Axis-Of-Greed Lawyers Target Brick Schools; Greed Flunkies Reject Competition, Say "It's A New Day;" No-Bid Contracts For Gilmore, McGuckin, Sahradnik

Corruption Of Political Process Continues In The Wake Of Attempts By Greed Coalition To Suppress Citizenship Rights In Berkeley, Dover, Seaside Heights

Several months ago, after the famous smear meeting at the office of Republican county chairman George Gilmore, OCP predicted that the Axis-Of-Greed would make a move on the taxpayers of the Brick school system.

All of the ingredients were there. Frank Pannucci, a commissioner on the Ocean County Utilities Authority who is a Brick school board member and a flunky in Gilmore's patronage operation, was handed a plum in the form of a job for his son, Frank Pannucci Jr. in the Brick Assessor's office.

Acropolis Son-In-Law Got $60,000 Clerk's Office Job

Gilmore and Pannucci had paved the way for the appointment of Kevin Toye, the son-in-law of Brick Republican mayoral candidate Steven Acropolis, as a $60,000 confidential assistant in the Ocean County Clerk's office.

And the Republicans had tried unsuccessfully to give Gilmore a $50,000 no-bid contract to make "changes" in the Brick administrative code, a gig which fouled the new government process when Gilmore got a $90,000 no-bid contract in Dover from pay-to-play prince Gregory McGuckin, a partner in the no-bid contract law firm which includes Jerry Dasti, chairman of the Ocean County Republican finance committee.

Dasti Committee Raised $4 Million In Pay-To-Play Funds

The finance committee raised more than $4 million in blatant pay-to-play contributions in the last three years. The Dasti-McGuckin law firm received more than $1 million from no-bid contracts from public agencies in 2004.

McGuckin is also the Council President in Dover Township and a candidate for re-election in the November election.

We take no pleasure whatsoever in announcing that the OCP prediction has come true with the appointment by Pannucci and a new greed-scam majority on the Brick school board of McGuckin, Gilmore and the lawyer for the Republican freeholders, Jack Sahradnik, as the new trio of no-bid attorneys for the Brick schools.

Does This Make McGuckin The All Time County Hypocrite? Stay Tuned To OCP

The trio of no-bid Brick contracts comes at a time when McGuckin is trying to palm himself off as the champion of competitive bids for professional appointments in Dover.

Pannucci Suspends Ethics Rules To Permit No-Bid Pacts

The charade started with a motion by Pannucci to suspend the ethics rules to allow the appointment of the three attorneys without getting competitive quotes for their services.

Sahradnik was appointed board counsel; Thomas Monahan, Gilmore's partner, was appointed counsel for litigation, and McGuckin was appointed for workers compensation matters.

Montenegro Got The Boot After 13 Years

The three axis-of-greed principals replaced board attorney Nicholas Montenegro, who served for more than thirteen years.

Montenegro is a Republican, but is not known as part of the Gilmore-McGuckin greed conspiracy that has given Ocean County a hidden patronage and payoff tax that may exceed $100 million a year because of a proliferation of no-bid contracts and other scams like the Brick school board.

Talty Previously Insisted On Competition,
But Now He Says "It's A New Day"

When asked why he switched from his past insistence on going out for bids on professional contracts, board member John Talty, one of the Pannucci phonies who voted to appoint Gilmore, McGuckin and Sahradnik, said "it's a new day."

It is not known whether Talty or one of his relatives will receive an appointment or a job on the public payroll.

Citizenship Rights Under Attack By Greed Coalition

The axis-of-greed patronage machine continues to roll on in the wake of suppression of basic citizenship rights in Berkeley, Dover, Seaside Heights and other communities which will be the subject of more OCP articles.

For Gilmore Smear Meeting Coverage, Click Here

This article prepared for publication 5/7/05.