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Asbury Park Press

TUESDAY 03.17.15

Mixing

Hi-Fi
Wi-Fi
and

Device plays vinyl records and

a lot more TECH TUESDAY, 6A

Brick, landlords at odds over animal house law LOCAL, 3A

GETTY IMAGES

Deliberately engineered traffic jams on the Fort Lee side of the

George Washington Bridge in 2013 put scrutiny on the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates it.

Override of
reform veto
falls short

MICHAEL J. RITACCO

JAMES F. HABEL

JOSEPH M. FERRAINA

District: Toms River Regional

Final salary: $234,000
Career lowlight: 11-year prison
sentence for accepting $1 million
in bribes

District: Wall
Final salary: $224,000
Career lowlight: Facing 5-year
sentence for official misconduct
and falsifying records

District: Long Branch

Final salary: $242,550
Career lowlight: Named in 2011
sex slave civil lawsuit filed
by former secretary; case settled
for $600,000.

LAST IN
CLASS

Port Authority changes

blocked by 2 governors
MICHAEL SYMONS @MICHAELSYMONS_
TRENTON An effort by lawmakers to force re-

forms on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, over the objections of governors of both states, fell
predictably short on Monday.
Lawmakers in New Jersey and New York passed
identical legislation last year to improve accountability
and ethics rules at the powerful but often mysterious
bistate agency, which fell under increased scrutiny after the lane-closure scandal at the George Washington
Bridge, which it oversees.
But the unanimous approvals did not move either
Govs. Chris Christie or Andrew Cuomo, who vetoed the
reform bills passed by their respective legislatures. In
New Jersey, the state Senates veto override Monday
fell two votes short.
Any override would require support from three Republican senators or six Republican Assembly members to reach the needed two-thirds majority.
Its extremely disappointing, said Senate Presi-

BARBARA A. TRZESZKOWSKI
District: Keansburg
Final salary: $173,389
Career lowlight: State sought to void her
$556,290 retirement bonus as
excessive; she settled for $50,000

School chiefs missteps ranged

from big perks to federal crimes
SHANNON MULLEN @MULLENAPP

Wall schools chief James Habel left one exclusive club, and joined another. No longer a mem-

ber of New Jerseys elite superintendati, he now finds himself among a group of ex-school district bosses who left their
privileged posts under dubious circumstances.

See OVERRIDE, Page 7A

Each of the superintendents

was gifted enough for their
school boards to shower them
with high salaries, luxury cars,
generous expense accounts and
other cushy perks. They were
treated like corporate CEOs, educational Zen masters, and rain-

H. JAMES WASSER
This is a corrupt organization. ... Every
opportunity I have to say I dont support a corrupt
Port Authority, I want it reined in, Im going to
support that. Ive done it in the past, Im going to do
it here today, and I hope to do it some more in the
future.

ith his criminal conviction last week, former

District: Freehold Regional

Final salary: $215,000
Career lowlight: Received a fake
doctorate from an online diploma mill
that boosted his pay by $2,500

makers of state aid. Habel himself was once hailed as a visionary.

Some of the officials even had
buildings named after them.
Now, their names are forever
See CHIEFS, Page 4A

STATE SEN. MICHAEL DOHERTY, R-WARREN

What to know about Christie town halls as gov heads here

BOB JORDAN
@BOBJORDANAPP

There really is no telling what will transpire at a Gov.

Chris Christie town meeting.
There was the time Christie lectured an art teacher
for nine minutes after he was accused of crippling
school districts with budget cuts.
There was the time Christie called a Navy SEAL an
idiot.

Those flare-ups and numerous other YouTube moments occurred as Christie engaged the public in the
seemingly tranquil meeting format that helped the Republican governor become a national figure.
Christie recently returned to the town hall circuit after a six-month hiatus and will be at the National Guard
Armory in Freehold Township today. The start time is 3
p.m., and doors open at 1:30 p.m.
Here are seven things to know about Christie and his
131 town halls:

1. If you want to go, you can get in.

Christies plunging approval ratings might have
something to do with empty seats at town halls the last
three weeks in Moorestown, Fair Lawn and Somerville.
Back when Christie was a popular first-term governor,
seats were hard to come by.
If you want to do an optional RSVP, the email address
is TownHall.Freehold@nj.gov.
See TOWN HALL, Page 7A

CLINTON TOOK MANY TAXPAYER-FUNDED FLIGHTS AS SENATOR PAGE 1B

HEALTHY LIVING

Couple
needs
a lift

Jersey Madness
N.J. players to root for in NCAA
Tournament. SPORTS, 3C

Howell man, 75,

raising money to
help care for his
wife. Page 1D

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VOLUME 136, NUMBER 65

SINCE 1879

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