FBI searches house of Trenton Mayor Tony Mack; Democrat denies any wrongdoing

FBI agents load a box of materials into an SUV outside Trenton, N.J., Mayor Tony Mack's house July 18, 2012, following a middle-of-the-night raid. / AP Photo/The Trentonian

Updated at 11:23 a.m. ET

(AP) TRENTON, N.J. - FBI agents staged a middle-of-the-night raid Wednesday at the home of Trenton's mayor, whose two-year administration of New Jersey's impoverished capital city has been marked by accusations of nepotism and reckless spending.

Mayor Tony Mack, 46, emerging later in the morning from his home, denied any wrongdoing.

"We have not violated the public trust nor have I violated any of my public duties and that's all I have to say on the matter," he said.

Rebekah Carmichael, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey, said the FBI was present at Mack's home earlier but said she could not provide any other details.

Mack's administration has been in turmoil from Day 1, staggering from one crisis to another. A housecleaning of staff at City Hall opened the door for Mack's own appointees, who quickly turned it into a revolving door. Some left over questions about their credentials, others to face criminal charges.

Under an agreement reached last year, the Democrat can only hire department heads from a pool of applicants the state offers or he risks losing $6 million in state aid.

A citizens group last year failed to get enough signatures to force a recall election.

In just Mack's first year in office in Trenton, a city of 85,000, he ran through a string of business administrators. The first resigned after a month, saying the mayor didn't believe in "good government." Another resigned just ahead of pleading guilty to embezzlement on another job.

His housing director quit after it was learned he had a theft conviction. His chief of staff was arrested trying to buy heroin. His half-brother, whose authority he elevated at the city water plant, was arrested on charges of stealing.

Questions have also been raised about how he financed his campaign for mayor.

A former longtime city employee sued the mayor late last year. The parks department employee said she was let go after refusing to dole out jobs for the mayor's friends, refusing to give federal grant money to people who didn't apply and for inquiring about city funds she said were missing.

The ex-employee also said she was replaced by a Mack supporter who never showed up for his $40,000-a-year job.

Trenton Councilman George Muschal, a retired police officer who had initially supported Mack but then became a harsh critic, said he didn't know the focus of the investigation but said "when the feds come after you, they come after you for a good reason."

Muschal said city workers regularly come to him with a wide range of complaints but that Mack is many times impossible to reach. "He's the commander-in- chief, he's leading the ship and I don't know where it's going. The man does what he wants," he said.

A year ago, Muschal told The Associated Press that City Hall had become corrupted by the Mack administration.

"It won't stop until someone takes him out in handcuffs or he's removed by recall," Muschal said at the time.

Trenton ranks as one of the nation's poorest state capitals, with about 20 percent of the population living below the poverty line. It also ranks among the country's most dangerous cities.

Mack, who has a master's degree in public policy from Fairleigh Dickinson University, has spent most of his adult life working for municipal government and as an elected county official.

[Free344]

Corruption in our government is much more prevalent than we imagine . Consider also the problem of corruption in our courts.

In a recent civil (non-criminal) federal case, the judge, together with close cronies, threatened a litigant, on the record, with "death" and seized 100% of the litigant's property, without any notice or hearing, prohibited him from hiring a lawyer, and essentially into a bizarre civil lockdown.

The litigant has been under this civil lockdown order for nearly two years, and is prohibited from having a lawyer, from owning any possessions, from freely traveling, from working, etc... The judge redistributed the litigants property to the judge's friends.

http://LawInjustice.com/ has details about this disturbing case and some quotes from the judge:

THE COURT: "I'm telling you don't screw with me. You are a fool, a fool, a fool, a fool to screw with a federal judge, and if you don't understand that, I can make you understand it. I have the force of the Navy, Army, Marines and Navy behind me."

THE COURT: "You realize that order is an order of the Court. So any failure to comply with that order is contempt, punishable by lots of dollars, punishable by possible jail, death"

[athena8]

Liberal Democrats being investigated? Does Holder know about this? This will fizzle out once he does. Tony Mack is black, right? The Prez will be at the podium soon telling the FBI agents they are stupid and wrong for raiding the mayor's home. No wonder Jersey is in the gutter financially.