Special Edition: Sleaze Seeps into Clifton

This just in — THE STATE has received numerous disturbing reports from the City of Clifton concerning political intimidation, strong-arm tactics and vendettas.

As both a former Governor and an adamant proponent of our American Democracy, I am, on a personal level, deeply disturbed by reports that pay-to-player and Attorney of Non Distinction Mark Semeraro has been making intimidating phone calls to members of the Clifton School Board, potential candidates and members of the community at large. Semeraro was District 40 Assemblyman Scott Rumana’s campaign manager when Rumana ran to be Mayor of Wayne. When Rumana won the election he installed his bromantic partner as township attorney earning nearly $90,000 annually.

The April Clifton School Board election has apparently turned into a proxy battle between elements of GOP Strong, a Passaic County based splinter Republican group, allied with former Passaic County Republican Chairman Michael Mecca and those loyal to Passaic County Regular Republican Organization and Assemblyman Scott Rumana.

Let’s set aside for a moment that Rumana’s ally on the board, John Traier, is a double dipping pension padder and Governor Jon Corzine appointee (don’t worry we’ll get to Traier soon). Let’s also set aside for the moment that Scott Rumana’s primary interest in the Clifton school board is to get his wife promoted from her $56,650 a year job in the Clifton school system.

The issue here is that numerous people involved in Clifton’s school board have received intimidating and threatening phone calls from Attorney of Non Distinction Mark Semeraro, a misogynist who threatens women. Yes, you read that correctly, it was reported last year that Semeraro violated a restraining order against him and was held on $100,000 bail. And, as I understand it, the restraining order against Semeraro still stands to this day.

Semeraro, who once had his license to practice law suspended for nonpayment of his attorney registration fees and who has in the past been rumored to have bitten – yes bitten – an exotic dancer has the audacity to play enforcer, threatening candidates for school board with the “wrath of Scott Rumana.”

While Semeraro has been playing the heavy behind the scenes, Rumana and his allies have been grandstanding on mismanagement, patronage and corruption at the PVSC. All the while Rumana’s actual godfather as well as his political Godfather, former Democratic Congressman Robert Roe has been collecting a minimum of $10,000 per month at the PVSC. Talk about Chutzpah!

But what makes the situation even more appalling is that Rumana and his loyalists are maligning Mecca at a time when it is well-known that Mecca’s daughter is seriously ill and in a coma. With this knowledge, Rumana and Semeraro have called his friends and neighbors boasting about how they will “take Mike’s job.” Some of those receiving such calls are not very involved or particularly influential in Clifton politics.

Considering that courthouse documents reveal Semeraro was caught watching hours upon hours of pornography on the taxpayer dime, it is simply unbelievable that he has the nerve to badmouth and besmirch Mecca for allegedly performing political activities while working at the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission.

Yes, that is correct: the same Semeraro had Gary Matzko fired from Wayne Township when Matzko discovered Semeraro had spent countless hours viewing pornography on township computers, pornography so disturbingly unspeakable that I could not possibly describe it here.

The hypocricy is so brazenly clear that we have to ask Mr. Semeraro: do you really want to start getting into improper use of computers while on the taxpayers’ time?

Apart from acting as the messenger for Rumana’s “wrath,” Semeraro is also founder of Republican Alliance, which apart from Garden State Equality, is one of Traier’s biggest campaign donors and takes money from some of the most crooked players in politics, including individuals connected to South Jersey Democrat kingpin George Norcross and former Bergen County Democrat boss Joe Ferriero. Please see our review on Republican Alliance for more information.

Talk about unconscionable sleaze!

Semeraro, Traier and Rumana are some bad guys, as well as hypocrites.

Those familiar with these three have come to expect such sleazy, filthy clowns to play in the dirt, but political intimidation and threatening Mecca’s job with his daughter in a coma is a new low for this cabal of crooks.

Well maybe not a new low, but their actions are still appalling. Here at THE STATE we strive to chronicle the events of the day with news and opinion. We strive to avoid advocacy journalism to the greatest extent possible; however, with regard to these three cowardly lowlifes, we say “game on.”

We promise to focus as much effort as possible in to investigating and exposing every aspects of these unethical sleaze bags.

We apologize to those of you readers who find this material to be harsh, but we believe this story is one that the public needs to be informed about.

Stay tuned for updates on this topic in the coming days.

And that, ladies and gentleman is your Freditorial for the week.

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