Former Assemblyman Lou Manzo plans to hold a press conference next week to accuse federal prosecutors of misconduct in building a case against him ( yes, I’m aware that this is not new information ).
Manzo, who could once be reliably counted upon to run for Jersey City Mayor every four years will make his case after getting swept up as part of the 44 arrests last July.
But here is something that jumped out at me after a coupla phone conversations with him. On the morning of July 23, Manzo was put into a Newark federal holding cell with Hudson County political operative Jack Shaw. Manzo says when he saw Shaw ( who was not exactly a picture of good health to begin with ), he looked awful. he was “ashen,” hunched over and dozing.
Manzo proceeded to speak with Shaw for the better part of the three hours they were locked up together ( btw -I forgot to ask Manzo why he woke Shaw up if he looked so terrible ). Shaw said he had been picked up by authorities in the early evening the night before and taken to a hotel room in Secaucus where he was interrogated for “several hours.” Shaw allegedly told Manzo that they kept trying to get him to implicate Joe Doria. Shaw had made the introduction between informant Solomon Dwek and Doria ( who was serving as DCA Commish in the Corzine Admin. ). But it seems now that there was no quid pro quo. Apparently there was no evidence Doria ( who was never charged ) took the money, but the feds wanted Shaw to say that he did. Shaw supposedly refused. In the meantime he complained of not being able to get the food or medicine he needed while in custody throughout the night and into the next morning.
When asked about the nature of the interrogation Manzo says Shaw told him “Guantanamo’s got nothin’ on these guys.” Shaw died a week later,…an apparent drug overdose which Manzo believes was not intentional.
Zach – totally off topic, but why don’t you ask Dave Pringle how that Christie endorsement is looking right now?
Or should that Q wait until after Bob Martin’s Monday confirmation hearing?