Lodi By The Numbers: January 2024

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Sounds Like What Patty Licata and Joe Licata Were Doing in Lodi...

Link to article:

https://www.nj.com/essex/2024/01/nj-school-employee-is-board-presidents-dad-complicating-disclosure.html

For every bad conflict of interest story reported in the news, you can find a worse case in Lodi.

This is tolerated in New Jersey because the Phil Murphy administration filled it's department of education with actual criminals- people previously convicted of taking bribes while in public employment. It's all relative.

This is "public education" in New Jersey when districts are overrun with nepotism and corruption (Lodi, North Bergen, Newark, etc). All the money in the world can't fix these districts overrun with nepotism and corruption.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

A Response Like this Would Be Expected from John Cannizzaro. This Response Just Strengthens Any Future OPRA Cases Against the Lodi Board of Education.

John Cannizzaro has no comment on his Board's multiple OPRA violations or the articles attached to my email.

Link to my email that triggered Canizzaro's immature and unprofessional response:

http://lodioverhaul.blogspot.com/2024/01/email-submitted-to-all-lodi-board-of.html

Link to an email from November 2020 on the subject:

http://lodioverhaul.blogspot.com/2020/11/opra-request-and-email-copied-to-all.html

Furthermore, John Cannizzaro and Karen Viscana are two broken records that spew the same lies. I ran independently and voted independently. I was never part of any political group. In fact, Nancy Cardone, Donald Scorzetti, Joe Leto, and Marc Schrieks voted for me to be Board President. I never would have voted for any of them.

Severely disturbed Karen Viscana and John Cannizzaro along with the misfits at the NJEA are intent on destroying public education. And they have.

Viscana and Cannizzaro see "public education" as a employment agency for family and friends. They measure success by how much NJEA leaders can pocket for themselves. They measure success on how much fraud, waste, and abuse can be covered up by my Nancy Cardone's Board.

As Karen Viscana is driving around town and asking everyone imaginable to run for the Lodi BOE as a Cardone puppet, ask her why so many Lodi families are opting for charter schools and private schools.

Ask Karen Viscana why taxes weren't lowered in recent years as the Board was receiving millions more in additional State Aid.

Viscana and Cannizzaro failed Lodi. They destroyed our public education with their toxic politics and financial mismanagement.

Phil Murphy and His Administration Interfered in Lodi Investigations and Complaints. They Worked to Reverse Fines Against Tony Luna. No Surprise that Scott Luna Endorsed Tammy Murphy.

Past post on the subject:

https://lodioverhaul.blogspot.com/2023/11/when-will-scott-luna-and-vinny-martin.html?m=1

Monday, January 29, 2024

The Murphys' Shameless Self-Promotion Using the Taxpayers' Money...

Link to story:

https://nypost.com/2024/01/29/metro/phil-murphys-office-using-taxpayer-resources-to-promote-wife-tammys-bid-for-us-senate/amp/

Sunday, January 28, 2024

“Giacobbe” is Billing Lodi More than Past Attorneys. “Giacobbe” is Redacting Invoice Items that Had Never Been Redacted Before. Lodi BOE Members and the Mayor and Council Have Failed to Provide any Accountability, Transparency, or Oversight. Instead, they Have Allowed Lodi to be Ripped Off in the Dark.

Link to “Giacobbe” invoices approved by the Lodi Board of Education in December:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SlAcb3biERqDj1BbJjShrytuSPcEUxDU/view?usp=sharing

Link to “Giacobbe” invoices approved by the Lodi Mayor and Council in December:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-C5dY3DSD60AgT2kMbBH65696I13uqQn/view?usp=sharing

Matthew Giacobbe is being paid with Lodi tax dollars. Matthew Giacobbe is redacting almost every subject line, so the public is not able to see what he is supposedly working on and how much he over bills for any specific item. Giacobbe is citing “attorney-client privilege” as an exemption for almost everything. I had been OPRA-ing legal invoices for the past decade and received invoices from at least five different firms. No other firm had done what Giacobbe had done. There usually are no redactions being invoices are public records and attorneys anticipate that they can be OPRA-ed and should be drawn up accordingly.

Lodi is allowing “Giacobbe” to rip off the taxpayers without any oversight or accountability. Lodi is allowing “Giacobbe” to redact its own invoices. Lodi is allowing “Giacobbe” to use “attorney-client privilege” to redact public items and public information that have nothing to do with “attorney-client privilege”. This is an abuse. This is the recipe for theft and misappropriation of public funds. This is an intentional violation of the Open Public Records Act.

In 2017, I called out past Board Attorney Tony Sciarrillo for illegal billing and for lying about it. Sciarrillo was forced to reimburse the district thousands of dollars. During the ordeal, Sciarrillo stated at a meeting and on tape that attorney invoices are public records and firms must draw up a set of invoices in anticipation that a member of the public files an Open Public Records request.

Past Board attorneys may have initialed names appearing on invoices. They never made redactions throughout invoices by citing “attorney-client privilege”.

“Giacobbe” is a dishonest firm that over bills for inferior legal services. It’s in Giacobbe’s interest to redact all of their invoices. The blame for OPRA violations lies with others. Lodi’s interim Business Administrator, Michael Rinderknecht, is the custodian of records. He has prior experience in other districts as business administrator. He has to be aware of what can and cannot be exempt under OPRA and that exemptions should be as specific as possible and not as broad and general as “attorney-client privilege” for everything. Instead of doing his job, he delegated his duty to the firm whose invoices are at issue and in question.

The blame lies with Lodi Board of Education members and members of the Lodi mayor and council that approve Giacobbe’s bills without ever reviewing them. Elected officials can either be advocates for transparency or opponents. Many took campaign contributions from “Giacobbe” and in turn allow the firm to rip off Lodi in the dark.

Reminder: the over redacted legal invoices are not the only blatant OPRA violations by the Lodi Board of Education since the installment of “Giacobbe” and allowing “Giacobbe” to oversee Lodi’s OPRA process. They illegally redacted the recommendations on public audits. They illegally redacted public settlement agreements. They withheld public hearing submissions during COVID that were submitted electronically and readily available. They redacted Nancy Cardone’s emails that didn’t contain confidential information.

Email Submitted to All Lodi Board of Education Members: Unexplained claim of “attorney-client privilege” alone to redact Giacobbe’s legal invoices

To: nancy.cardone@lodi.k12.nj.us; laura.cima@lodi.k12.nj.us; alfonso.mastrofilipo@lodi.k12.nj.us; joseph.ramos@lodi.k12.nj.us; karin.gilcher@lodi.k12.nj.us; jocelyn.anderson@lodi.k12.nj.us; john.cannizzaro@lodi.k12.nj.us; yadiria.jimenez@lodi.k12.nj.us; paula.cortez@lodi.k12.nj.us
Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2024 11:07 AM
Subject: Bad Practice: Unexplained claim of “attorney-client privilege” alone to redact Giacobbe’s legal invoices

To All Board Members:

This week, your custodian of records, Michael Rinderknecht, provided me an OPRA response using an unexplained claim of “attorney-client privilege” alone to redact Giacobbe’s legal invoices. This is unacceptable. Linked below is some information on the subject:

Lawnside NJ: OPRA activist wins fight for attorney records (courierpostonline.com)

OPRA Win in the Appellate Division | Bergen County NJ Lawyers (njlawfirm.com)

You pay the Giacobbe firm enough money (all public funds) to require that it produce a set of legal invoices that can be readily available to the public without redactions.

As members of a public body with a ballooning budget, you all should be advocating for transparency and open government. No good government operates in the dark.

Ryan Curioni

"But it also found attorney-client privilege “ordinarily does not apply to lawyer's bills for services to a public entity.""

Link to article:

Lawnside NJ: OPRA activist wins fight for attorney records (courierpostonline.com)

From the New Jersey State League of Municipalities...

Michael Rinderknecht and Lodi Board of Education are using an unexplained claim of "attorney-client privilege" alone. It's not enough.

Matthew Giacobbe should be using billing that contains no confidential information as past attorneys have.

This is all about a politician run, pay-to-play firm unable to justify its billing. When you have so many attorneys milking the system, you don't want the public to see any subject lines.

Sharon Salvacion Used Her Board Seat to Get Her Daughter a $40,885.20 Raise.

Prior to Sharon Salvacion selling her Board seat with a resignation, her daughter's base salary was: $76,918.90.

After Sharon Salvacion sold her Board seat with a resignation, her daughter's salary jumped to $117,804.

Matthew Giacobbe Lists an Unnamed Paralegal for Billing Thousands of Dollars to “Redact Tuition Contracts”:

Link to the over redacted, padded bills:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SlAcb3biERqDj1BbJjShrytuSPcEUxDU/view?usp=sharing

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Someone Impersonating a "Reporter" Wrote an Article About Someone Impersonating a "Republican"......

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Cara Castronuova Confronts Dirty DOJ Attorneys that Jail Innocent Protesters While Protecting Murderers in the Capitol Police...

Link to video:

https://rumble.com/v48ppco-dirty-department-of-justice-swamp-creatures-confronted.html

Monday, January 22, 2024

Sharon Salvacion Sold Her Board Seat. Her Family Will Receive the Promised Payment this Week.

The Lodi Board is so bad and so predictable. Past post on the subject:

http://lodioverhaul.blogspot.com/2023/12/was-sharon-salvacion-offered-financial.html

Nancy Cardone only recruits candidates that are driven by greed and susceptible to bribes. So much for the Lodi Board of Education being an unpaid, volunteer position.

Sunday, January 21, 2024

It's Great to See Public Officials Being Held Personally Liable for Damages When Violating Others' Constitutional Rights...

Link to story with arrest video included:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/01/ohio-officials-arrest-after-criticizing-sheriff-public-meeting/

Candidate Filing Deadline for the Lodi Board of Education is February 26th at 4 P.M.

Nepotism Nancy Cardone and her mindless puppets moved Lodi’s school Elections to April in hopes that nobody votes so they can continue their nepotism, abuse, and waste without consequence. They must be removed and replaced.

This Week's Consent Agenda for the Lodi Mayor and Council...

Link to Agenda for this week’s meeting:

Agenda (lodi-nj.org)

Monday, January 15, 2024

Instead of Targeting Pro-Life Clinics, Phil Murphy's Attorney General, Matt Platkin, Should Be Targeting Strip Clubs that Sell Prostitution and Cocaine and NJEA Presidents that Steal Benefits and Stipends...

Phil Murphy and Matthew Platkin

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Phil Murphy and Scott Luna Mark Every Lodi Flood with a Photo Op and Self-Praise but Never Any Substantive Action. Lodi Floods Have Only Worsened Years After Luna and Murphy Began Gushing Over Each Other...

A photo op from a few years ago show Scott Luna and Phil Murphy all smiles for their photo op as too many Lodi residents were devasted by a flood.

Poor planning and excessive over development have only worsened the situation. But when Lodi politicians are bought and paid by wealthy developers, that will never be part of the conversation.

Scott Luna hired Gary Paparrozi as Lodi's Planner and Scott's father was on the payroll of the Main Street developer. Need I say more?

Lodi residents should ask Phil Murphy what has he personally and specifically done to address Lodi flooding after he has been using Lodi floods for years to promote himself. He says he will use his "bully pulpit" to ask the federal government to do something. How has that worked out?

Lagana and Swain have used flooding as an issue for their generic campaign mailers over the years. What have they personally and specifically done to address Lodi flooding? Swain is obsessed with abortion and Lagana is obsessed with enriching himself through "Giacobbe" influence peddling. Neither seems much interested in anything else.

What has Lodi's congressman, Bill Pascrell, personally and specifically done to address Lodi's flooding problem? Where is Pascrell? Sleeping somewhere?

Matt Platkin Engaged in Unlawful and Unconstitutional Actions on Behalf of Planned Parenthood. It's Great to See Phil Murphy's Attorney General Being Sued.

Link to statement from Alliance Defending Freedom:

https://adfmedia.org/case/first-choice-womens-resource-centers-v-platkin

Matt Platkin spends all his time and our State tax dollars colluding with the NJEA and Planned Parenthood to attack the constitutional rights of anyone opposing them.

Matt Platkin is incapable of administering the law. He should be the one being subpoenaed and prosecuted.

Did Matt Platkin Wrongfully Deny Record Requests to Protect Josh Gottheimer, Mary Amoruso, and Other Anti-Christian Bigots Aligned With Phil Murphy?

Past news reports show that the unconstitutional attacks on Evangelical groups were led by Josh Gottheimer and other bigoted office holders at the direction of Planned Parenthood. Past post on the subject:

https://lodioverhaul.blogspot.com/2023/10/josh-gottheimer-and-bergen-county.html?m=1

There have to be some public records involving Josh Gottheimer's office and the Phil Murphy administration. And that likely is the reason why Phil Murphy's administration wrongfully denied records requests and then flat out lying about the records' existence. Hopefully, much is revealed in the lawsuit against Matt Platkin.

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Matt Platkin Wrongfully Denied Records Requests Because Those Records Would Show that He Was Working for Planned Parenthood. "In July, the court ruled that the state had improperly denied access to the requested records, and it compelled the state to conduct a search."

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

The Invoices of Fani Wiilis' Lover Were Released to the Public. Is Matthew Giacobbe the Only Attorney in the Nation that Gets to Conceal His Taxpayer Funded Legal Bills from the Public?

Matthew Giacobbe's emails and correspondences may be concealed using "attorney client privilege". His legal invoices cannot.

How bad is Matthew Giacobbe's billing that he spent years blacking them all out in violation of the Open Public Records Act?

Matthew Giacobbe is not above the law just because he has a Democrat State Senator and a Republican Assemblyman as partners in his firm.

Legal invoices from at least 5 different firms have appeared on this blog over the years. As bad as those attorneys were, none violated OPRA like Matthew Giacobbe.

Sunday, January 7, 2024

The Politician Run/Pay-to-Play Firm "Cleary Giacobbe" Shows $17,640 on the December Bills for the Borough and $11,984.19 on the December Bills for the Lodi Board of Education...

With all the payments going to Alan Spiniello and the other political firms, these additional large bills for “Giacobbe” raise a lot of red flags.

The Giacobbe firm has a history of dishonest billing and illegally redacting invoices to cover it up. Any public entity should have an independent party determine what should and should not be redacted in Giacobbe's bills once requested through the Open Public Records Act. "Giacobbe" should not be in a position to black out entire invoices and then bill the taxpayers even more for their illegal redactions.