Passenger Trains > NJ Transit messes with the mob

The Bergen Record has an article today about a complicated lawsuit involving NJ Transit and Carmine Franco. Mr Franco was once a power in NJ garbage hauling operations. He owned a key parcel of land which was needed to complete the site for a now cancelled Hudson River Tunnel project.

NJ Transit obtained the land through condemnation during the Jon Corzine administration, as that governor attempted to get the tunnel started before he ran for re-election. He lost, and Chris Christie cancelled the tunnel. By then, NJT had obtained the land, which remains unused. However, the land underneath was heavily polluted, and suspected of being polluted back in 2008.

Now, NJT would like Mr Franco's family to pay for the clean up. However, NJ law requires that if a government agency condemns land, they have a limited time to require the owner to clean it up. That time has long passed. In the last few years, the surrounding land has been developed for upscale condo projects, made more valuable by NJ Transit's own light rail, which passes nearby. NJT has already spent more than two million dollars on litigation, maybe they should just give it back to Mr Franco and his family?


http://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-transit-challenging-8-1m-land-deal-with-mobster-s-family-1.1114198

Maybe they can threaten Franco's familty that if they don't take back the land they will force them to let Jon Corzine "invest" their money?

njmidland Wrote:
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> Maybe they can threaten Franco's familty that if
> they don't take back the land they will force them
> to let Jon Corzine "invest" their money?

I wonder what the mob folks pollute land that they owned with. Scary thought.

Problem is, the state just can't give the property back to the previous owner.
They own it and are responsible, just like any other land owner, for the clean-up costs.

Oh for petes sake. Clean it up. It will just be another jobs project. NJ already spends tons of money making jobs for people.

pdt Wrote:
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> Oh for petes sake. Clean it up. It will just be
> another jobs project. NJ already spends tons of
> money making jobs for people.

Hazardous waste removal is not just another jobs project.
You have to be trained and certified to do this job.
Something the high school drop outs you normally see on "make work" project don't have.

Jishnu Wrote:
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> njmidland Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Maybe they can threaten Franco's familty that
> if
> > they don't take back the land they will force
> them
> > to let Jon Corzine "invest" their money?
>
> I wonder what the mob folks pollute land that they
> owned with. Scary thought.


Jimmy Hoffa?

Doug Wetherhold
Macungie, PA

God forbid the land be perc (percolation) tested prior to NJT acquiring the land

Posted from Android

pdt Wrote:
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> Oh for petes sake. Clean it up. It will just be
> another jobs project. NJ already spends tons of
> money making jobs for people.

This is NJ we are speaking of. First they will fill the pockets of dozens of lawyers and then they will find some friend's outfit that is certified to clean up hazardous material and give them an over priced contract to clean it up. And then they will run over budget.

Isn't the mob into "waste management"? At least that was what the Sopranos did to look "legit".

Marty Harrison
Knob Noster, MO

livesteamer Wrote:
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> Isn't the mob into "waste management"? At least
> that was what the Sopranos did to look "legit".

Just stay away from the Italian Sausage!