For most of the 13 years Robert Janiszewski served as Hudson County executive, county vehicles didn’t display the name of the county, but rather his name. In fact, there was hardly a park, playground or public building constructed during his tenure that did not bear his name.
After Janiszewski later pled guilty to eliciting bribes, county officials eradicated Janiszewski’s name from the vehicles, as well as from signs of country projects such as housing developments funded by the county. But not all distinctions were removed.
Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone (D-31st Dist.) recently noted this in drafting new legislation that would allow public officials to remove names of convicted corrupt officials from public spaces.
Janiszewski pled guilty to charges of extortion and tax evasion in October 2003, admitting in court that he had taken more than $100,000 in bribes connected with his official duties. His sentencing this week has been postponed.
In June 2003, former Freeholder Nidia Davila-Colon was convicted of passing bribes from a vendor doing business with Hudson County to Janiszewski.
Other county officials have been charged with crimes committed while in office. Two weeks ago, former Freeholder William Braker was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for extorting $3,000 in payments from a county vendor.
In drafting the bill during the same week Janiszewski was slated to be sentenced in federal court, Chiappone noted that the former county executive’s name is still on the 37th Street plaque leading into Stephen R. Gregg Park on Kennedy Boulevard. The plaque also bears the name of Davila-Colon and Braker.
Chiappone said the bill would give governmental bodies the right to remove plaques and other such signs from public spaces if the official has been convicted of crimes associated with misuse of his office.
More than that, the bill would force the convicted official to pay for the work or suffer a lien on his personal property.
Chiappone said he was in the park when someone pointed the plaque out to him.
“As with many of my bills, this one was precipitated by a constituent who brought what he felt was an outrage – the placement of the Janiszewski plaque with William Braker as well – in the place with Medal of Honor Awardee Stephen R. Gregg, whom the park was named after,” Chiappone said.
But not all public officials believe Chiappone’s measure has merit.
They contributed
Several freeholders and other local officials called the bill a waste of time, saying few people actually read the plaques once they are placed. But Chiappone said some people do, and that officials that violate the public trust should not get honored in such a way.
“Given the specter of corruption that permeates this county, I would think that all elected officials would be supportive of any legislation which would strive to change our image of being a corrupt county and the joke of the state,” he said.
Chiappone said municipalities and other governmental bodies already have the option to have these things removed.
“Municipalities and counties would be able, under this bill, to retrieve the cost from the convicted former elected official him or herself,” he said. “In the case of Janiszewski, right from his state-paid pension which I believe he will still get. It’s important to note that the bill pertains only to those elected officials who have committed crimes related to their positions while in office.”
Oddly enough, Chiappone may get support from outside his own party. Secaucus Board of Education member and sometime-gadfly Tom Troyer, who has been an avid anti-corruption figure over the last several decades, agreed that this permission for public bodies to remove names would be a valuable tool in curbing the misperception that people like Janiszewski can leave a lasting positive legacy, after disgracing the office they held.
“It is a brilliant idea,” said Troyer, who has been contacted by the Republican Party as a possible candidate for the state Assembly in the 32nd District. “If I run and I’m elected, I’ll certainly support this bill.”