Speculation rages after Janiszewski resigns amid federal probeIn the hours leading up to the sudden resignation of longtime County Executive Robert Janiszewski Thursday afternoon, life went on almost as normal in the county buildings. People bustled through the halls, footsteps clattered through the tall vestibule of the old courthouse, computers beeped in the myriad of offices. But the faces of those closest to the county executive showed the excruciating agony of that moment, many near tears as they struggled to continue their chores, most carrying with them a look of shock so deep it was as if someone close to them had died.
“What we need is a wake,” said one of the higher-echelon employees during a quiet moment before the county freeholder meeting later that night. “But that’s just not something we’re going to get. This is going to get worse before it gets better.”
Janiszewski resigned abruptly at 3 p.m. Thursday from the office he had held for 13 years. Although Janiszewski’s resignation letter cited nonspecific “personal reasons,” county sources confirmed that the FBI has been actively pursuing an investigation in Hudson County in the last several weeks.
Sources said that Janiszewski had been wearing a wire for several months as part of a federal attempt to probe local corruption.
Janiszewski, a lifelong and current Jersey City resident, won his office, the highest in Hudson County, in 1987. He has chaired prominent Democratic campaigns in the state, including Pres. Bill Clinton’s election bid in 1992, and has served on the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He has also been serving as chairman of the county Democratic party.
In an emergency closed session meeting Thursday afternoon, county officials discussed how to deal with the sudden move. Officials said that Abe Antun, the county’s longtime business administrator, will serve as acting county executive until an election for the position can be held.
Janiszewski sent his resignation via a letter and was not at his offices Thursday. In fact, he had not been into work in two weeks, and will not be coming back. He will take sick and vacation time until the resignation becomes effective Oct. 1. Although some have speculated that he is in the protective custody of the FBI, two newspapers said that he has been at his vacation home in upstate New York. Janiszewski’s main residence is in Jersey City.
Freeholder Chairman Sal Vega said people were “shocked and saddened” over the resignation Thursday, and attempted to curb speculation or political posturing.
“We need to work together to ensure that county government runs smoothly and that all necessary services are delivered to the people of Hudson County,” Vega said before the Thursday freeholder meeting.
Grim day
After 13 years, the workers closest to Janiszewski had come to respect – and in some cases – even love their boss.
“He was a wonderful man to work for,” said one of the clerks in the press office a few hours before the resignation was made official.
“He was funny,” another worker said. “He had a great sense of humor.”
“Janiszewski never looked down on anyone,” said Carol Ann Wilson, director of the county’s Social Services.. “He treated everyone as an equal.”
Workers said he made a point of asking people how their day was going. Even the humblest employees walked with tilted heads at news of his resignation.
Many of the workers were near tears as the announcement was made, shaking their heads and struggling to make sense of one of the most dramatic moments in recent Hudson County history.
“This isn’t something that happens every day,” said Freeholder Bill O’Dea. “While I’ve had my disagreements with the man, I don’t wish him any ill.”
In the hectic moments just after the resignation was announced, TV cameras sought to capture the grim expression of County Spokesperson Jacob DeLemos. Workers in Janiszewski’s office stared out from under the gold letters of on his class door, looking haggard as soldiers under siege, as if they expected the media to knock down their door in search of answers.
In some ways, Janiszewski’s office is symbolic of the man, his huge desk surrounded by walls of books and awards, signs of his history in education (he had taught at a local university) and his two decades of accomplishments in public service.
Rumors of his resignation had circulated for days, with some officials claiming they had heard word as early as August 26 that the resignation was imminent.
FBI reportedly reeled him in
Reliable sources said FBI agents had allegedly caught Janiszewski on surveillance tapes late last year during a sting operation involving a company with whom the county did business. Janiszewski apparently then agreed to work with the federal agents by allowing conversations in his car to be tape recorded. Several sources said they believe Janiszewski had been wired since January. Janiszewski is noted for conducting business while traveling between public appearances.
Several sources said the FBI shut down the probe in August and escorted Janiszewski out of a League of Municipalities meeting in Atlantic City. He has not been at work since that time. Janiszewski’s resignation letter was typewritten, but not on county stationary, indicating that he had written it from a remote location without access to his office or its facilities.
Guards and staff at the Brendan Court House on Newark Avenue in Jersey City, where Janiszewski has his offices, confirmed the FBI had been in the office over the last several months and had taken records. Some staff members said they had been asked questions by the FBI regarding Sen. Robert Torricelli’s fundraising for the 1996 senate campaign. Janiszewski, chairman of the Democratic Party in Hudson County, had helped Torricelli get the Democratic nomination that year. At the time, local Rep. Bob Menendez (D-13th Dist.) was reportedly upset at the move, as was Jim McGreevey, this year’s Democratic nominee for governor.
Reliable sources claim that aspects of the federal investigation may include activities in Hoboken, Union City, Secaucus and Carteret. The FBI has had a presence in both Hoboken and Union City over the past few years, subpoenaing various documents, although no widespread indictments have resulted.
Developer said to be involved
Sources have said that the FBI’s recent visit to the offices of a major Hudson County developer is tied in with the probe. At the end of August, FBI officials came to the offices of Hoboken-based real estate developer Joseph Barry, whose company, Applied Housing, has built thousands of affordable and market-rate housing units in Hudson County for 30 years. The FBI took documents from the company.
A newspaper account said that after the FBI took the records in August, they asked Barry to become a cooperating witness in the probe, but that Barry refused.
Barry declined to comment on the matter last week, referring questions to his attorney. Attorney Joseph Hayden would not comment on whether Barry was a target of the probe. Hayden did say that Barry is not a cooperating witness in the investigation.
Hayden said that when the federal agents visited, “We certainly during the course of the search cooperated with the federal agents in turning over materials and we will cooperate with any legal process. At the end of the day, I believe there will be no finding of wrongdoing against Joe Barry.”
When asked about the nature of the investigation, Hayden continued to decline comment, saying only, “The investigation will go where it will go.”
The public won’t pick a replacement
Janiszewski’s resignation is effective Oct. 1, but he immediately began taking vacation and sick leave last week and will not return to his office.
“While I am on terminal leave, you will have full authority as ‘Acting County Executive’ to discharge the duties of that office until a successor is selected in accordance with statute,” Janiszewski wrote in a letter to County Administrator Abe Antun. “I will not be exercising any authority or participate in any discussions or decision-making during this period.”
If Janiszewski had resigned on Sept. 6, state law would have required a special election to be held this November. Then, the public could have chosen Janiszewski’s successor.
But it’s not to be.
Instead, the delay will allow the county Democratic committee to choose a replacement.
Antun’s appointment is for 30 days, unless that Democratic committee cannot come up with a name for someone to serve until a special election in Nov. 2002. Two meetings of prominent Democrats were slated for last week, one in Jersey City or Bayonne and a second possibly in Kearny over the weekend. But a source said a meeting in Jersey City had already determined whom the next county executive may be – an executive banker named Bernie Harwig. The battle for the position divided the county, a source said. Rep. Robert Menendez and several north Hudson politicos supported Freeholder Sal Vega of West New York for the post. But Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham, North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell and Bayonne Mayor Joseph Doria reportedly supported Harwig. The formal announcement will be made in early October, the source said.
Janiszewski’s spot as county Democratic Chairman is expected to be taken by Vice Chair Willie Flood.
In a brief statement issued before the Hudson County Freeholders’ regular meeting on Sept. 6, Antun assured the public that the administration would continue to run smoothly. He said he would be contacting mayors and other elected officials around the county to convey this message.
What next?
Meanwhile, county and municipal politicos are tying up the phone lines wondering who might come under indictment as a result of the Janiszewski sting.
Rumors connecting the matter to other past investigations were also flying fast last week. One prominent source in the county claimed the FBI would likely revisit a previous investigation involving former Hoboken and Hudson County auditor Joe Lisa, who died four years ago of a heart attack amidst a federal probe; it is not known whether the probe was into activities in Hoboken or on the county level. Such speculation could not be confirmed, however.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey and the Newark office of the FBI declined comment on any of the investigations.