What Happened, Mr. Christie?- You Had So Much Promise

As I write this I note that it’s been 4 days since the sentence has been handed down for our former mayor, Mr. John Merla, 4 days that has allowed for, to quote Andrew Jackson, "the application of a calmer light and a milder philosophy" to this episode. Considerations have prompted the raising of certain questions that need to be addressed by the U.S. Attorney, Mr. Christopher Christie.

On the sentence given to Mr. Merla - 22 months in jail, a $20,000 fine and 3 years of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence:

A)The jail sentence is approximately 1-½ months less than the time period that elapsed from the day of arrest and the final day of his term as mayor expired – throughout which Mr. Merla refused to cooperate and refused to resign as Mayor of Keyport.

B) The fine is $4,000 less than the total amount of bribes he admitted to taking.

U.S. Attorney Christie said in a statement after the sentences were handed down “We think the sentences are appropriate. The judge carefully balanced the need to punish public officials who took bribes with the need to recognize, as a mitigating factor, their particular levels of cooperation".

The U.S. Attorney should be ashamed of himself if he thinks is true.

He allowed the hard work and sacrifice of so many people – FBI agents, lawyers, residents and honest public officials – to be minimized by reducing the original 8 counts that were brought against Mr. Merla – all to which he admitted guilt to - to a single count and to somehow mask Mr. Merla’s stubborn refusal to cooperate in any meaningful fashion during anytime other than that of his (Mr. Merla’s) own choosing and even then, apparently giving up supposedly only confirmations of existing knowledge held by the U.S. Attorney’s office.

We need some answers from the U.S. Attorney as to why there was a reduction in the counts (and therefore the subsequent removal of the expanded available jail time and fines for the judge’s option to impose) from 8 to a mere 1.

Could the U.S. Attorney not prove the other 7 counts in a trial? Or was the cooperation by the former mayor actually much more than mere confirmation of existing knowledge and perhaps a bit more has been revealed by his former honor that will lead to the future indictments of others?

It would appear on the face of it, that all involved have been given short shift by the U.S. Attorney’s office in both the initial raised expectations from this office and the less than spectatcular explanations surrounding this entire event – from the initial arrest to the recent outcome – to satisfy the outstanding questions that remain.

Mr. Christie needs to clear up these questions so that we can all finally put this entire matter behind us.

On The Creation Of Fluff

I was recently included in a group to go (courtesy of my mother-in-law) to some recent tapings of the game show “Wheel of Fortune”, which was in NYC to celebrate it’s 25th year on the air.

The festivities were taking place at the historic Radio City Theater and we were told to arrive by 12 pm for the start of their 3 show taping, scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm.

Arrive we did, to one of 2 lines that stretched from 6th Ave to 5th Ave. on either side of the theater. Fortunately the people who were around us were pleasant and in a good mood for the wait. There was nearby seating that allowed for those of a “certain age” to leave the line and made those of us who remained to be line holders.

I soon found out that I was a novice compared to some of those who stayed on line with me.

Scattered up and down the lines were representatives of the show who were there to answer questions and to start the process of getting us in the “good audience” mind-set. We were told how lucky we were, in that these were to be “celebrity” show tapings – with celebrities that, for the most part, I had never heard of.

Some on the line began to share their previous experiences on the “show taping” orbit of life. A lady next to me told of how she had planned her outfit so as to be highly noticeable on TV – she went with day-glow lime & pink on a basic black foundation. A gentleman behind me shared his “Jeopardy” in NYC adventure with all of us, allowing us to know how he actually talked to Alex Trebek, and did we know that Alex was Canadian.

Thankfully, the line began to move and in we went.

As we went through the doors a gentleman from the show stopped the line at our point and counted out 42 people and marched our group up to the left side front of the stage. We felt soooooooooo lucky – until we sat down and realized that we were behind the camera and a desk that were on the stage. We could see the contestants, the wheel & Pat Sajak, but not Vanna. The only time we saw her was when they walked out at the beginning of the show and during the breaks. Thankfully we had a wide screen TV to see all the “action” on the wall to our left.

What truly amazed me about all of this is, given all the breaks, how little of an actual show there is. No sooner did it feel like the show was running smoothly then they were saying goodbye.

We made the decision that after taking 1 hour and 10 minutes to tape a thirty-minute program, our time would be better spent doing anything else and we left.

I know Vanna was crushed by this and that Pat’s ego may have taken a hit, but really – these two work 45 days a year – my hands were hurting from all the clapping and the woman sitting in front of us was getting on my nerves by regaling us with stories of her other career (by day she is a 3rd grade teacher in NJ) as a seat filler and who she has met over the years.

I’ll never go to one of these again.