From NJ.com,

Decades removed from her burlesque past, Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini is scheduled to go on trial Monday, the first defendant from last summer’s sweeping federal sting operation to face a jury.

Beldini, 74, was one of more than 40 people charged in the sting, including dozens of political officials, five rabbis and three mayors. Eleven of the accused have already pleaded guilty.

Beldini is accused of taking $20,000 in illicit contributions when she was campaign treasurer for Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy. Her trial is expected to offer the first public telling of the sting by the government informant who carried it out.

How do these people keep getting elected in New Jersey?

NorthJersey.com has good coverage of the Suarez situation.

From the NJO article,

Catrillo, a former member of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy’s constituents services bureau, admitted taking $15,000. In exchange, he promised to help the informant secure building approvals. A state board will determine whether Catrillo, who has worked for Jersey City since 2005, will forfeit his pension as a result of the crime.

The informant, a failed developer named Solomon Dwek, spent more than two years recording conversations, leading to charges against scores of people, including three mayors, two state legislators, political operatives and five rabbis from communities in Deal and Brooklyn. Eleven people have pleaded guilty in case, and the first trial is scheduled to begin Monday. The defendant, Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, is accused of taking $20,000 in illicit campaign contributions on behalf of Healy. The mayor has not been charged.

There will likely be more to come, stay tuned.

One of the many problems with this policy is that there are not enough of the so-called “rich” and every American will be burdened with massive increases in taxes.   Much like China, the middle class will bear the brunt of the schemes and the debts being levied now will result in heavy burdens for every American.  Thus, the so called “rich” are every one of us.  Ordinary families will be forced to pay for these programs with their jobs, standard of living and futures for their children.

Mao’s failed policy destroyed his reputation within China.  Rich families were forced to hand over family treasures and the educated were sent to the country to work the farms.  Ordinary families lived in crushing poverty.  Sound familiar?  With Obama the rich are expected to hand over massive new sums of money in taxes, fees and surcharges.  Insurance companies that are deemed too profitable will be forced to reduce income in a heavy handed nationalization of healthcare.  The energy industry and US based manufacturing base will be saddled with massive new carbon taxes.  Wall Street workers are having their pay capped.  As an industrialized nation, these taxes and other fees are tantamount to the destruction of industry and the American way of life. Much Like Mao’s backward assault on Chinese culture, Obama has targeted the very engine of our success – capitalism.  We as a nation will be crippled by the poorly conceived acts of this administration.

The Obama Administration (with the aid of his cohorts in Congress, Pelosi and Reid) has yet to prove itself capable of managing any project, let alone the nationalization of such massive sectors of our economy.  We face years of misery and further fomenting of contempt for our government.  It took China many years to recover.  Mao’s successor, Deng Shao Ping, is hailed a hero in China as the man who opened up the country for business and made being rich acceptable again.  In the same manner, so could Obama’s successor be hailed as a hero.  His disastrous and poorly conceived programs will be undone.  However, the cost to the standard of living for millions of Americans will be steep. How much of this disastrously poor leadership can we endure?

But again, time will tell.  Perhaps Sunday will bring clarification of this matter.

One interesting note, Shih apparently had several tickets to this weekend’s Obama rally in NJ in his car.  He also claimed the car was rented by the Corzine campaign.  Just curious, who bailed Mr. Shih out?

Either way, Corzine should get to the bottom of this immediately and make a public statement.  It should not have any tangible effect on his campaign, unless he mishandles this situation badly.

Update:  it apppears the New York Post has pulled the story as well!  Let’s see how this plays out.

“Shih, released on $15,000 bail, is facing multiple drug-related charges, including possession of drugs, possession of drugs in a school zone, intent to distribute drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.”

Whether or not he actually is part of Corzine’s campaign, this close to the election this arrest will likely add to the already nasty aura of corruption surrounding the New Jersey incumbent.

Corzine’s campaign has denied that this man is part of their team.  The truth should come out sometime in the next 24 hours.  With Corzine and New Jersey awash in the air of corruption, this could be the straw that breaks the camels back and hands the election to Chris Christie.

We shall see on Tuesday, but latest polls have Christie with a three point lead.

New Jerseyans just don’t think anything can be done about corruption at the ballot box,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “What they most want is to see property taxes cut. That’s why we’re seeing New Jerseyans leaving the state.”

Other highlights from this study:

• 71% of New Jersey voters believe that legislators look out for their own financial interests first and foremost.

• 29% of New Jerseyans rate the quality of their government as excellent or good. This is down from 39% who said the same in a statewide poll taken nearly four years ago.

• 1% of state residents say the quality of government in New Jersey is excellent and 28% say it is good.

• 60% say there is a lot of corruption in the state, 30% say there is some, 6% a little, and 1% none.

• 76% of residents – and 78% of voters – feel that legislators should be banned from all other public offices.

• Democrats (45%) are less likely than Republicans (69%) or independents (70%) to characterize corruption as a major problem for the state.

As a result of this pervasive corruption and unbearably high property taxes, there has been exodus from New Jersey. A 2007 Monmouth poll indicated that up to half of New Jersey residents want to leave the state. Looks like high taxes and corrupt, self-dealing government lead to massive dissatisfaction.

Suarez, a Democrat, has ignored calls from Governor Corzine to resign. Instead, he continues to make public appearances, much to the embarassment of Ridgefield residents and fellow Democrats. Suarez continues to maintain his innocence.  From today’s New York Times article,

Governor Corzine has directed all state departments, agencies and authorities to freeze development applications, permits and approvals for any municipalities whose incumbent mayors were charged in the corruption investigation.

What will it take for him to finally accept the fact that his Mayoral career is over? Even if he is ultimately exonerated, in the short term he will likely be forced out or into resigning.

This must be great news for Hoboken residents. They can now turn the page on this corruption scandal and put Camaranno’s short, disgraceful tenure behind them.