About a year ago, an elderly woman on Tonnelle Avenue was complaining about a disturbing noise that kept her up late at night. She had nowhere to turn, except to make one call.
“I have to call Max Moses,” she said.
Around the same time, a group of elderly Hispanic people felt that they were the victims of a scam artist who offered low-cost insurance. They were victims – until Max Moses received word of the scam. Soon after, the fraudulent insurance agent was behind bars.
Two years ago, Moses instituted a bilingual consumer hotline in order for Spanish-speaking residents to get help when they were cheated or swindled by businesses.
Over the last decade, hundreds of people – both North Bergen residents and out-of-towners alike – called upon the foremost consumer advocate in Hudson County to help them with all sorts of consumer fraud instances, health issues, scam plans and other concerns. All that time, Moses, who served as the director of the township’s Consumer Affairs department, was the first to help.
That voice was silenced Sunday when Moses, who also served as the town’s deputy mayor, died at Palisades Medical Center after a brief illness. He was 82 years old.
Max Moses was a fixture in Hudson County politics and government over the last 50 years, first as a county committeeman serving Weehawken and then later becoming the president of the Weehawken Regular Democratic Organization.
During his two-decade tenure in Weehawken, he also served as the chairman of the Juvenile Conference Committee, the commissioner of the Weehawken Housing Authority and the chairman of the Rent Leveling Board.
After moving to North Bergen in 1974, Moses began to serve on the county committee, representing his new hometown. He served under former Mayor Leo Gattoni on the Hudson County Council of Mayors and was also an officer and board member of the North Hudson Community Action Corporation.
In 1985, Moses was introduced to then-commissioner Nicholas Sacco for the first time.
“I could tell from the first meeting that he was a dedicated man with a desire to serve the people,” Sacco said last week. “I met him through his association with the North Bergen Tenants’ Organization and almost from the start, we became very close. I knew he was someone I should be associated with, because he always wanted to be involved.”
When Sacco was elected mayor later that year, he made sure that Moses was part of his administration.
“He was strong and solid,” Sacco said. “People relied upon him. It was his idea to start the consumer affairs department in town and he helped so many people. If anyone had a problem, they called Max. He would constantly call the Better Business Bureau over issues that really affected our residents and people who didn’t even live in North Bergen. He was always involved in something.”
Deputy mayor, veteran
In 1991, Sacco appointed Moses to become the town’s deputy mayor.
“I know that when I asked him to serve as deputy mayor, to represent me at events that I couldn’t attend, that he was elated,” Sacco said. “He really enjoyed that position immensely and took the position to heart.”
Sacco was deeply saddened by Moses’ passing.
“It’s been a heartbreaking week,” said Sacco, who also mourned the passing of long-time Board of Education president Mary Calabria. “Max was just very dedicated to helping people solve their problems. That was his life. He was so robust and active and persistent when he felt someone was being harmed. It’s a tremendous loss to the township. He was just a terrific person.”
His daughter, Hudson County Assistant Counsel Robin Moses, fondly recalled her father’s passion to help people.
“He was always interested in public service,” Robin Moses said. “He enjoyed helping the citizens, whether it was getting them a new TV for a defective one or preventing people from being evicted from his working on the Condo Board. He had a very positive attitude in his job and was a go-getter.”
Before he concentrated on public service, Moses was a regional account manager for Schering-Plough International Pharmaceutical Company. He was named National Account Manager of the Year several times as recognition of his salesmanship.
Moses was the first director of the Department of Consumer Affairs when it was created in 1986, and that same year was named chairman of the newly formed Senior Citizen Condominium Conversion Board.
Moses was also a member of the New Jersey and North Bergen Tenants Organizing Committees. He worked endlessly in tenants’ rights and advocacy.
Moses was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. He served as a sergeant major in the Army Air Corps for four years.
He was a life member of both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Air Force Association. He was a member of McDowell VFW Post, North Bergen, and a charter member of the World War II Memorial and the Air Force Association Memorial.
What saddened Sacco further was that Moses was just about to retire.
“When he fell ill last year, he put in his paperwork to retire,” Sacco said.
His last official day was to be Friday, March 15, which meant that Max Moses truly served North Bergen and the people of Hudson County to the very last day.