By The Jersey Journal

The Jersey Journal

It's been a bad week for North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco.

James Wiley, the township's former Department of Public Works chief confessed to deploying DPW workers to work on various campaigns in Hudson County and having them do work on his home.

On the heels of that development came a report by The Star-Ledger of three no- or low-show jobs at the DPW, which Frank Gargiulo, the commissioner in charge of the department denies.

Two law enforcement officials also told The Ledger that there is an ongoing probe into possible wrongdoing in Sacco's administration. In all, about 65 people have been subpoenaed, including Sacco, since a raid of department offices in February, the officials said.

Sacco, who is also a state senator and assistant superintendent of schools in North Bergen, also continues to get strafed in ads and in Trenton by his political power rival Brian Stack, the Union City mayor and state senator.

Then today, in The Auditor column in The Ledger, it is revealed that Denis Jaslow, who admitted taking bribes as part of 2009's Operation Bid Rig III sting, told the FBI in August 2009 that Sacco approved his "low-show" job at the Hudson County Board of Elections.

James Wiley pleaded guilty today to conspiring to have Department of Public Works employees perform chores at his home and work on election campaigns while being payed by the township. 

 

Jaslow, who ran against Sacco in North Bergen in 2003 and then opposed him for state Senate, told the FBI he gained Sacco's approval through Tim Grossi, North Bergen's deputy commissioner of public works.

Grossi declined to comment to The Auditor.

"Jaslow knows Sacco had to approve him getting the job, but he never spoke to Sacco about it," the FBI report says. "Jaslow stated he has no relationship with Sacco."

Sacco spokesman Paul Swibinski told The Auditor that Jawlow's claims are rubbish.

"The statements he made are not true," Swibinski told The Auditor. "He is obviously not a credible person and no one should believe him."