‘Jersey Sting’ authors return to scene of the crimes

HOBOKEN AND BEYOND – Ted Sherman and Josh Margolin, authors of “The Jersey Sting,” will sign copies of their book this afternoon at Hoboken’s now infamous Malibu Diner.
The 386-page book, released earlier this month by St. Martin’s Press, is an in-depth account of the events leading up to the July 2009 arrests of 44 religious and public officials in New Jersey and New York. (Two others would later be arrested in the massive Federal Bureau of Investigation sting that became known as Operation Bid Rig, bringing the total number of people arrested to 46.)
Hoboken’s Malibu Diner was among the choice meeting spots where con-artist-turned-government-informant Solomon Dwek met several Hudson County public officials to solicit their help with phony real estate deals in exchange for campaign contributions – all while the feds taped and photographed the meetings.
It was at the Malibu, for instance, that former Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano uttered his notorious quip about how he planned to treat people who were against him in his bid for mayor. During an April 27 meeting with Dwek, Jersey City political consultant Jack Shaw, and former councilman Michael Schaffer, Cammarano told the informant, “This is the way Mr. Schaffer and I both see the world through the same lens, right. In this election, hopefully, we, we, we, you know, we get to the point where I’m sworn in on July 1st, and we’re breaking down the world into three categories at that point. There’s the people who were with us, and that’s you guys. There’s the people who climbed on board in the runoff. They can get in line. . . And then there are the people who were against us the whole way. They get ground . . . they get ground into powder.”
Relive all the sting’s best moments with Sherman and Margolin today from 3:30 to 5 p.m. as they sign copies of the book and answer questions about the federal investigation that rocked the Garden State. The Malibu Diner is located at 257 14th St. in Hoboken.
For a review of “The Jersey Sting,” be sure to pick up your local Hudson Reporter newspaper this weekend. – E. Assata Wright