BAYONNE — Although campaign forms for Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith’s 2010 election reported that the campaign received a donation from Ron Manzo on Sept. 22, 2009, records show the check was received in June, then processed and deposited in July, 22 days prior to Manzo’s arrest for allegedly brokering bribes.
Manzo was allegedly the go-between for government informant Solomon Dwek for several alleged bribery attempts that led to the arrest of 44 people last summer. Federal reports say Manzo held meetings in Bayonne, one of which was inadvertently witnessed by Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone in the back of the Light House Diner on Broadway.
Steve Gallo, chief of staff for Mayor Smith, said an investigation into the matter showed that the date of receipt was among three entries that were mistyped into the computer.
“This nothing more than a clerical error,” Gallo said.
How the mistake happened is still unclear, but Gallo said it was likely that someone typed in the September date instead of July.
The report issued to Election Law Enforcement Commission showed that the $500 check from Manzo was received on Sept. 22, instead of June 5. But Gallo, presenting deposit slips and other documentation for the campaign account at Bank of America, showed the donation was accepted prior to charges against Manzo.
Mayor Smith said that in light of the charges raised against Manzo, the money will be donated to the Bayonne Community Mental Health Center. Smith said a thorough review will be done to make certain mistakes of this kind do not happen again.- AS