HOBOKEN – Mayor Dawn Zimmer released a letter to the Hoboken City Council this week saying that until two weeks ago, former Mayor Anthony Russo had been receiving “insurance/health benefits” from the city of Hoboken that he did not qualify for. She said the information was uncovered in a recent audit.
Russo is a former Hoboken teacher who was defeated for a third term as mayor in 2001 and pleaded guilty in 2004 to mail fraud for having accepted bribes in office. He was treated for brain and lung cancer during the last year of his term.
Zimmer’s letter said that “Russo did not qualify for these benefits because he did not retire on a disability pension, nor, under any circumstances, obtain twenty five years or more of creditable service with the Public Employees Retirement System.”
Russo’s son, Michael, represents the 3rd Ward on the Hoboken City Council and is up for re-election in May. His challenger, resident Greg Lincoln, released a press release late Tuesday night demanding “an explanation for why Councilman Michael Russo overlooked the health benefits that his father, former Hoboken Mayor and convicted felon Anthony Russo, has been illegally collecting from the city.” Lincoln noted that Russo had talked at a City Council meeting about other employees who were found to be unfairly receiving health benefits.
Lincoln stated, “It is outrageous that at a time when people are struggling to pay their own health care costs the Russo family is caught yet again taking care of themselves at the expense of the Hoboken taxpayer.”
Lincoln cited two
Reporter articles giving information on the subject.
Anthony Russo is also supposed to reimburse the city for $300,000 as part of his sentence.
A response from Michael Russo will be posted when it is received.
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