Tuesday, October 19, 2010

BREAKING NEWS: DaTruthSquad's Truth About da Manalapan Mayor Andy Boy Lucas Land Grab

It's da talk of Manalapan-land. How did current Manalapan mayor and candidate Andy Boy Lucas come into possession land that could offer up a more than $1 million taxpayer-funded payday? Were any laws broken? Is this unethical? Will Andy Boy become da richest mayor in Manalapan history? We decided to look into who was saying what about this "Land Grab" issue, and what is propaganda and what is daTruth.

A disclaimer -- Not only is daTruth in da eye of da beholder, but SHOCK QUOTE #4 may blow da lid off this entire situation!

SHOCK QUOTE #1: Da Asbury Park Press writes "At least two properties — one privately and one county-owned — which could have been preserved as open space through the fund were passed over, after conversations in which Lucas was involved, according to township documents."

DaTRUTH: This is correct. According to information from da August and October 13 Manalapan Township Committee meeting, there were three properties that could have been chosen - two for Open Space and Baron Andy Boy's land grab. However, based upon da "farm" issue and not da "open space" issue, and no overall criteria divulged by da committee, da other two properties were rejected.

SHOCK QUOTE #2: Da Queen Michelle Roth says "He manipulated the public process . . . and violated the public's trust by not disclosing this at our meeting, in order to line his own pockets. What kind of ethics are these?" Roth said. "His conflict of interest has compromised the township."

DaTRUTH: Ask any lawyer, and they will tell you a case can be made for suing a ham sandwich. Da "non-disclosure" issue is a damning one, and a case can be made that indeed not disclosing ye as a sitting mayor could get over $1 million in taxpayer money for that land quote - "bought by you from Diamond Developers" is damning. That issue alone is at da crux of this entire matter - How did Mayor Andy Boy purchase da land from a developer and is able to keep da purchase price a secret? This alone should be forwarded to da county and state to be investigated - but fortunately we have an answer to that from a very unlikely source.

SHOCK QUOTE #3: Baron Andy Boy said "there was no public use deemed valuable enough for those (unpreserved) properties."

DaTRUTH: Da question is - Who "deemed" this? When was this "deemed?" Did Baron Andy Boy vote or bring any influence to a vote on any other farmland or open space preservation property which, if voted against, could or should he have abstained from or not discussed whether publicly or privately?

SHOCK QUOTE #4: Courtesy of former Manalapan Mayor Beth Ward, who Andy Boy beat thanks to da top of his ticket, da late Joltin' Joe Locricchio, "When you sought out legal advice from the township and the county, did you make it clear that you OWN a 40% stake in Diamond Developers at Burke Farm LLC?"

DaTRUTH: Holy "I OWN DIAMOND DEVELOPERS" Batman! All of a sudden, a former Mayor comes out from wherever she was hiding and drops what could be da biggest "Conflict-of-interest" bombshell on da whole "Land Grab-Gate" affair. Even in his reply, Baron Andy Boy AT NO TIME DID NOT DENY he owned a large majority of da development company that sold himself da very land in dispute!!!!!

To be fair, would it be fair to say that something might smell fishy if current Manalapan Township Committeewoman Michelle Roth forms a "LLC" called "daTruthSquad Developers" (has a catchy ring to it), and goes out and buys 100 acres of land in da very same town she lives in. Now, she takes that very same land, and offers it up into a state plan which will pay her using taxpayer money for that land to what could be a potential $1.5-2 million dollars - but doesn't tell people she owns a large stake in da company selling da land to herself? And coincidently, she also sat in on meetings where da land issue may or may not have been discussed. Then, when pressed on da matter, she refuses to say how much she paid for da land, except to say "da seller wishes to keep that info a SECRET," knowing full well da seller and da buyer was da same person - herself!

According to da Asbury Park Press, Baron Andy Boy replied by saying "Lucas, a financial consultant, declined to say whether he paid anything for the property beyond about $42,000 in back taxes. County land records do not show a sale price for the property" and "Lucas said the seller insists that those figures remain confidential."

Interesting here, since it appears there is a probability that Baron Andy Boy Lucas is both da buyer and in some interesting way potentially da seller here too - and it's worthy to note he did not in any way at that time dispute that claim by former Mayor Ward!

Now, da question becomes - Is former Mayor Ward telling daTruth - or is current Mayor Andy Boy?

SHOCK QUOTE #5: In da Asbury Park Press it is written, "Under pressure from residents at Wednesday's Township Committee meeting, Lucas said he paid "a little less than" the $1.6 million at which he said the property had been appraised."

DaTRUTH: Here's what Baron Andy Boy admitted - "Lucas said he paid "a little less than" the $1.6 million at which he said the property had been appraised." Now, daTruthSquad has learned through a source that Baron Andy Boy and his family paid da $42,000 in back taxes, and a mortgage on da land was taken out for da sum of approximately $525,000. Now, our math skills may be that of a 2nd grader, but that leaves about $1 million unaccounted for. He says he "paid a little less" than da $1.6 million da property was appraised for. How much of that missing $1 million did he and his family pony up???? So far, Baron Andy Boy who ran on a platform of transparency has REFUSED to discuss that missing $1 million from da financial picture. Why? We will, however, give him da benefit of da doubt here, since "$1 million dollars" is in fact a little less than $1.6 million dollars!

SHOCK QUOTE #6: Says da Land Baron at da October meeting, "He said his family, longtime farmers in the township, made the purchase this way, not to hide anything, but because "farming is one of the most . . . dangerous professions out there.

DaTRUTH: I'm sure First Responders got a kick out of this one. Hmmmmm, lets see, what some of da most dangerous professions???? Prison Guard at maximum security Attica? Nope, no need for any protection here. Soldier on da front lines against al-Qaida clearing IED's? No personal safety issues here. Farmer in Manalapan?

Yes, there's Farmer Andy now, donning his kevlar vest and helmet, grabbing his grenade launcher and calling in reinforcements and Air Force backup with cluster bombs at the ready to tackle that extreme deadly threat of - dare we say - soybean clearing! Wait, his brave trooper assistant cries out in agony as he slips on a patch of manure, obviously left by a terrorist cell or quite possibly a horse. Da smell of crapola permeates his shoes! It reduces even da hard-nosed veteran farmer to tears. A dragonfly is spotted - everyone hits da dirt. Then farmer Andy hears a "snap." Did he step on a trip-wire for a grenade, or merely a tree branch? They begin to clear da soybeans, but slowly in case enemy weeds laying in wait pop out of nowhere.

Yes, farming is dangerous, indeed. Just like that country western song, "Baby, don't let your sons grow up to be farmers .... da dangers are way too severe ... they could get corn in their ears ... or slip on manure - can da soybeans endure, or da tractor could run out of gas!" (song courtesy of TruthTeller "S")


DaTruth is, and this gets more bizarre by da day. You have da Baron Mayor of Manalapan saying "I cannot control one rogue township committee person" as da reason this has become so out-of-hand. You have two former town mayors as upset as that brave trooper who slipped on da manure demanding answers to questions - and basically getting none. You have a newspaper doing what it's supposed to do - investigate and write about news of da day, and they are branded as having their strings pulled by a "rogue committee person." You have Democrats being blamed for what Baron Andy Boy did, and da Democratic campaign, which includes one guy who's so short he can't be seen in a soybean field and da other who's so young he may not have even been born when Reagan was President, which at times didn't even realize that this was their election. You have da running mate of Baron Andy Boy, Jordan "Stu" Moskovitz saying nothing about the issue in public except to say "there's much more pressing issues" than this at da debate. You have Baron Andy Boy worker bees who buzz that keeping all of da eight homes from being built on this land will forever stop traffic jams from forming on Route 9. And, maybe da most bizarre issue of them all is, all of a sudden, da voice of reason on that insanity we call da Manalapan Township Committee is fast becoming of all people - da Queen - Michelle Roth!

Now, to be fair, from a legal standpoint what Baron Andy Boy did was not 100% illegal. However, even da attorney for da League of Municipalities says to da newspaper, "New Jersey League of Municipalities staff attorney Matthew Weng, told the Asbury Park Press that Lucas was within his rights to enter into such a deal with his own township. But Weng said he would have advised Lucas wait until he left office, if only to avoid the public perception of a conflict."

So, in effect, you have da sitting mayor of your town who is running for reelection to another 3 year term buying up nearly 100 acres of land - bankingthat land in Farmland Preservation which will fetch him over $1 million in taxpayer money and other subsidies, and then we find out from one former mayor that things aren't right behind da scenes, another former mayor demanding why da sale price was such a secret, and a third former mayor dropping da massive bombshell that da developer company, Diamond Developers at Burke Farm, LLC, has a very large stake of it owned by Baron Mayor Andy Boy, a fact he did not even try to dispute at da October Township Committee meeting!

And, you have a sitting mayor running for reelection who ran on "transparancy" - and it took 3 former mayors to allow us all to see what is really happening here!

DaTruth is, and let us make this very clear. From a legal standpoint as of this writing, we have not uncovered anything that can or oculd be deemed "illegal" that Mayor Andy Boy or any member of his nice family did. It is not illegal to purchase land, or get that land into Farmland Preservation, or even sell it to yourself? However, when you're not "John Q. Farmer" and (1) you are da sitting mayor of da very town you are buying da land in - and (2) there are questions about da price - (3) da fact you stand to get over $1 million in taxpayer money for it - (4) we are led to believe you also own da company or a portion of it selling you da land - and (5) you are running for political office while doing all of this and (6) even da mere perception of you having even one iota of influence in this case, even if it is proven by a reasonable dount that you did not (we have no answer for this one) - means (A) there is no real transparancy and (B) da ethical "cloud" seems to be getting larger by da hour.

DaTruth is, and dare we say da Queen seems to be 100% right on with this - there needs to be a complete stop placed on this proposed land grab and it should be (A) investigated, and (B) most likely finalized when Baron Andy Boy is out of office to remove both da ethical cloud hanging over him, and also da Manalapan Republicans who have steadfastly backed him. At stake is da election and political power of da township. To continue on da same course could invite undue sceptcism and quite possibly, scorn on a political party where it may or may not be warranted, and also scorn on an entire town that certainly does not need a cloud of suspicion hanging over it.

DaTruth is - Manalapan deserves better - da residents deserve better - and da public trust is being violated here not for politics, but for ethics. And, if we can't expect even a glimmer of ethics from our political leaders, then this great town is seriously in jeopardy of being mentioned in da same breath of Newark and Camden for corruption, political machines, cronyism, backroom deals, and polticians that put their own personal fortunes and futures ahead of da people they are allegedly sworn to serve.

And that's daTruth!

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

It seems like this story gets worse by the day. Now the Asbury Park Press has a new story about this mess, and it also brings up more ethics issues.

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201010180346'

I will have to seriously rethink my position on voting Republican this year. While I agree with the Squad that no laws may have been broken here, the ethical issue is serious and cannot be ignored.

Anonymous said...

Does this word sound familiar - CRIMINAL!

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to say this, but if Baron Land Lord Lucas and his stooge get elected this year, along with Ryan "I'll say whatever they tell me to" Green you'll have 3 people in the majority who will do anything and say anything to stay in power and help their power brokers and not the people of Manalapan.

Anonymous said...

Lucas said it himself during the debate. When asked about keeping his election clean of dirty politics, he blames things on "Rogue" Michelle Roth. I think the DTS and the Asbury Park Press have it 100% correct. It would be nice if the Transcript actually reported on this #1 issue of the elction campaign. Butthat may be too much to ask and why Manalapan readers come to blogs like this and not their newspaper.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't worry too much about Ryan Green. If Michelle threatens to give him a wedgie, he'll hid under the podium and start crying.

Anonymous said...

Roth has brilliantly out manuvered Lucas to ensure that this fiasco will become his political Waterloo.
Gotta give the Devil her due Andrew, as the saying goes...
Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure what I'm more upset about. IMHO Andrew Lucas can't be trusted. However the fact the News Transcript has hardly even touched this massive news story, making it an afterthought in their "breaking news" about the robocalls that only seem to upset 3 or 4 Republicans is shocking. it's no wonder they have become so irrelevent in Monmouth County. From now on, if I needs news about Manalapan, I'll come here and the "Snoozer" will go where it belongs - in my trash!

Anonymous said...

Here's a question that the Squaddo hasn't touched on yet:

When Lucas loses this year, will he run again next year head to head against Michelle Roth? or will be just become the full time farmer he claims he is?

Hilarious! said...

"Yes, there's Farmer Andy now, donning his kevlar vest and helmet, grabbing his grenade launcher and calling in reinforcements and Air Force backup with cluster bombs at the ready to tackle that extreme deadly threat of - dare we say - soybean clearing! Wait, his brave trooper assistant cries out in agony as he slips on a patch of manure, obviously left by a terrorist cell or quite possibly a horse. Da smell of crapola permeates his shoes! It reduces even da hard-nosed veteran farmer to tears. A dragonfly is spotted - everyone hits da dirt. Then farmer Andy hears a "snap." Did he step on a trip-wire for a grenade, or merely a tree branch? They begin to clear da soybeans, but slowly in case enemy weeds laying in wait pop out of nowhere."

This is by far the funniest thing I ever read on this blog. I couldn't stop laughing. I sent this to others in my office and all you heard was laughter. Great stuff. You should do more of this!

Anonymous said...

My neighbor told me about this blog and I'm reading it for the first time. I hate to say this but I had no idea all of this was happening. It makes me think I will have to start learning more about the town I thought I knew. What I do know is my property taxes are almost too high to deal with, and the town mayor is getting millions and getting rich. Something is wrong here.

Anonymous said...

Hail the million dollar mayor! And dare I still say - CRIMINAL!!!!

Anonymous said...

HERE'S WHAT I'M GOING TO DO ON ELECTION DAY. I'M GOING TO WRITE IN JOEY DEPASQUALE INSTEAD OF VOTING FOR ANDREW LUCAS. I ASK ALL MANALAPAN RESIDENTS TO DO THE SAME. SEND A MESSAGE TO THE MILLIONAIRE MAYOR THAT HE CAN'T GET RICH ON THE BACKS OF MANALAPAN TAXPAYERS!

Anonymous said...

"JOEY DEPASQUALE"

hey, datz a lot of letters to rite in for da reeders of dis blog.

Anonymous said...

"hey, datz a lot of letters to rite in for da reeders of dis blog."

It's ok, Fred. No Democrats or hedge fund scoundrels will be writing in Joey's name, anyway, so "a lot of letters" shouldn't be difficult for those who will be.

Anonymous said...

leave Scott Siprelle out of this.

Anonymous said...

Re: "hey, datz a lot of letters to rite in for da reeders of dis blog."

Someone who not so long ago commented so vociferously about anti-Italian remarks now mocks that group.

Anonymous said...

Just like Rush Holt, Frank Pallone runs and hides from his so-called "accomplishments":

Pallone Skips Health Care Forum. Little Addresses 200 Live, 500 remotely

Pallone’s other pressing engagement was the Ocean Township Democratic Club’s Monthly Meeting.cowardly_lion
Congressman Frank Pallone refused to defend or explain the Health Care Reform Act that he helpped author this evening before the public and the Monmouth County Medical Society, opting instead to visit the Ocean Township Democratic Club’s monthly meeting.

Highlands Mayor Anna Little, Pallone’s opponent in the up coming election, addressed a crowd of approximately 200 at the Oyster Point Hotel in Red Bank and an additional 500 residents who participated in the forum via live stream through the internet or via teleconference call. There was roughly 60 people with Pallone in Ocean.

MoreMonmouthMusings was one of the hosts of the live feed. Video will be posted of the event sometime tomorrow.

If anyone has video of the Ocean Township Democratic Club’s meeting, please let us know and we’ll provide equal time. moremonmouthmusings.net

Anonymous said...

Can someone please explain this one to me -

The Asbury Park Press is going after Mayor Lucas in Manalapan hard, with not only exposes but also editorials about this alleged land deal. The News Transcript seems like they are giving him a free pass for some reason. This is the same Andrew Lucas that voted in a 3rd party case that he was involved in, voted to filed a frivolous lawsuit against Moskovitz and a blogger that cost taxpayers at least $100,000 not including current lawsuits against the town, and in 2005 sent a bogus letter to the News Transcript and got caught by Mark Roseman.

It seems the only person who hasn't ensnared Lucas in anything corrupt is Solomon Dwek.

Anonymous said...

Wow. I live in Edison and I thought we had it bad here.

Anonymous said...

What ever happened to the ghost of Joe Locrichio? He was making more sense than the people who are alive.

Anonymous said...

You may want to check out the HATE website. Larry Roth believes what Andy Boy did was wrong. KB is standing by Andy Boy 110% and maybe wants her job back at the Transcript because she is standing by her former boss too. Gerry Ward wrote Diamond Developers and the drug dealer tied Diamond Builders is one and the same. Whatever they're smoking over there it has to be good!

Anonymous said...

After reading all of the available info from the Truth Squad, the Asbury Park Press and the Transcript I have come to the following conclusion.

Something may not be 100% illegal but seems very unethical about the mayor's land deal. I think the APp and the DTS have this absolutely right, and the Transcript has their collective head up their you-know-what as usual. Lucas lost my vote, and now I'm not too sure of Jordan either anymore.

Anonymous said...

"Something may not be 100% illegal "


Wrong, it was 100% LEGAL and it was approved by 3 different attorneys, no matter how many ways you, yourself and you try to twist it.

You, yourself and you were't going to vote for Jordan anyway, so no one really cares.

Re: 'leave Scott Siprelle out of this.' said...

Why? The SEC has never taken any actions against him.

Anonymous said...

how do you know? many investigations are dropped simply due to limitations on available enforcement resources.

Anonymous said...

three attorneys? Hmm. that's sound just a little suspicious. Let's see the legal memoranda. Also, let's see how many of them are experts in this particular field. Remember, Lucas claimed he had three attorneys tell him he had a valid claim against the former township attorney. It turns out the claim was frivolous and he didn't really have three attorneys do anything but grab a fee and say whatever he paid them to say.

Anonymous said...

"Anonymous said...
three attorneys? Hmm. that's sound just a little suspicious. Let's see the legal memoranda. Also, let's see how many of them are experts in this particular field. Remember, Lucas claimed he had three attorneys tell him he had a valid claim against the former township attorney. It turns out the claim was frivolous and he didn't really have three attorneys do anything but grab a fee and say whatever he paid them to say."

Whoever wrote that made an excellent point. And here's another - did he tell these "lawyers" that he basically sold the property to himself?

Re: 'many investigations are dropped simply due to limitations on available enforcement resources.' said...

So they just go after the big fish, just as we've seen right here in River City.

Still, if you think that they might have "dropped an investigation" for any reason, this is as good a place to post the information as any.

Anonymous said...

MANALAPAN DEMOCRATS:

NO GREED.
NO CORRUPTION.
NO LAND GRABS.
NO ETHICAL VIOLATIONS.

MANALAPAN REPUBLICANS:

FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS AGAINST ENEMIES UNDER MAYOR LUCAS'S TERM IN OFFICE!

ONE OF THE HIGHEST MUNICIPAL TAX INCREASES UNDER MAYOR LUCAS'S TERM IN OFFICE!

THE MANALAPAN POLICE CHIEF FORCED TO SUE THE TOWN TO PROTECT HIS RIGHTS UNDER MAYOR LUCAS'S TERM IN OFFICE!

MORE HOMES - LESS RATABLES UNDER MAYOR LUCAS'S TERM IN OFFICE!

WHO GETS FREE HEALTH BENEFITS UNDER MAYOR LUCAS'S TERM IN OFFICE - - MAYOR LUCAS!

WHO GETS A TAXPAYER-FUNDED INTERN UNDER MAYOR LUCAS'S TERM IN OFFICE - - MAYOR LUCAS!

WHO FARMS SOME ACRES OF SOYBEANS AND CLAIMS HE'S A FARMER TO PAY LESS THAN $500 A YEAR ON HIS 5 ACRE FAMILY FARM UNDER MAYOR LUCAS'S TERM IN OFFICE - MAYOR LUCAS!

AND WHO GETS A SWEETHEART LAND DEAL THAT WILL PAY HIM MILLIONS OF DOLLARS UNDER MAYOR LUCAS'S TERM IN OFFICE ---- MAYOR LUCAS!!!!!

MANALAPAN DEMOCRATS - WE WORK FOR YOU!

Anonymous said...

Holt is stymied as he is unable to respond to one of his signature "accomplishments":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht5_NRVeH0M&feature=player_embedded

Misuing a tragedy and abusing a family said...

Rush Holt’s Shameless Manipulation Of the Bean Family

By Art Gallagher

It is sad to watch a highly esteemed member of our community be so easily manipulated by a heartless politician shamelessly fighting to save his career.

Make now mistake about it. Rush Holt is, and has been, manipulating Greg and Linda Bean, the former editor of the Greater Media Newspapers and his wife, for his own desperate political purposes.

Back in September, Greg accused this blog of conspiring with the Sipprelle campaign to play “dirty tricks” on the Holt campaign. Bean said he was convinced that the Sipprelle camp had put me up to posting “Abram Spangel’s” Rush Holt Champions Infanticide post and that Spangel is a pseudonym of mine. The truth is that the Sipprelle campaign wanted to distance themselves from Spangel’s posts before Greg reacted to that one. I am not Spangel. Bean milked the controversy he created for a couple of weeks in his column in the Greater Media newspapers and on their website. I maintain that Bean was looking to attack Sipprelle and used this blog as his excuse to get started.

In case your unaware, Greg and his wife Linda lost their son Coleman to suicide in September of 2008. Coleman had served two tours in Iraq and was seeking treatment from the VA for post-traumatic stress syndrome. Holt and Bean blame Coleman’s suicide on a “gap in the system” that doesn’t serve members of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), reservists who are not assigned to a unit. Greg wrote:

“He fell through the cracks. He had no advocate, no Army machinery to help him find his way through the system. He felt he was literally on his own. He made appointments with the VA to have an ulcer treated and to obtain treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Those appointments were postponed. He was still waiting when he took his own life.”

Holt reached out to console the Beans after their loss. Whether his initial gesture was genuine or political only he and God know. Since then, Holt has obviously been exploiting his relationship with the Beans for political purposes. During the spring of this year Holt promoted the legislation he introduced “to close the gap” in mental health care available to members of the IRR with great emotion and fanfare. He had the Beans testify in Washington and “earned” a lot of free media in the central jersey papers.--moremonmouthmusings.com

Misuse of a family (Part II) said...

"Holt reached out to console the Beans after their loss. Whether his initial gesture was genuine or political only he and God know. Since then, Holt has obviously been exploiting his relationship with the Beans for political purposes. During the spring of this year Holt promoted the legislation he introduced “to close the gap” in mental health care available to members of the IRR with great emotion and fanfare. He had the Beans testify in Washington and “earned” a lot of free media in the central jersey papers.

In his closing remarks at the Rider University debate with Sipprelle, Holt brought up the Bean legislation–”out of nowhere”–it had not been a topic during the debate–as a reason to reelect him.

Now the Holt campaign has an ad featuring the Beans tugging on the heart strings of 12th district voters, as if Holt’s efforts on their behalf are a reason to give the congressman another term:

In the ad, Greg Bean says Rush Holt has “worked on this (legislation) tirelessly.” Holt hasn’t work on it tirelessly.

Linda Bean says, “what we are talking about is legislation that will save someone’s life.” The legislation will not save anyone’s life.

Greg says, “Congressman Holt has actually been better than his word.” He hasn’t.

Holt approved the message and he has orchestrated the manipulation of the Beans.

Holt’s Congressional website, the one we taxpayers pay for, says the legislation he introduced in memory of Sgt. Coleman Bean has passed the House and awaits action in the Senate. It has not passed the House. It is buried in the Military Personnel sub-committee of the House Armed Forces Committee. Holt lied to the Beans and he is lying to his constituents on the website they are paying for.

Holt’s Congressional site, the one we pay for, goes on to say that on July 28 the House unanimously passed his amendment to allocate $20 million into the Fiscal Year 2011 Department of Veterans Affairs budget for direct advertising and the use of online social media for suicide prevention outreach. The House passed the funding bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and it awaits Senate passage.

Amendment to what bill Holt doesn’t say. But that it awaits passage in the Senate means it hasn’t happened.

If Rush Holt actually has worked tirelessly on his Bean legislation, he is incompetent. The legislation is not law. It is a campaign piece. It will not save any lives. If Rush Holt has been “better than his word” that is because his word has never been any good.

There is a strong argument to be made that Holt is incompetent. In the current Congress he has introduced 38 pieces of legislation. None became law. In the 110th Congress he introduced 52 bills. None became law. In the 109th Congress Holt introduced 50 bills. One, a resolution (not a law) passed the House and the Senate. That resolution recognised the 40th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s promulgation of Noestra Aetate. None of them became law. And so it goes.

Holt knows that the legislation he introduced for the Beans will never become law. He’s just using them for his campaign.

Hopefully the Beans will not be too bitter, or embarrassed, when they smell the coffee.

And hopefully Greg’s involvement in Holt’s campaign hasn’t cost him his column at Greater Media. His byline has been removed from their websites. Maybe that is just temporary until the election is over. If not, my offer to Greg to be published here stands.+

Anonymous said...

How pathetic is terminated "reporter" Kathy Baratta and her tiny little websites? Well, according to Alexa which tracks traffic on all websites, Kathy's manalapan site ranks 17,371,140. That's not a typo. There are 17,371,139 websites with more traffic than hers. And that takes into account the two hours a day Fred spends on the site. In other words, if every 20 people in the United States had their own website, hers would still be DEAD LAST. Her Howell website is doing only slightly better. To put this in perspective, Art Gallagher abandoned his blogspot website months ago to start a new MoreMonmouthMusings website. The site he abandoned months ago STILL RANKS 933,234. Kathy's site: ranks 17,371,140. A website abandoned months ago: 933,234. She's as good doing websites as she was reporting.

Anonymous said...

Drew Lucas had a million to pay for the land? Why can't he pay his own healthcare?

Anonymous said...

Why should Lucas pay for his own health care?

Why pay for something when you can get it from the taxpayers for free?

Anonymous said...

It's a word we've all heard before - - - CRIMINAL!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Yes, he received 10,000 of tax payer money for his personal attorney in the Moskman case. You know, the case in which the judge said he should not have participated at all because he had recently fired the Moskman.

You know the case he ran up 30,000 in legal fees and 100,000 in CME fees to try and show damages. You know, the damages in which the remediation company gave 5,000 of the 15,000 back because it was less of a spill that CME said it was. You know, the corruption in Manalapan!

Follow the money!

Anonymous said...

I would rather die than vote for that bastard Drew Lucas!

Misusing a Tragedy and Abusing a Family (I of II) said...

Here is the first part of Art Gallagher's piece on the Beans. It must have dropped through the cracks.

Rush Holt’s Shameless Manipulation Of the Bean Family

By Art Gallagher

It is sad to watch a highly esteemed member of our community be so easily manipulated by a heartless politician shamelessly fighting to save his career.

Make now mistake about it. Rush Holt is, and has been, manipulating Greg and Linda Bean, the former editor of the Greater Media Newspapers and his wife, for his own desperate political purposes.

Back in September, Greg accused this blog of conspiring with the Sipprelle campaign to play “dirty tricks” on the Holt campaign. Bean said he was convinced that the Sipprelle camp had put me up to posting “Abram Spangel’s” Rush Holt Champions Infanticide post and that Spangel is a pseudonym of mine. The truth is that the Sipprelle campaign wanted to distance themselves from Spangel’s posts before Greg reacted to that one. I am not Spangel. Bean milked the controversy he created for a couple of weeks in his column in the Greater Media newspapers and on their website. I maintain that Bean was looking to attack Sipprelle and used this blog as his excuse to get started.

In case your unaware, Greg and his wife Linda lost their son Coleman to suicide in September of 2008. Coleman had served two tours in Iraq and was seeking treatment from the VA for post-traumatic stress syndrome. Holt and Bean blame Coleman’s suicide on a “gap in the system” that doesn’t serve members of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), reservists who are not assigned to a unit. Greg wrote:

“He fell through the cracks. He had no advocate, no Army machinery to help him find his way through the system. He felt he was literally on his own. He made appointments with the VA to have an ulcer treated and to obtain treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Those appointments were postponed. He was still waiting when he took his own life.”

Anonymous said...

The more I read about Drew, the more I realize he's used Manalapan like it was his own piggy bank. He's paid lawyers with taxpayer money to go after his enemies in frivolous lawsuits that will cost Manalapan much more after they are settled. He had his own personal intern at taxpayer expense. He gets health and benefits for a part time job where he goes to one meeting am onth at taxpayer expense. Now he basically sells himself a nearly 100 acre tract of land, and wants to put the land in Farmland Preservation by manipulating the process to get taxpayers to give him over $1 million to pay him back for the land he will now own.

This guy is IMHO the worst pathetic corrupt politician in Manalapan history and does not deserve a third term in office. He's milked the system enough for his own gain. I'm done with him.

A registered Independent voter said...

I'm voting Democrat this year. Between what I've read in the Asbury Park Press and here, I realize I can't trust the Republicans. Especially in Manalapan.