DeCroce: Parsippany’s Chief Municipal Prosecutor Cesaro ineligible to practice Law

Frank L. Cahill
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DeCroce: Parsippany’s Chief Municipal Prosecutor Cesaro ineligible to practice Law

PARSIPPANY — Two weeks before the June primary, news broke on Tuesday that Morris County Deputy Freeholder Director John Cesaro has been ineligible to practice law since October 21, 2016 but still continued to handle cases. Cesaro is a Chief Prosecutor in Parsippany, and also serves in Essex Fells, Hanover, North Caldwell and Rockaway Township.

Incumbent Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce, one of Cesaro’s opponent in the primary released a statement and a link to the state Supreme Court order saying Cesaro had been administratively ineligible since October 2016 over his failure to register for the Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA). Attorneys are required to register annually with the IOLTA fund (Rule 1:28A).

Since 1989, the IOLTA Fund has awarded grants of more than $400 million to Legal Services of New Jersey, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and 134 other non-profit, 501(c) 3 organizations. The grants provide funding for free legal services to low-income people with civil legal problems, improvement in the administration of justice and education about the law.

“If true, this is an outrageous breach of trust by someone being paid by property taxpayers to represent the legal interests of multiple municipalities and citizens,” DeCroce said in a press release. “Freeholder Cesaro needs to come clean and explain why he is on this list and whether he disclosed his ineligible status to any of the elected officials in the towns where he has public contracts and was practicing law.”

John Cesaro told Parsippany Focus he registers every year but he apparently failed to do so last year. He wasn’t aware of his ineligibility until DeCroce contacted newspapers and some of his supporters.

Cesaro’s license is otherwise in good standing and ineligibility is not equivalent to being suspended, which was confirmed by the State Office of Attorney Ethics, according to the Daily Record. He also is up to date with his annual, $212 fee to the Lawyer’s Fund for Client Protection.

“It must have been a clerical error,” he said. “It was not an ethics issue, not a disciplinary issue.”

After finding out his status, Cesaro contacted the fund and filled out the appropriate paperwork.

“I got to thank my opponent for bringing this to my attention,” Cesaro said. “If I were her, I would focus on this, too. It takes the attention away from the fact that she voted with the Democrats for the 157-percent gas tax increase.”

According to the NJ Attorney Detail, John Cesaro, Esq. has a current status of active

According to the Daily Record, IOLTA Fund Executive Director Catherine Ferrise stated Cesaro resolved the issue and was expect to return to the active attorney list.
At the time this article was published, Parsippany Focus checked with the New Jersey Court website, NJ Attorney Detail and Mr. Cesaro’s license is active.

Cesaro also called DeCroce’s statement “her Hail Mary attempt to try win an election.”

Both 26th District Assembly seats – one occupied by DeCroce, the second by Jay Webber – are available this year. Cesaro and fellow Morris County Freeholder William “Hank” Lyon are both running for the seats and have specifically targeted DeCroce.

On Wednesday, it was reported that DeCroce filed a lawsuit in Morris County Superior Court claiming Lyon is violating state election finance laws.

On May 8, Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Mayor James Barberio submitted a resolution to the Township Council to approve Cesaro as the Chief Municipal Prosecutor of Parsippany Municipal Court. (Click here to view Resolution 2017-68). Also on May 8, Resolution 2017-69 was presented to the Township Council to appoint Doug Cabana as Municipal Prosecutor. (Click here to view Resolution 2017-69). The township council approved both resolutions, based on the due diligence is completed by the Township Attorney, Township Clerk and Business Administrator.  Parsippany Focus submitted an OPRA request for copies of the Professional Services Agreement.

Click here for a complete list of the 1,320 Attorneys not in Compliance with Rule 1:28A for 2016.

County Improvement Authority Chooses Firm for Potential Lease of Operations at Morris View 

Frank L. Cahill
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County Improvement Authority Chooses Firm for Potential Lease of Operations at Morris View 

MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Improvement Authority, after briefing the Board of Freeholders, today selected Allaire Healthcare Group of Freehold as the company best qualified to lease and run the county’s Morris View Healthcare Centre.

That decision will allow the MCIA to commence negotiations with Allaire which has offered the county $2.7 million annually to lease Morris View. (click here for website)

Combined with a reduction in costs to the county to operate Morris View, the lease could result in an initial total annual savings of $4 million to $6 million, and up to $8 million a year by the end of the decade.

The MCIA chose Allaire based on the unanimous recommendations of a special seven-member county panel, which reviewed eight proposals to lease Morris View based on evaluation criteria approved by the State Comptrollers’ Office. Factors considered by the panel, included financial viability, staffing capabilities, operational practices, and quality control.

Allaire previously purchased and is successfully operating a former Monmouth County nursing facility, which had been owned and managed by county government.

It is important to note Morris County will continue to own Morris View and will closely monitor the quality of care offered by Allaire, or any other company that would lease the 283-bed nursing home and sub-acute rehabilitation facility located in Morris Township.

The MCIA in March issued a Request for Proposals for the potential leasing of Morris View. It sought proposals from experienced private health care organizations for the lease of the 211,277 square-foot facility, including the transfer of the 283-licensed long-term care beds, now held by the county, through the New Jersey Department of Health.

Eight firms responded to the RFP. For a complete list click here.

The Board of Freeholders, when authorizing the development of an RFP for the potential lease of Morris View in 2016, stressed that the county is retaining ownership of the facility and insisted on specific patient care requirements to maintain the high quality of care now offered to elderly and disabled residents living there.

To ensure the choice of a high quality private health care provider, the freeholders voted to employ the MCIA to handle the RFP process, which could give the county more flexibility in choosing the most qualified respondent, rather than be tied to the highest bidder.

The Freeholders approved the leasing option last year following an independent study of Morris View. The study by consultant Perselay Associates projected that the tax-supported subsidy to run Morris View would rise from some $7 million incurred in 2016 to $15.5 million annually by 2020.

The study found that a potential leasing option of Morris View to a private nursing home company could be a viable solution to respond to the projected financial issues that are likely to affect Morris View, while also maintaining the high quality of care offered at Morris View.
The information compiled by Perselay Associates supplements a 2015 report by done for the county by consultants Marcus and Millichap.

To view the Perselay report, click here.

To view the Marcus and Millichap report, click here.

 

Ribbon Cutting Opens the Wellness Path at Lakeland Hills YMCA

Frank L. Cahill
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Ribbon Cutting Opens the Wellness Path at Lakeland Hills YMCA

MOUNTAIN LAKES — Vik Joganow, CEO at Lakeland Hills Family YMCA cuts the ribbon that officially opens the Wellness Path at the back of the Y facility.

Thanks to the support of the Borough of Mountain Lakes, the funding collaborative of New Jersey YMCA State Alliance, the New Jersey Department of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Atlantic Health System, the Y was able to construct a Brazilian Teak boardwalk path for members and the community to utilize year round.

The path connects the woods behind the facility to the playing fields of Mountain Lakes High School.

Also in attendance from left to right, Chris Michael Kirk and Jessica Mulcahy from Atlantic Health, John Sheehan, Y Building & Grounds Supervisor, Anthony Shovlowsky, Y Fitness Director, Lauren Barnett, Deputy Mayor of Mountain Lakes, Beverly Cooper, Y Communications Director, and Y Board Vice President, Angelo Intile.

Parsippany Town Hall Council Regular Meeting 05/22/2017

Frank L. Cahill
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Parsippany Town Hall Council Regular Meeting 05/22/2017
Parsippany Resident Bob Venezia presented the following facts during the Council Meeting of Monday, May 22. Unfortunately due to time restraints imposed by Council President Louis Valori, limiting the public portion to three minutes, Mr. Venezia didn’t finish the entire presentation.  Mr. Valori cut off Mr. Venezia after speaking for three minutes. Parsippany Focus is publishing his entire presentation.
Here is the complete presentation he attempted to discuss with the Mayor and Council:

A little known and even less publicized feature of the affordable housing rules is the concept of Urban Aid Municipalities as defined by the state legislature. The 46 Urban Aid Municipalities are home to 30% of New Jersey’s population, and they contribute heavily to the number of affordable housing units needed at the state and regional level. However, they are under no obligation to actually build affordable housing units, so their obligation must be absorbed by the remaining 70% of the state. In Morris County, which lies in region 2, affordable housing quotas are inflated by at least 40% because of the Urban Aid Municipality exemption.

To be designated as a “Qualifying Urban Aid Municipality”, only one of three criteria must be met. It should come as no surprise that each of these criteria have little to do with affordable housing and everything to do with politics. As a result, the majority of voters in almost every municipality that appears on the Urban Aid Municipality exemption list is affiliated with a single political party. Let’s examine each of these criteria a little closer.

Rule #1 states that if a municipality contains a number of substandard housing units greater than the regional average, then it qualifies as an exempt urban aid municipality. But logically, why would you want to discourage towns that have a large inventory of substandard housing, like Newark, Camden, Paterson, and Trenton, from building affordable housing that actually meets   acceptable living standards?

Rule #2: Any municipality with a population of at least 10,000 people per square mile of land area is exempt from affordable housing obligations. This rule may also be labelled as the Hudson County Exemption Rule because of the way it is constructed. Rule #2 exempts 87% of Hudson County’s population, while few, if any, other towns in the state meet this criterion. A high population density has not prevented affluent towns like Jersey City and Hoboken from adding tens of thousands of market value housing units in the last decade. Why shouldn’t some of them be affordable?

Rule #3 appears to be specifically targeted to exempt the Essex County constituency. Essex didn’t quite make the 10,000 people per square mile criterion, so that rule had to be tweaked a little bit. Rule #3 exempts municipalities with populations of 6,000 to 10,000 per square mile provided that the amount of vacant land in the municipality is less than 5%. This contrived rule exempts 70% of Essex County, while the 5% vacancy clause limits many other towns in the state from qualifying. Montclair, one of the more affluent towns in the state, gets an affordable housing free pass under this rule.

It’s easy to understand why the legislature included these rules in the Fair Share Housing Act. They were just taking care of their loyal constituents. But if the New Jersey Supreme Court was truly concerned about the equitable distribution of affordable housing throughout the state, then these rules should have been struck down. The true intentions of the Fair Share Housing Center and Dr. Kinsey also come into question here because of their lack of objection to these rules. Why didn’t they demand that their fair share methodology be applied to all municipalities equally and without exception? In fact that is exactly what should happen. The Econsult and Dr. Kinsey methodologies should be applied uniformly throughout the state. The only reason any municipality should be exempted from their affordable housing obligation is if the Econsult and Dr. Kinsey calculations result in a zero obligation.

The Urban Aid Municipalities Exemption rules need to be challenged and they need to be overturned.

So, I am asking the council and the mayor to initiate the process by either formally requesting Econsult to challenge the rules, or by commissioning our own legal counsel to do it. I would now like to hear from each of you whether you intend to pursue this course of action or not, and if not, please explain why.

Thank you
Bob Venezia

Having fun at Troy Hills School Color Bash

Frank L. Cahill
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Having fun at Troy Hills School Color Bash

PARSIPPANY — Children, teachers, parents were all having fun at the Troy Hills School Color Bash Run/Walk held on Sunday, May 21 at Veterans Memorial Park, Route 46.

The sponsors

Driver not paying attention hits vehicle stopped for red signal

Frank L. Cahill
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Driver not paying attention hits vehicle stopped for red signal

PARSIPPANY — Ms. Su Tsui, 70, Parsippany was stopped at the red traffic signal on Route 46 West at Smith Road, when a 2003 Silver Nissan Altima driven by Mr. Faisal Khan, 23, Boonton, wasn’t paying attention and did not stop and struck the 2007 White Honda Accord.

There were no injuries and Mr. Khan’s vehicle was towed from the scene by Hiawatha Towing. Ms. Tsui was able to drive her vehicle from the scene..

Parsippany-Troy Hills Officer Gregory Bloete investigated the accident.

Vehicle was stopped at red traffic signal and hit from behind
Opps. Driver wasn’t paying attention

Ex-teacher Virginia Vertetis gets minimum sentence for boyfriend’s murder

Frank L. Cahill
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Ex-teacher Virginia Vertetis gets minimum sentence for boyfriend’s murder

MORRIS COUNTY  — Virginia Vertetis, 55, was sentenced to thirty years in New Jersey State Prison after being found guilty of murdering a Staten Island man with whom she had a previous relationship. Vertetis is required to serve thirty years without the possibility of parole. The prosecution of this matter was handled by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp.

“This is the worst of crimes,” said Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Troiano during the sentencing of Virginia Vertetis before Judge Stephen Taylor in state Superior Court in Morristown. Troiano, who was the lead prosecutor in the case, added that, “This type of violence is … permanent in every sense of the word.”

Vertetis was convicted by a Morris County jury on April 3 on the first degree charge of Murder and the second degree charge of Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose.

This incident was first reported to police just before 10:00 p.m. on March 3, 2014, when officers with the Mount Olive Police Department responded to 2 Apollo Way in the Flanders section of the township after a 911 call by the victim’s daughter. Authorities found the body of Patrick Gilhuley immediately inside the front entrance of Vertetis’ home. Gilhuley was pronounced dead at the scene and Vertetis was arrested shortly afterwards. The investigation revealed that Vertetis fatally shot the victim within her home.

“The jury reached the just and proper verdict, and the defendant has now been sentenced for the senseless murder of Patrick Gilhuley,” Prosecutor Knapp said. “It is our genuine hope that this will bring some sense of closure to his family.”

Prosecutor Knapp would like to thank the agencies that participated in the investigation that led to Vertetis’ conviction, including the Mount Olive Police Department, the Criminal Investigation Section of the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, The Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office, the New Jersey State Police office of Forensic Sciences, and the Major Crimes Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.

“Women in Politics” was the subject of a Democrat Fundraiser

Frank L. Cahill
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“Women in Politics” was the subject of a Democrat Fundraiser

PARSIPPANY — The Morris County Democratic Committee held a meeting “Focusing on the Role of Women in Elective Office,” on Sunday, May 21. The event was held at Livingston Benedict House, 25 Old Parsippany Road.

Speakers included Clinton Mayor Janice Kovach, Former Parsippany Mayor Mimi Letts, Mountain Lakes Councilwoman Ellen Emr and 26th Legislative District Candidate Laura Fortgang.

Mayor Janice Kovach
Mayor Kovach has served as mayor in Clinton since 2012, positively impacting her community.  Throughout her career, she has been a strong advocate for women, volunteering a good deal of her time to mentor and train women to run for office. Prior to being Mayor Janice was elected to the Clinton town council in 2004 until 2006. She is a committed public servant. Janice ran for the New Jersey Assembly in 2005 and House of Representatives in the Seventh District in 2014, served as Secretary of the NJ State Democratic Committee, on New Jersey Highlands Water & Protection Planning Council and Director of the New Jersey Division on Women. 

Also, Janice was a guest speaker for Tedx talk titled Honor Dairies, “What is Honor.”  It’s on YouTube and if you haven’t seen it I suggest you do. It addresses the plight of women throughout the world. The images in the presentation are powerful. We are so glad that Janice agreed to speak at our event today.

Mimi Letts
Served as Mayor of Parsippany-Troy Hills for eleven years beginning in 1994 to 2005. Quite an accomplishment in a republican town. During her tenure, Mimi committed funds to purchase open space, build a new police headquarters and courthouse, built parks including Veterans Park. More importantly Mimi built bipartisan support within the administration to grow and improve the community. When she retired in 2005 she left the Parsippany in much better place.

Prior to being Mayor Mimi ran for council, served on the Planning Board, Board of Adjustments, New Jersey Highlands Water & Protection Planning Council and a trustee for Parsippany Senior Citizens Housing Corp and was instrumental in building support for the Brookside Senior Citizens Housing.

Mimi continues to give her time and support in mentoring candidates sharing her knowledge and expertise.

Ellen Emr
Served as councilwomen in Mountain Lakes from 2008 to 2011. Again, another accomplished woman that won a seat in a strongly held Republican town.  Ellen is active on many of the borough committees. She was in the forefront against major development that would have impacted open space on a wooded tract of land adjacent to 40 acres of Mt. Lakes’ borough Park. She successfully argued against changing the zoning code to permit the development. Something we’re familiar with in Parsippany.  Ellen was also active in opposing the Waterview Development Project and helped significantly limit the impact of the project.

In the recent 2015 election, Ellen provide guidance and support and was instrumental in working to elect Democrats, women, to Mountain Lakes’ town council. 

Ellen too is an advocate and mentor for candidates running for office.

Laura Fortgang
Laura Berman Fortgang is a mother, small business owner and active in her community, Laura has an impressive career as an acclaimed speaker, bestselling author, life coach and career strategist.  She has written seven books her most recent “Now What”.  You may know Laura from her appearances on Oprah, CNN, MSNBC or read her blog on Huffington Post. Laura is a candidate for District 26, general assembly.

Intervale Elementary School Holds Car Wash

Frank L. Cahill
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Intervale Elementary School Holds Car Wash

PARSIPPANY — The fifth grade class at Intervale Elementary School recently held a car wash to raise funds for the end of year activities.

The students washing the fire truck from Rainbow Lakes Parsippany Fire District 2
Mia Nardi and Anya Sadowski washing the fire truck at Intervale School Fifth Grade Car Wash

24 Hour Fitness to join Wegman’s

Frank L. Cahill
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24 Hour Fitness to join Wegman’s

HANOVER — Mack-Cali Realty Corporation announced it has signed a lease with 24 Hour Fitness at the Company’s shopping center at the intersection of Sylvan Way and Ridgedale Avenue, in the Mack-Cali Business Campus. 24 Hour Fitness will join anchor tenant Wegmans and will occupy approximately 40,000 square feet.

Headquartered in San Ramon, Calif., 24 Hour Fitness is a leading fitness industry pioneer with nearly four million members in more than 400 clubs across the U.S. The new club will feature personal training services, popular group exercise classes, and a variety of strength, cardio, and functional training equipment.

Wegmans is currently under construction and is scheduled to open their 134,000-square-foot supermarket on July 23.

“Mack-Cali is thrilled about bringing 24 Hour Fitness to the Parsippany/Hanover area. 24 Hour Fitness will join Wegmans as key amenities not only for our office tenants and residents in the area but also the entire community. Adding amenities like 24 Hour Fitness and Wegmans are at the core of Mack-Cali’s commitment to its tenants and the markets in which we are a part of,” said Michael J. DeMarco, Mack-Cali Chief Executive Officer

Mark Needle of Triumph Realty Group represented Mack-Cali in the 24 Hour Fitness transaction, as well as, the Wegmans deal. Pierson Commercial represented 24 Hour Fitness.

Mack-Cali Realty Corporation is a fully integrated, self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) providing management, leasing, development, and other tenant-related services for its two-platform operations of waterfront and transit-based office and luxury multi-family assets. Mack-Cali provides its tenants and residents with the most innovative communities that empower them to re-imagine the way they work and live.

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