Month: May 2012

News

The Hudson Reporter and Beth Mason: more ‘splaining to do

The expected showdown in Union City Municipal Court last week where a BoE trustee would face down a Beth Mason political operative in a trial after over six months of hearings finally will be heard June 7th.  That only scratches the surface of what’s transpired.

The trial where harassment charges by one elected official against the political operative of another has been ignored for months in town even as MSV has dropped hints for quite some time before finally writing an exclusive back in late April. Read More...

News

Monarch Project heads to Hoboken Planning Board June 14th

Hoboken Residents for a Public Waterfront announces:

The Hoboken Planning Board meeting to review the Monarch at the Shipyard application has been re-scheduled for the final time.  This last re-scheduling secured a special meeting and a large enough venue to hold all the residents opposed to this project.  The meeting is now scheduled for 7pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012 in the Wallace School gymnasium at 1100 Willow Avenue.  This special Planning Board meeting will only have the Monarch project on the docket.  It is incredibly important that you come out and show your displeasure with the overdevelopment of our neighborhood.  This remains the most important meeting in our fight and gives us the opportunity to be heard by our local city officials.  As a reminder, Applied Development made a commitment (and signed a Developer’s Agreement) to the city of Hoboken in 1997 to put in much needed public space as part of the city’s approval for their original residential project.  Now that all 1,160 residential units are complete and occupied, Shipyard Associates has come back and is trying to amend the original application with the goal to residentially develop this last plot of land rather than provide the promised open space.  They should not be able to get away with this.   Read More...

News

Sign of the Times: The FBI up the road

The FBI was spotted early last Thursday morning in West New York for the arrest of Mayor Roque.

According to a Jersey Journal story, Mayor Felix Roque will not resign his office after being charged with breaking into a HCDO computer and taking down a new website calling for his recall.

Residents of upper Hudson Street and 10 Church Towers should be vigilant for early morning picture taking opportunities.

Photo courtesy of NJ.com by arrangement.

News

Helping Ruben Ramos understand the meaning of Memorial Day

Assemblyman Ruben Ramos put out a twitter but from the content, he’s in that special needs category of people who don’t bother to note the distinction between honoring those who have fallen in serving our Republic and those who have served.

Da Horsey decided to provide this education to Assemblyman Ramos so he doesn’t make the embarrassing habit of doing so on an annual basis.

Talking Ed Note: Just because Ruben Ramos doesn’t understand the Memorial Day holiday doesn’t mean you can’t vote for him for mayor.  You can.  Then again why do that? Read More...

News

Checkbook mercenary journalism: How to get noticed and influence the editors at the Hudson Reporter

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There’s checkbook journalism, yellow journalism and then there’s mercenary journalism sold to the highest bidder.  For a month the rumblings about a feature on local “blogger excess” at the Hudson Reporter was stalled with a bullseye aiming for this website and another political target, our colleague who generates most of the heat with her ever cherished Zoning Board seat: Grafix Avenger.

The Hudson Reporter reveals a hand, somewhat intentional it appears, in its long time dealing with a fishy mercenary after a recent avalanche of paid ads from Councilwoman Beth Mason.  The output is a less than credible newsworthy effort by Al Sullivan in his column last weekend. Read More...

News

Hey FinBoy, Copy this!

As most people are stretching out the final day of a holiday weekend, Grafix Avenger is already back to work or is it play with a new satirical story penned by Weehawken’s favored Hoboken non-resident at the Hudson Reporter – FinBoy.

We’re not sure what moniker Weehawken residents go by for the former member of Mayor Richard Turner’s administration who has long hitched his political operative services to the bottomless checkbook across the way with Beth Mason’s rise or as is the case today, demise. It’s going to be a slow, torturous ride down for a lot of folks on the Mason payroll and they are legion with a crew at Union City Municipal Court last week.  The problem for FinBoy is everyone gets a first row view of the filthy defamatory operation he concocted with Beth Mason at the Hudson Reporter and it’s reached the Anti-Defamation League. =&0=&
Beth Mason thought her paid political operative James Barracato would
settle some vindictive scores by having the Hudson Reporter do a
hit job on Grafix Avenger and MSV.  Instead they and their underhanded
methods have been exposed from Hoboken to the ADL.

Now almost two years old, this satirical cartoon only gets more insightful over time. So for the thousands of new readers since, here is the original smash hit in its full 10 minute hilarity, the James B and Bet Mazin love story “Downfall of a wannabe shark.” Read More...

News

Beth Mason’s paid hatchet man James Barracato gets his pound of flesh

On Tuesday MSV will highlight weekend stories at the Mason Distorter, more commonly known as the Hudson Reporter.  It’s what they don’t say you’ll find most fascinating.

As MSV’s been tracking this for weeks, the rumor Grafix Avenger would become the target of a Mason paid political operative proved out.  Last Da Horsey heard, Councilwoman Beth Mason’s henchmen lives in Weehawken, and never has lived in Hoboken.

He sure gets a lot of attention there though doesn’t he. Read More...

News

Mayor Zimmer on computer intrusion – accountability for the crime

From Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s twitter account:



Talking Ed Note: Nothing ambiguous here, no moral handwringing just a matter of fact statement on theft and misusing electronic information and accountability.

You think we will be hearing that in a release today from MORTE council members?

Yesterday Councilwoman Beth Mason issued another email blast about the City’s efforts led by Councilwoman Jen Giattino to bring business to Hoboken in the 2014 Super Bowl.  More of the same inaccuracies with more fabrications added on. Read More...

News

Official release from Newark on Mayor Roque and son’s arrest

The United State’s Attorney’s Office
District of New Jersey announces:  

West New York, N.J., Mayor, Son, Arrested For Hacking And Disabling Website Calling For The Mayor’s Recall


 

NEWARK, N.J. – The mayor of West New York, N.J., and his son were arrested today for allegedly hacking into an e-mail account and website associated with a movement to recall the mayor, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Felix Roque, 55, of Hudson County, and Joseph Roque, 22, of Passaic County, are charged by Complaint with gaining unauthorized access to computers in furtherance of causing damage to protected computers; causing damage to protected computers; and conspiracy to commit those crimes. Felix and Joseph Roque are scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark S. Falk in Newark federal court. “In this case, the elected leader of West New York and his son allegedly hacked into computers to intimidate constituents who were simply using the Internet to exercise their Constitutional rights to criticize the government,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who illegally hack into computers and disable websites with the goal of suppressing the exercise of that right.” This case illustrates two primary concerns of law enforcement, the violation of public trust and cyber intrusion,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward said. “In this instance, an elected official conspired to hack into a website and email account. It’s incredibly disappointing that resources have to be diverted from protecting the US against cyber intrusions targeting critical infrastructure, federally funded research and military technology, to address a public official intruding into computer systems to further a political agenda.”

According to the criminal Complaint unsealed today:

In early February 2012, a Hudson County resident and public official anonymously established and moderated an Internet website, www.recallroque.com, to post commentary and criticism of Mayor Felix Roque and his administration. On Feb. 6, 2012, Mayor Roque and his son, Joseph Roque, schemed to hack into and take down the website and to identify, intimidate and harass those who operated and were associated with the website. By the late afternoon of February 8, 2012, Joseph Roque had successfully hacked into various online accounts used in connection with the recall website. Joseph Roque then used that access to disable the website. Mayor Roque harassed and attempted to intimidate several individuals whom he had learned were associated with the recall website. The conspiracy charge and the charge of gaining unauthorized access to a computer in furtherance of causing damage to protected computers are each punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of causing damage to protected computers carries a maximum potential penalty of one year in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark with the investigation leading to the arrests.

The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Kosto of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Section of the Office’s Economic Crimes Unit and Barbara Llanes of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark. Read More...