According to a law enforcement source close to the case, a formal charge has not been filed against Ferriero and he has not been taken into custody.

A clerk in the criminal records division of Bergen County Superior Court said that a docket number had been created and that “a sexual charge” was pending against Ferriero. The case has been transferred to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office from Bergen County.

Since the allegation became public last week, Ferriero has announced that he would be taking leaves of absence from three different posts: as chairman of the county’s Democratic Party, in his role as a lawyer at Scarinci Hollenbeck and as chief counsel for the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners.

Ferriero and Oury both provided start-up money for Governmental Grants Consulting, according to David Spatz, the president of the now-defunct firm. Leonard Kaiser, the chairman of the Bergen County Utilities Authority, also had a financial interest in the firm.

According to the indictment, Oury was appointed to serve as the borough attorney at a January 1, 2002, Bergenfield borough council reorganization meeting. While GGC was still in the planning stages and had yet to be formally organized, Bergenfield retained it to serve as its grants consultant and agreed to pay a $6,000 retainer fee, plus an additional fee calculated as a percentage of any grants or loans received. Oury never disclosed his ownership interest in GGC, according to the indictment. Despite this, Oury went on to exercise his official power to further a grant-aided real estate purchase – all as Oury and Ferriero stood to gain personally from their ownership interests in GGC.

Ferriero is widely credited with injecting new life into the Bergen County Democratic Party and making it the dominant force it is today. He became the party chairman in 1998 after Oury dropped out of contention. Since then, his talent for fundraising has made him one of the state’s most powerful Democrats.

Oury also wields a great deal of power in North Jersey Democratic circles. He is counsel for the Bergen County Improvement Authority and has held jobs in several towns, including Ridgefield and Bergenfield, both of which employed Governmental Grants Consulting.

January 2003 billing records from Bergenfield show that Oury charged the borough $135 for a telephone conference involving Spatz. If accurate, Oury was billing the borough for dealing with a firm in which he had an undisclosed financial interest.

Oury’s financial disclosure forms submitted to Bergenfield, New Milford, Paramus, Edgewater, Fort Lee and the Fairview Board of Education never mentioned his financial stake in the firm. And officials from Garfield and Ridgefield said Oury never filed disclosure forms, despite working in those towns.

In Bergen County, Oury’s public work generated $760,000 to $1.1 million in annual income for his law firm in each of the three previous calendar years.

Oury has given at least $105,000 to Democratic candidates since 1999, most of it going to the Bergen County Democratic Organization.

Bergen County municipalities paid the firm 10 percent of the first $1 million in grant money it obtained for them, plus a retainer in some cases, according to contracts obtained by The Record.

Ferriero, Oury and GGC are not the only ones to attract interest at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In recent months, Christie has also issued subpoenas seeking information about the Paramus Affordable Housing Corporation and SVC Consulting, a company established by Ferriero.

State Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, has been one of Ferriero’s most vocal critics. She described news of the indictment as a hardship for the Democratic Party.

“This is not a happy day for the Bergen Democrats,” she said. “My goal is to make sure we remain united &hellip we can’t let this interfere with that.”

Bergenfield Mayor Timothy Driscoll was instrumental in having Oury ousted in January.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said Driscoll.

Here is an article that explains that Red Bank Housing Authority would oversee the construction which was not true. The Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation was the developer. Here is an article whereby Mayor Ed McKenna states that acquiring the Cedar Crossings property is a “Sterling Opportunity”. He never disclosed that he would create an affordable housing corporation only months after pushing to acquire the land. After the town received the NJ Grant money for acquiring the land, the town then gifted the land to Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp. The gift was in the neighborhood of 2.5 million. Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp will eventually earn hundred’s of thousands of dollars when the project is finished.

Here is a NJ Investigative Report related to land development in  Chesterfield NJ.

In New Jersey, public officials who exercise their official influence over matters in which they have a conflict of interest commit a crime when they do so with a purpose to benefit themselves or others.

The OSC investigation confirmed that Durr used his official influence and unique position as a government official to gain benefit from the land use program he helped implement in Chesterfield, known as a Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program. That program, which balances farmland preservation with controlled development, won national recognition and paved the way for legislation authorizing TDR programs statewide. It is vital for the future credibility of TDR as a land use strategy that those responsible for its administration not use their privileged position for personal advantage.

Here are some regulations related to government officials in NJ as well as the code of ethics.

5 II. GENERAL STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

It is essential that the conduct of public officials and employees shall hold the respect and confidence of the people. Public officials must, therefore, avoid conduct that is in violation of their public trust or that creates a justifiable impression among the public that such trust is being violated. Accordingly, State officers and employees and special State officers and employees shall conform their conduct to the following standards.

1. No State officer or employee or special State officer or employee should have any interest, financial or otherwise, direct or indirect, or engage in any business or transaction or professional activity, which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his/her duties in the public interest.

2. No State officer or employee or special State officer or employee should engage in any particular business, profession, trade or occupation which is subject to licensing or regulation by a specific agency of State Government without promptly filing notice of such activity with the Commission.

3. No State officer or employee or special State officer or employee should act in his/her official capacity in any matter wherein he/she has a direct or indirect personal financial interest that might reasonably be expected to impair his/her objectivity or independence of judgment.

4. No State officer or employee or special State officer or employee should knowingly act in any way that might reasonably be expected to create an impression or suspicion among the public having knowledge of his/her acts that he/she may be engaged in conduct violative of his trust as a State officer or employee or special State officer or employee.

It would seem to me that at the very least Mayor Ed McKenna should have disclosed his relationships to the non-profits receiving million dollar plus properties owned by the Borough of Red Bank. I would also think in all fairness to other charities and non-profits that other organizations should have had an opportunity to bid or demonstrate their ability to operate the projects. Both of Ed McKenna’s organizations were start ups and in the case of the Kid’s Bridge organization had to close shortly after being formed due to a lack of funding. Maybe one day someone will decide whether these transactions met the criteria of public trust or not.

Penalties for violating the public’s trust

No state officer, employee, or member of the Legislature shall:-Representation, appearance or negotiation, directly or indirectly, for acquisition or sale of property by state-Representation of state agency in transaction involving pecuniary interest-Disclosure or use for personal gain of information not available to public-Solicitation, receipt or agreement to receive thing of value for service related to official duties

(penalties found§52-13D-21(i))EC §52:13D-15EC §52:13D-20EC §52:13D-25EC §52:13D-24

$500 – $10,000; suspension from office for 1 year; if decided to be willful and continuous disregard of the code of ethics, may be removed from office and may further bar from holding any public office in the State for a 5 year period

Lie with Dogs, Get Fleas

According to a post on the Monmouth County Republican blog, early in Ed McKenna’s career he was not a Democrat and was not happy to have John Curley  switch Parties as well.  

Ed McKenna, as Mayor, yelled at Jennifer Beck when she gave residents an opportunity to raise issues they had with the zoning board during the BLT hearings.

Here is an article from the Asbury Park Press covering the controversy of the Cedar Crossings development

Red Bank council holds off on $2.4 million land deal
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/2/06
BY LARRY HIGGS
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU

RED BANK — The borough’s proposal to explore buying a nearly 2-acre tract to use for affordable housing has been put off — for now — amid questions over its price, possible conflicts of interest and other issues.

Borough Attorney Kenneth Pringle is to examine the issues raised by residents and some council members after the Borough Council delayed a vote to authorize experts to begin the purchase process of the 1.93-acre Cedar Crossings site between Cedar and Catherine streets. The council was to have voted at its Sept. 25 meeting.

“I know it’s a tough time to make a decision with the politics in town,” said Ben Forest of Locust Avenue, referring to the upcoming mayoral election. “But it’s too important a decision to let that contaminate the process.”

Forest told the council last week that he favored waiting two weeks for Pringle’s advice on conflict of interest.

“Let’s make sure it’s done right, and it will turn out terrific,” said Forest, who also is a borough Board of Education member.

Questions about the site have focused on the cost, environmental issues, its viability and whether Councilman Robert J. Bifani has a conflict of interest on the project. Bifani abstained from last week’s vote to delay authorizing the land purchase.

“I’m not crazy about sticking affordable housing in a light-industrial area,” said Steven Fitzpatrick of Chestnut Street.

Fitzpatrick, who’s been dubbed “the ethics police” by some officials, regularly researches contributions make by developers, land owners and their professionals to local campaigns and political action committees. In researching the Cedar Crossings tract, he determined that Bifani, a vice president of Mid-State Solar Distributors, has a conflict because the company is next door to the tract and its value could rise if Cedar Crossings is built.

APPLICATION ON HOLD

The Cedar Crossings site lies behind three residential streets and has a railroad line and industrial and commercial properties nearby. The current owners’ application calls for a 36-unit townhouse development and is before the borough Zoning Board of Adjustment. However, it’s been put on hold by the applicant, Cedar Crossings at Red Bank LLC, pending negotiations to sell the site to the borough.

Borough officials have applied for a $2.4 million state grant to buy the property, and if that grant is approved, the land would be turned over to the Red Bank Housing Authority for construction. The purchase would include not only the land but the townhouse design work and blueprints.

Mayor Edward J. McKenna Jr. said the proposal represents a rare chance to buy one of the town’s few vacant pieces of land with state funds and build affordable housing, which could satisfy about half of the 74 units the state says the borough is obligated to provide.

“This is effectively a gift of $2.4 million to develop affordable housing,” McKenna said at last week’s council meeting. “It would be unwise to take a pass on this property.”

Bifani declined to comment on the conflict of interest and land ownership issue, on the advice of his attorney.

“My attorney said I shouldn’t talk about it,” Bifani said in an interview Tuesday. “I abstained from voting on it.”

The Cedar Crossings tract was assembled through the purchase of four pieces of vacant land, including one owned by Mid-State Solar. That parcel was bought for $52,500 in January 2002, according to an appraisal done for the borough by Gagliano Appraisal LLC of Shrewsbury in June.

A 2ND TOWNHOUSE PLAN

Fitzpatrick pointed out that the attorney representing Cedar Crossings, Martin A. McGann Jr. of Middletown, also represents another nearby development application by Matrix LLC on Bridge Avenue. In that application, Matrix proposes to buy the Mid-State building and build townhouses.

The zoning board put off the Matrix application last week to sort out a conflict-of-interest issue between McGann and Board Attorney Kevin Kennedy, who is McGann’s tenant.

“If they approve the affordable housing property, it will affect the value of Bifani’s property,” Fitzpatrick said.

At the council meeting, McKenna was dismissive of Fitzpatrick’s findings that contributions were made to county political action committees by principals of Cedar Crossings at Red Bank LLC. The principals are Robert L. Nicholson of Shrewsbury, Joseph A. Campanella Jr. of Little Falls, and Riverside Capital Management LLC, which is made up of Peter Shapiro, Kathleen Anderson and Ted A. Smith, all of Shrewsbury, according to zoning board files.

Fitzpatrick got the information, which he read at last week’s meeting, by researching reports filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission. A review of information on that Web site showed that Integrated Development Concepts LLC, which was later renamed Cedar Crossings, donated $250 to the Monmouth County Council of Democratic Leaders in 2003. It also showed a $500 donation from Robert Nicholson to the same group.

But Councilman Arthur Murphy III said during the meeting that there is no way to tell if that money was earmarked for Red Bank candidates or not.

“You think that because someone gave someone 500 bucks, that’s going to influence anyone up here?” McKenna asked Fitzpatrick at the meeting.

OTHER CONCERNS RAISED

The property’s environmental issues may be wrapped up pending one more soil and water test. Meanwhile, the borough engineer’s review of the plans raised design concerns.

Depending on what is found, the price could vary from the $2.45 million, which some officials said is too high.

“I’d like to see a delay so we can get more information, and we can see that this is a clean, honest deal benefiting those who need affordable housing and . . . not a rip-off of the taxpayers who provide money for the grants,” said Councilman John P. Curley, a Republican candidate for mayor.

If it passes muster, Curley said he might vote for the plan.

His Democratic opponent, council President Pasquale “Pat” Menna, supports the project and said it will anchor the area, the way converting the old River Street School into affordable housing helped 15 years ago. That was also accomplished with state funds

“That area does need continued stabilization. If we go forward, that (borough project) will be a second anchor and a boon to the community,” Menna said at the council meeting. “We should have that long-term perspective and be proactive.”

Fitzpatrick and Curley questioned the $2.4 million appraisal for the land. McKenna said the borough would also pay $50,000 for all of the developer’s engineering and design work.

“That’s a damn expensive set of blueprints,” Curley said in an interview. “We shouldn’t pay $2.45 million for a piece of ground.”

“There are a series of checks (and balances) in it (the process),” McKenna said. “The DCA has to accept the (appraisal) number. The appraiser is highly respected, and I feel confident on it.”

The property is one test away from being given a clean bill of health by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Those soil and monitoring well tests are scheduled to be done in a week, said Chris Dwyer, case manager for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Site contamination includes metals, which had been buried on the property, and volatile organic chemicals, which leaked from a gasoline storage tank. Both the tank and contaminated soil have been removed, Dwyer said.

“They have one clean round of testing from the groundwater monitoring well by the gas tank (location),” Dwyer said. “We’re waiting for a report with post-excavation (test results) and another round of clean ground water (from a monitoring well).

If those tests are clean, the DEP will issue a “no future action required” letter, he said.

ENGINEER RAISES CONCERNS

Borough Engineer Richard Kosenski, in a report to the zoning board, questioned designs for the one-, two- and three- bedroom townhouses, noting the application would need seven variances because it doesn’t meet borough zoning standards.

Among his concerns were that the ground-floor units were smaller than the minimum 700 square feet of habitable floor area required, and that 88 percent of the units were three-bedroom units, while zoning says that number can’t exceed 50 percent.

Kosenski noted buffer areas provided between the proposed townhouses and the railroad and neighboring commercial and industrial properties are “not adequate for this site.” He pointed out the plans call for no buffer zone between industrial properties and the proposed townhouses.

The plans also call for allowing nearby industries, which use the site to gain access to loading zones, to continue that practice.

“Industrial traffic mixing with residential-use traffic is not acceptable inside the proposed development,” Kosenski wrote.

The developer would also need a density variance from the zoning board because the application calls for building more units than the 10 per acre permitted by zoning.

McKenna said the borough would build fewer than 36 townhouses on the property.

The property also would have to be examined by experts from Red Bank and the state Department of Community Affairs before a deal is finalized.

“We know the site has issues, and the contract will have contingencies. It must be environmentally clean,” McKenna said. “We will have our own engineer look it over to make sure it is fit for what we want to do.”

Red Bank’s application is under review by the Council on Affordable Housing, and the site has not been evaluated yet, said Chris Donnelly, Department of Community Affairs spokesman.

COAH doesn’t have minimum size standards for affordable units but defers to municipal building codes, Donnelly said. There are no regulations about the proximity of affordable housing sites to railroad or industrial property, but the distance and compatibility will be evaluated as part of the overall site suitability study, he said.

At another Council Meeting regarding the Cedar Crossing Project, Ed McKenna got into an argument with Councilman John Curley when questions were raised about the town overpaying for a development property in Red Bank. The people John Curley refers to as “middlemen” are affiliated with Progress Realty Advisors in Shrewsbury. They are involved in funding large development projects through out NJ and beyond. One of the people involved in the beginning is involved in municipal bonds. Another person now works at a company involved with government financing as well. It seems most of the people in the original cedar crossing llc company had involvement in government work. The company was originally known as Allied Commercial Capital based in Woodbridge, NJ. BLUE BELL, Pa., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ — Progress Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: PFNC) through its commercial mortgage banking subsidiary, Progress Realty Advisors, Inc., announced today that it has acquired Allied Commercial Capital, L.L.C. and Allied Asset Management, Inc. Both companies, which are based in Woodbridge, New Jersey, specialize in originating, underwriting and closing real estate financing for multi-family and commercial properties, as well as residential development financing in New Jersey and New York. Kathleen M. Anderson and Peter M. Shapiro, the principals of Allied, will be responsible for managing Progress Realty Advisors Northern Division, based in Allied’s former offices in Woodbridge Another company based out of the same office as Progress Realty Advisors is Riverside Capital Management. One of the clients of Progress Realty Advisors is River Developers who was named the redeveloper of Pleasantville. The cedar crossing property would eventually be purchased for 2.4 million using grant money for affordable housing from the State of NJ. While Mayor of the town McKenna pushed for the zoning change and purchase only to create the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation in early 2007 which developed the property. When it was discussed that the town should buy the property it was revealed that the Red Bank Housing Authority would develop the property which turned out not to be true. The Red Bank Housing Authority will manage the association upon completion. McKenna’s Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation was given the property from the Borough of Red Bank for $1. Another property owned by the town, 51 Monmouth Street which is the former police station, was sold to Ed McKenna’s Kids Bridge charity for $1 and is now being sold for over 1 million dollars.  After allowing the former Mayor to create Non-Profits to acquire township land, they are now complaining there are too many non-profits not paying real estate taxes.

The Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation has some interesting partners. William Katchen, a CPA from North Jersey had been suspended 1990 by the Federal Government regarding working with housing authorities. In 2008, he was also involved with the Paramus Affordable Housing Corporation which was subject to an FBI investigation. In 2006, Katchen held the follow public jobs and the income generated 

WILLIAM KATCHEN $175,479 Secaucus Bergen Vocational Schools internal auditor / Cliffside Park Housing Authority accountant / Edgewater Borough MUA director / Edgewater Housing Authority fee accountant / Englewood Housing Authority accountant / Garfield Housing Authority accountant

William Katchen is also involved in the Affordable Housing of Metropolitan Edgwater Inc located at 300 Undercliff Avenue in Cliffside Park, NJ He is also involved in the Neighborhood Friendship Affordable Housing Corp in Cliffside Park and appears to have charged nearly $9,000 for accounting work.

Frank Borin of the Decotiis Law Firm in North Jersey is also a member of the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation. Why would the headquarters of Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation be in Cliffside Park NJ and why would these people be involved in the project? rb 10-101resolution[1]

Ed McKenna’s law firm has worked for many towns including Tinton Falls. According to an Asbury Park Press story regarding the CECOM Development  Ansell said the borough’s top administrators — including former Borough Attorney Edward J. McKenna Jr., who also is the mayor of Red Bank — knew about Abrams’ involvement with Leser.
McKenna denied it.
“Absolutely not. I knew nothing about that. I was the borough attorney, not redevelopment counsel. That was separate,” McKenna said. “I had no knowledge of his (Abrams) involvement.”
McKenna added if he’d known about Abrams’ involvement, “I would have told him to step down.” Ultimately it resulted in a lengthy legal case.

Ed McKenna ran for the Chairman of the Monmouth County Democrats in 2000 but lost to Victor Scudiery. From Congressman Pallone’s wiki page in 2000, Pallone endorsed and strongly supported incumbent Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Victor V. Scudiery over then Red Bank Mayor Edward McKenna, who had the support of Middlesex County Powerbroker/Pallone enemy John Lynch and South Jersey Powerbroker George Norcross. Scudiery was re-elected county chairman by a 2 to 1 margin.  John Lynch plead guilty to fraud in 2006 due to an FBI investigation which involved Red Bank. The investigation also involved River Street Commons an adult affordable housing project located just down the street from the Cedar Crossings Project.  John Lynch and Alfred Decotiis of the Decotiis Law Firm created a political action committee known as New Directions for Responsible Leadership. John Lynch and Jack Westlake a business partner from Red Bank were helping Cherokee in a development project as well as other developers. OENJ Cherokee is a related corporation to the Encap project that the Decotiis Law Firm represented at the meadowlands. Frank Borin of the Decotiis Law Firm would become a member of Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation and charge fees to the non-profit organization. John Lynch had created a web of corporations in the City of New Brunswick where he was once mayor (1979-1990) and then his cousin James Cahill became mayor of the town for at least 6 terms. A lot of people came together as a result of Governor McGreevey. McGreevey was from Woodbridge and was endorsed originally by John Lynch for Governor. Michael Decotiis was chief counsel in his administration and George Norcross also endorsed McGreevey. Lynch and Norcross then wanted McGreevey out during his scandal. The Decotiis and Lynch friendship goes back decades.  It has also led to additional employment in Middlesex County for the Decotiis firm.  Their paths along with Lynch’s friend Jack Morris would cross again in Edison where a questionable appraisal resulted in milions of dollars in profit for Morris. Robert Decotiis was the head of Lynch’s New Directions in Leadership PAC at the time Lynch was under investigation. Red Bank Borough officials have also crossed paths with the Decotiis firm at the NJ Turnpike Authority. In a rather odd event in Sayreville, the Decotiis Law firm was being replaced by the McKenna firm while mayor Menna’s firm was also bidding on the job. Sayreville’s Mayor called Michael Dupont’s appointment politically motivated. Click Here to understand the various connections made during the McGreevey administration to understand how complicated the NJ political system is including John Lynch and George Norcross involvement with Commerce Bank and the Decotiis law firm. George Norcross is involved in the NJ Democratic Party in South Jersey. and was recorded making various threats.

Crossing Paths in Red Bank Approvals

The Federal Election Commission fined Amboy Bank and its CEO George Scharpf in 2003 for campaign donation violations. George Scharpf and Amboy Bank had a very close relationship with former Governor McGreevey and former NJ State Senator John Lynch.  Lynch was sent to jail for fraud along with Red Bank resident Jack Westlake. Here is an excerpt from the book The Jersey Sting related to Amboy Bank. John Lynch was a major supporter of former Red Bank Mayor Ed McKenna. Here is an excerpt from an article in the bayshore courier news from a few years ago. Also, a 2000 race for the Monmouth County Democratic chairmanship pitted Red Bank Mayor Ed McKenna against Scudiery. McKenna received $5,000 from the New Directions PAC for the ultimately unsuccessful attempt. Lynch’s PAC has continued to support McKenna’s role as a Democratic leader in Monmouth County, contributing $9,700 to the Red Bank Democratic Party and $2,500 to the Monmouth County Council of Democrat Leaders PAC, a committee McKenna is affiliated with, since 2002. Below is a link to  a campaign donation list for John Lynch’s New Directions PAC from 2002. The list is very lengthy and includes an executive with Amboy Bank and the McKenna Law Firm.

new directions pac 2002

 Is this possible Lynch connection more than a coincidence and could the idea of a Red Bank Transit Village come from Lynch.  Ed McKenna has been supporting Amboy Bank to obtain higher than allowed density at the property located at Monmouth/West/Oakland Streets in Red Bank. Next week Amboy Bank goes before the zoning board to subdivide the affordable housing from the market units. Ed McKenna has a non-profit affordable housing corporation and is just finishing the cedar crossings project.  The zoning was changed while Amboy Bank was in the process of foreclosing on the property formerly owned by George Coffenberg. Arguments by the borough engineer against the Coffenberg development was that it was too dense even though it followed the existing zoning laws. If they did not like 16 units per acre why would they change the zoning to 35 units per acre a year later? If you look at the original Coffenberg Courtyard approval process and compare what happened after Coffenberg gave the property back to Amboy Bank you will notice different treatments of the same property.  Ed McKenna was appointed to the Red Bank Rivercenter at the same time that an approval by the zoning board was received to allow Amboy Bank to not follow the required special district zoning promoting street level retail from the train station to Broad Street.  Amboy Bank also funded around $1 million in repairs to the 51 Monmouth Street Red Bank property which was the former Red Bank Police Station sold to Ed McKenna’s Kid’s Bridge charity for $1. Amboy Bank located at 36 Monmouth Street was listed as the address to make donations on behalf of the charity. The former police station building was transferred a year later to the Red Bank YMCA and now the Red Bank YMCA is selling the property to Red Bank Catholic for over $1 million. Interestingly enough is that George Scharpf CEO of Amboy Bank was in charge of the planned capital campaign to fund a new YMCA in Old Bridge which would be under the control of the Red Bank YMCA.   Red Bank’s borough engineer, T & M of Middletown, was also the engineer for the YMCA project in Old Bridge. Even though Ed McKenna is no longer the Mayor of Red Bank he seems to have a lot of involvement in the way the town is run. Here he is celebrating last November’s election

After he wrote the last figures from the local districts on a running tally board, former Mayor Ed McKenna, who frequently taunts his opponents, jabbed his middle finger into the air. In a surprise move a week before the hearing to subdivide the affordable housing units from the market units, the Red Bank Council without the Mayor met in closed session to create a developers agreement for the affordable housing so that GS Realty which is part of Amboy bank can subdivide the land and obtain easier financing. It would seem a bank that owns all of the land would not need to subdivide the land nor find financing.

Before and After

It would be nice to understand why an application that was basically variance free and followed the recent River Center zoning requirements  would encounter as many difficulties as it did. Former Red Bank Council Member and Zoning Board member, Monmouth County Freeholder John Curley, may have shed some light on the subject as well as why certain projects are approved while others are not. Here is his quote from Red Bank Green Curley says he began to sour on the administration during his time on the zoning board. “It was, ‘yes, yes, yes’ right on around the table, and it was too simplified, too orchestrated,” he says. “And I knew who was getting the telephone calls, and who from, and told this was a ‘go’ deal or this was a ‘no’ deal.” He does not allege outright corruption, though. What is interesting about the Monmouth/West/Oakland Street property is that BLT had approvals for over 30 condos on a smaller site than mine as I acquired 1 additional lot that they were unable to buy yet they were concerned about the density of my project when they had approved a greater density for a smaller parcel previously. The density on the BLT project caused a lot of turmoil between the neighbors, the town and the developer. The BLT developers were also closely associated with the Red Bank Democratic Organization. Now after I lost the property to Amboy Bank the property was rezoned to 35 units per acre. The bank was able to obtain 57 units on the property without having to follow the Rivercenter plan of creating street level retail along Monmouth Street. Again it is interesting to note that my application was considered too dense yet as soon as I gave the property back to the bank they more than doubled the density for the property and then gave an approval for even more than the newly created 35 units per acre. This property is 1.25 acres so roughly 44 units would have conformed to the zone. The 57  units contain 12 affordable units in 1 building and 45 market  units in another building. Former Mayor and current Rivercenter member Ed McKenna has been very vocal in support for the project. He also is a member of the non-profit Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation which received a 36 unit project from the town for $1 after the town obtained $2.4 million in grant money to acquire the land. Another one of his non-profit organizations, the now defunct “Kids Bridge” aquired the former Red Bank Police Station for $1. The police station located at 51 Monmouth Street obtained over 1 million dollars from Amboy Bank for renovations after it was transferred by Kids Bridge to the YMCA. 51 monmoth tax record. Amboy Bank’s Red Bank location at 36 Monmouth
Street is also listed as an address for Kids Bridge.  In a recent court settlement, Red Bank has agreed to contribute $125,000 towards additional renovations to the building. This building is now being sold by the YMCA which took over Kids Bridge to Red Bank Catholic for over 1 million dollars. Amboy Bank is now scheduled for February 16, 2012 to subdivide the affordable housing building from the market value units. One would probably assume that 2 different developers will develop the Courtyards @ Monmouth Project.