Politics

Is Hoboken, Finally, the Worst-Run City in the United States?

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In the June issue of the magazine, I wrote this:

Hoboken, New Jersey, is not exactly known for its good governance. Steve Cappiello, mayor from 1973 to 1985, was arrested for drunk driving in 2007 after ramming into a parked government car and then fleeing the scene. Thomas Vezzetti, mayor from 1985 to 1988, was called "the wackiest mayor in America" by the New York Daily News. And the corruption and bribery of Anthony Russo, mayor from 1993 to 2001, was so over the top that he was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.

Today's news brings this:

A New Jersey assemblyman and the mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus were among public officials arrested this morning by FBI agents in an international money laundering and corruption probe that includes rabbis in the Syrian Jewish communities of Deal and Brooklyn.

Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt (R-Ocean), Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell and Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega are among those already brought to the FBI building in Newark. Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini has also been arrested.

Well, at least property taxes only went up 47 percent this year!