PARSIPPANY — The national political newspaper and website POLITICO recently published a scathing article which links township venders circumventing local Pay to Play laws by donating money to a Super PAC supporting a local slate of GOP Council candidates.
Confirming what was previously reported in Parsippany Focus, POLITICO reports that IRS filings reveal that the Super PAC, America’s Future First, raised almost $88,000 in 2014. Of that, about $48,000 came from Fairview Insurance, while another $32,000 came from the engineering firm Adams, Rehmann and Heggan (ARH). Earlier this year Fairview Insurance, Parsippany’s health insurance broker, was voted out by the Council to be the broker of record for 2015.
In 2014, ARH was awarded a contract with the township but neither POLITICO nor Parsippany Focus were unable to confirm whether or not any work was done for the township. One source told Parsippany Focus that ARH has been retained by Waterview Developer Steve Kalafer, but at publication time, Parsippany Focus has been unable to confirm this.
Although IRS filings do not show Super PAC spokesman Timothy White nor his firm Beckerman Group as being paid by America’s Future First, or it’s sister Super PAC, NJ’s Future First, White does represent himself as the Super PAC’s spokesman. As previously reported in Parsippany Focus, Timothy White is no stranger to Parsippany. White, a vice president at Beckerman Group public relations firm, has previously been retained by Steve Kalafer, one of the investors of the controversial Whole Foods development plan at “Waterview”, a project, Carifi and his team opposed, and one that dePierro and his slate supported. In 2013, White, working for Waterview developer partner Kalfer, penned “letters to the editor” on behalf of various individuals in support of the project and issued press releases for the building trades unions, of which the Super PAC’s director Robert Dombroski is a member of. In one email Parsippany Focus has obtained, White wrote Kalfer and his personal assistant:
Bob Grieb from the Pipefitters was nice enough to lend his name to the quote in the press release, I thought we can follow up with a letter to the editor from Bob that we can publish in the Daily Record, The PATCH and The Star-Ledger.
Attached is a draft of a letter from Bob. Do you think we can get him to approve this letter? If so I would just need his phone number and e-mail address for verification purposes and I will submit on his behalf.
Thanks again, TW
In another email, Mr. Kalafer’s assistant asked another Waterview development partner, Joseph M Forgione, to forward a Timothy White authored press release to Parsippany Township attorney John Inglesino.
Within a week of the Waterview project being voted down in October 2013, White was also issuing press releases to the media on behalf of no one against former Councilman Jonathan Nelson who voted against the controversial project.
Super PAC sets up shop in Parsippany
As the 2015 Council primary race heated up, The Super PAC advertised on various employment websites that they would pay between $10-$20/hour for canvassers supporting the dePierro slate and rented a small storefront at 709 Lake Shore Drive, Lake Parsippany, as it’s headquarters.
Parsippany Focus inquired with the Township’s Zoning Department about the small office. The Zoning Department had no records of any permit being filed and immediately sent a field inspector out to inspect the office.
Although the headquarters was closed at the time of inspection, the township inspector confirmed that the Super PAC was operating at the location and took photos of the operation. The day after the Township’s Zoning Department contacted the owner of the property, the Super PAC abruptly abandoned the premises.
According to state and federal laws, PACs may support issues, but may not have any contact with individual candidates. When first made aware of the Super PAC’s presence in Parsippany, dePierro told Politickrnj that “this must have been arranged by someone who sees what they’re [Councilman Paul Carifi] doing on council and doesn’t like their conduct at council meetings. Parsippany is the largest town [in Morris County] and all these years I never felt completely in control [of what happens in campaigns].”
“I don’t know who the PAC is,” he added. “I haven’t even seen the mailer. I understand they misspelled my name. I haven’t seen this.”
While the Super PAC was operating the office in Lake Parsippany, sources have observed Councilman dePierro and his running mate Vincent Ferrera both inside and outside of the Super PAC’s headquarters. Parsippany Focus has obtained photos which clearly confirm this accusation.
UPDATE:
The photos of Council Candidate Vincent Ferrara and his car were taken in mid May. His license plate is blurred to protect his privacy. The photo of Councilman dePierro’s car was taken the following afternoon. Councilman dePierro was also observed carrying what appeared to be a “Staples” ream of paper box leaving the office carrying a large folder with a lot of paper. However, Councilman dePierro had difficulty carrying the material so the person who observed him offered to assist rather than take a photo. The address of the Super PAC HQ is 709 Lake Shore Drive. Visiting street view in Google Maps show clearly that these photos are taken at that address.
