River City: Superior Court Judge Marlene Lynch Ford denied a demand by famed attorney Harry Levin to keep the names of Robert K. Haelig Jr. and Richard Schiff on the caption of the lawsuit filed by pay-to-play architect Massimo Yezzi against Haelig, Schiff and OceanCountyPolitics. Levin is Yezzi's attorney.

Levin Fights With Judge Ford About Caption Change

Levin, whose keen mind appears at times to waver towards petty irrelevancies, demanded that Judge Marlene Lynch Ford keep the old caption with Schiff and Haelig's names in it,  even after Levin dismissed defamation charges against Schiff and Haelig, who are now no longer defendants in Yezzi's lawsuit.

Dismissal of the charge against Schiff and Haelig made the original case caption (Massimo Yezzi vs. Robert Haelig, Richard Schiff & OceanCountyPolitics) grossly inaccurate, a reality that seemed to escape the grasp of Levin, despite his wide recognition as one of the premier lawyers of Ocean County.

Alleged Lies, Recklessness Not Yet Identified By Levin, Yezzi

Levin and Yezzi, who accused OceanCountyPolitics of "lying" about them, and of publishing material "in reckless disregard for the truth," have not yet identified a single alleged "lie" nor have they given any examples of the alleged "recklessness" in the complaint they filed.

The argument over the words in the caption occurred during a case management conference in Judge Ford's court, as the Judge said she would change the caption to Yezzi vs. OceanCountyPolitics to make it accurate, after telling Levin she had the authority to make the obvious correction to conform to the current status of the case.

Levin Says GOP Committeeman Yezzi "Is Not A Public Figure"

Schiff and Haelig were dismissed as defendants after Levin acknowledged that Yezzi's claim of defamation is "based on our contention that Mr. Yezzi is not a public figure," an assertion that Levin may have serious trouble with, despite his self-proclaimed exalted status and his "usual charge" of $375 per hour.

Levin contention that Yezzi is "not a public figure," appears to fly in the face of numerous facts.

Former Point Pleasant Councilman; Now
A Dover Township Republican Committeeman

Yezzi was a councilman in Point Pleasant until 2003 and was elected in the Republican primary election last year to a two year term as a member of the Ocean County Republican Committee from Dover Township's District #53.

Yezzi has also made numerous public statements at public meetings on public issues and is the appointed official architect for several public agencies including the Ocean County Board of Freeholders.

Poster Boy For Pay-To-Play No-Bid Contracts

Yezzi is also a Poster Boy for the pay-to-play bi-partisan Ocean County greed circus, having received millions of dollars from public agencies in Ocean County as a result of no-bid "professional" contracts and has, on at least one occasion, represented that appointments for nearly $2 million in the Berkeley School system were "competitive" when, in fact, they were clearly not "competitive."

May Have Glommed More Taxpayers Money Than Anybody

Yezzi may have received more pay-to-play contracts and glommed more taxpayers money than any other public figure in  Ocean County, including champion-caliber no-bid contract players like Republican County Chairman George Gilmore and GOP Finance Committee law firm associates Jerry Dasti and Gregory McGuckin.

Yezzi Attended Gilmore Smear Meeting

Yezzi was one of the public officials who attended the December 3rd smear and intimidation meeting at Gilmore's Allen Street offices to set up a campaign to smear, intimidate and silence critics of the pay-to-play system and their part in it.

Yezzi Wrote "Aromatic" $5000 Political Check

Three days after the Gilmore smear meeting, Yezzi wrote Gilmore's political action committee, the famous Republican Chairman's PAC, a check for $5000, one of the most aromatic political contributions in Ocean County history.

The $5000 was in addition to numerous political contributions which Yezzi uses to reward public officials and political candidates who just happen to vote him lucrative no-bid "professional" contracts.

April Yezzi Is Women's GOP President

Yezzi's wife April is President of the Ocean County Women's Federation; she was handed a $70,000 job which originally had the title "Assistant Business Administrator" at the Central Regional School system by officers of the Berkeley Republican Club who double as members of the Berkeley School Boards.

If Yezzi is "not a public figure," then Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush are not "public figures."

But Levin\ says Yezzi is not a "public figure," just your average rich nice-guy pay-to-play architect. Go figure and Good luck!

Click Here For Part I: Smear Campaign Planned By
Chairman Gilmore, Boss Clement At Secret Meeting

A Lot More Coming Soon - Thanks For Tuning In!

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