For years, there has been an awful stench emanating from the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners. But it's not what you might think. No, it isn't the odor of raw sewerage that Detective Frank Drebin loved so much in Naken Gun 2 1/2. Rather, it's the stench of corruption. Misconduct, patronage, nepotism, misuse of public resources...it's all been the norm for years at the PVSC. But there's a new sheriff in town, and he's flexing his political muscle to bring about significant changes to the culture of the agency.
It all started a couple of weeks ago, when the Newark Star Ledger ran a front page story exposing the crooked deals and insidious practices of the commissioners who oversee the PVSC. According to the article, the commissioners engaged in unethical behavior on an epic scale, including the awarding of lucrative, no-bid contracts and using the agency as a piggy bank for both family members and friends. The number of relatives and close friends of the commissioners who were on the organization's payroll was staggering. Several of them were pulling in exorbitant salaries for no-show jobs.
A simple search on "New Jersey by the Numbers" tells the tale. Three of the agency's employees were earning (I use that term lightly) over $200,000 per year. Fifteen more were making more than $150,000 per year. There were sixty-three making between $100,000 and $145,000, and fifty-one earning between $90,000 and $99,000.
Another disturbing allegation, one that exposes the role that politics played at Passaic Valley, has to do with tickets for political fundraising events. Apparently there is reason to believe that tickets were being sold at the authority on behalf of campaigns by supervisors — contributions that employees were being pressured to make out of fear of retribution. "Buy a ticket or lose your job" seems to have been the mantra of those who were in power at PVSC.
With a $161 million budget, PVSC handles the waste of 48 communities in Bergen, Hudson, Essex, and Passaic counties. Thus there were political hacks from all over northern New Jersey riding the gravy train. Chairman Anthony Luna hailed from Lodi. Vice Chairman Carl Czaplicki Jr. is the Director of Jersey City's Department of Housing, Economic Development, and Commerce. Commissioner Thomas Powell is from Harrison, and William Flynn, the lone Passaic County resident in the group, lives in Wayne. The mayor of Garfield, Frank Calandriello, served as one of the commissioners, as did Angelina Paserchia, former mayor of Belleville. The seventh member is Kenneth Lucianin, a former Democratic appointee of Governor Jon Corzine.
When news of the scandal broke, Governor Christie went to work immediately. He demanded the resignation of six of the seven commissioners, sparing only Lucianin, who he is maintaining as his at-large representative. I suppose it's encouraging to know that at least one of the commissioners had some integrity. But the rest were all entangled in a web of duplicity and dirty deals, painting bullseyes on their backs for the former U.S. Attorney. Four of them went down without a fight, resigning almost immediately. Two others, Calandriello and Paserchia, briefly held out, most likely to consult with attorneys to see if they had even a ghost of a chance to keep their jobs. But they too resigned in the end, allowing the governor to emerge victorious from yet another battle with New Jersey's corrupt civil servants.
Forcing out the "surreptitious six" was just the beginning though. Several salaries have now been cut, mainly for those earning $100,000 or more. Three high-level managers — including the former ethics officer — have since been arrested on charges of official misconduct in connection with allegations they used PVSC employees to perform repairs and improvements on their homes while they were supposed to be at work. The chief financial officer abruptly resigned and five others — one the wife of a commissioner — were fired on Wednesday. More than ten other employees have either retired or quit the agency since news of the scandal broke, apparently trying to hide from potential prosecution.
There is another outrageous piece to the puzzle that seemingly has not yet come to light though. The PVSC has often been used as a waiting room for retirement, allowing the commissioners to pad the state pensions of their friends and families through the awarding of no-show jobs. Here's how the scam worked.
Say that I'm one of the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners, and my buddy, Joey, is planning on retiring from his state job in the near future. If you know how the New Jersey state pension system works, then you know that it is based on the average of your three highest annual salaries. For the sake of argument, let's say that Joey's average is $60,000. I want to take care of my good friend, so I decide to give Joey a no-show job that starts him at $85,000. He rarely, if ever, comes to work, but he's on the payroll as making $85,000. I keep him on the payroll for two more years, with his salary increasing to $90,000 in his second year and $95,000 in his third year. Now, the average of Joey's three highest annual salaries has jumped from $60,000 to $90,000, a 50% increase.
To calculate the pension payout, you multiply that amount by a fraction, which consists of your years of service as the numerator and the number 55 as the denominator. To keep it simple, let's say that Joey has worked for the state for 27 1/2 years. The fraction then gets simplified to one-half. Multiply it by the three-year average, and you'll see that I just helped Joey increase his annual pension payout from $30,000 to $45,000.
Unfortunately, this has been going on unchecked at PVSC for as long as it has existed. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how this impacts the pension system and overall state finances. There is no doubt that this kind of corruption is one of the major reasons why New Jersey is on pace to go bankrupt within the next five to ten years. But now, thanks to Chris Christie, the abhorrent practice is about to end.
Thank God we now have a governor who is strong enough to stand up to the evildoers, and unwilling to cater to anyone, politicians or unions, just for the sake of acquiring votes. For once, we have hope of reversing the culture of corruption in New Jersey that has dominated the political landscape for far too long. Even the teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other union employees who despise Christie and secretly (or not so secretly) wish for his death have to give him credit for displaying such fortitude. Hopefully, he'll be able to fill the empty commissioners' seats with people of character, bring those who have abused their power to justice, and eliminate all of the no-show jobs that may still be lingering on the payroll. It's ironic that an organization whose role was to rid our towns of waste couldn't clean up their own act. Instead, they needed a bold, resolute leader to do it for them. Thank you, Governor Christie, for not backing down and for sending the PVSC villains where they belong: down the drain.
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