Edward “Bo” Scannavino said that he was suddenly jostled out of bed early last Sunday morning when he heard two loud crashes in his home.
“I immediately went to check on my 8-year-old son, who I let sleep on the couch, because he was watching television,” said Scannavino, a former township construction official and known political foe of Mayor Nicholas Sacco. “When I came downstairs, I found that an 30-foot iron rod was thrown through my dining room picture window. I went outside and saw that someone had smashed the windshield of my car [a 1988 Mercedes Benz].”
Scannavino, a critic of Mayor Nicholas Sacco, said that he believed the attack was politically-motivated. He makes no bones about his hatred for Sacco, a man who he once supported for mayor 12 years ago, the same man who had him removed from his township position two years later.
How deep is the hatred? Scannavino has an eye-catching sign posted in front of his home, warning people about the mayor, stating that Scannavino feels he’s corrupt. The sign has been there for about a year, boldly proclaiming Scannavino’s feelings.
Scannavino is allied now with former township clerk Joseph Mocco, who was released from prison last year on felony racketeering charges.
“Last October, [code official] Lou Scala came to my house and told me that if I didn’t remove the sign, I would be subject to fines, because neighbors were complaining,” Scannavino said. “But there were no complaints.” After the incident last weekend, the North Bergen police were called to the scene and a police report was filed, but there have yet to be any arrests in the matter.
Sacco vehemently denied having anything to do with the attack. He called it an “old political ploy” and a “publicity stunt.”
“Everyone has indicated to me that it was a very suspicious incident,” Sacco said. “There was the broken window and a very cosmetic break to his car windshield. If there were a political motive behind it, it would have been an attack on the sign. But the sign has been completely ignored.”
Sacco said that similar incidents used to occur against political foes regularly in the 1970s.
“The whole thing reeks of a throwback to the ’70s,” Sacco said. “No one was there to see who did what. I just hope that the police could solve this. I’m surprised and a little concerned that newspapers want to report about this publicity stunt.”
Last Wednesday, at the regularly scheduled township commissioners’ meeting, Scannavino became incensed and charged past the gate that separates the township officials from the spectators. Scannavino first accosted township attorney Herb Klitzner and pointed a pen directly in his face. After calming down for a few seconds, Scannavino went through the gate again, this time directly heading to the face of Sacco, before police officers escorted Scannavino out of the commissioners’ chambers.
“His actions today, going through the gates and confronting the Mayor and Herb Klitzner, flying into a rage and screaming, seems to give credence to the fact that Mr. Scannavino is looking for publicity,” said township spokesman Paul Swibinski. “It was a scripted performance by a phony. He hopes to provoke a physical altercation in order that he could be arrested, to get more publicity. It makes me think that the whole thing is a publicity stunt.”
Scannavino has a history of causing problems at commissioners’ meetings. He has appeared at every single meeting since last year. Some 15 years ago, Scannavino was charged with assaulting then-Mayor Anthony DeVincent by kicking him. He was charged with disorderly conduct, but the charges were later dropped.
This time, Scannavino defended his actions.
“He [Sacco] accused me of doing this myself,” Scannavino said. “Would I do this to my family? How can he say that in the papers? I have an 8-year-old son who was terrified by the whole thing. It was criminal and something that shouldn’t have happened. And he tells me I did it to my family? That’s why I went after him. He needs help. He’s sick in the head. Any decent man would have said he was sorry for what happened. He calls it a publicity stunt. That was carrying it all a bit too far.”
Added Scannavino, “As for Klitzner, he kept telling me to shut up, so I told him to shut up. We only get five minutes to speak, but every time I speak, I get interrupted. So if he’s telling me to shut up, then I’m telling him to shut up. That’s the reason why I went after both.”
Sacco said that he had nothing to do with the incident and that the police department will investigate it to the fullest.
“I’m trying to keep it all in perspective,” Sacco said. “We all know who the opposition is and people will learn the truth as well. I don’t see them as being viable opposition. They’re noisy and unsavory, but not viable.”
Scannavino still cannot believe that Sacco thinks the incident is strictly a publicity stunt.
“For another family man to accuse me of doing that to my own family is sick,” Scannavino said. “I’m going to inflict that on my own family, in the middle of the night? That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard. I’m appalled by him.”
Scannavino said that he will continue to regularly attend the meetings, despite what happened to his home and what occurred at the last meeting.