MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT ROMAN BRICE’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT Introduction The facts of this two year old and running litigation are well known and the two allegations against Defendant Roman Brice, essentially political satire and hyperbole buried on an America On Line political blog at election time should be dismissed. Hoboken is a mile square city troubled with corruption both in its “On the Waterfront” past but very much in the present. Two of Hoboken’s last four mayors have gone to federal prison for corruption and their adherents are a present and clear danger to its health. This litigation is Exhibit A in a SLAPP, the latest Councilwoman Beth Mason funded political operation, run on this Court from day one to the present spanning more than two years. 1 Defendant Brice’s website, the Hudson Mile Square View or MSV (hobokenhorse.com) is approaching 5,000,000 views since its founding five years ago after the arrest of former Hoboken mayor and convicted felon Peter Cammarano. The 1 This Court on April 25 th ordered the Plaintiffs to produce to Defendants financial, phone (wireless and landline) call records, emails and related records for the last seven years to present in 20 days. Plaintiffs continued defiance at discovery’s end to the April 25 th Court order, restated in another Court order July 11 th reveals 60K in deposits remains unexplained among other critically massive discovery , including withheld financials. Exhibit A Separately, Plaintiffs are nonIresponsive to a Court order from Judge Mary K. Costello July15 th . account information and bank records when Defendants discovered a Bank of America account. Exhibit C.
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MSJ vs Lane Bajardi, Hudson Superior Court August 4th 2014
The motion to throw out Lane Bajardi's frivolous SLAPP-suit by counsel Alexander W. Booth for R.W. Brice.
The court would later sanction Lane Bajardi and Kimberly Cardinal Bajardi over $276,000 in legal fees for their frivolous lawsuit seeking $2,000,000 each from a dozen Hoboken residents.
Most of Lane Bajardi's and Kimberly Cardinal's defamation claims were thrown out of court in September 2014. The rest see a similar result and sanctions in 2015: http://www.hobokenhorse.com/2015/07/breaking-court-orders-beth-mason.html
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MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT
ROMAN BRICE’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Introduction
The facts of this two year old and running litigation are well known and the two
allegations against Defendant Roman Brice, essentially political satire and hyperbole
buried on an America On Line political blog at election time should be dismissed.
Hoboken is a mile square city troubled with corruption both in its “On the Waterfront”
past but very much in the present. Two of Hoboken’s last four mayors have gone to
federal prison for corruption and their adherents are a present and clear danger to its
health. This litigation is Exhibit A in a SLAPP, the latest Councilwoman Beth Mason
funded political operation, run on this Court from day one to the present spanning more
than two years.1
Defendant Brice’s website, the Hudson Mile Square View or MSV
(hobokenhorse.com) is approaching 5,000,000 views since its founding five years ago
after the arrest of former Hoboken mayor and convicted felon Peter Cammarano. The
Subject: Re: First Email I like lanes whole angle on this issue.
Executed properly will be a homerun. Sent from my iPhone On Oct 20, 2010, at 12:49 PM, Lane Bajardi <[email protected]> wrote:
He may miss the Southwest Redevelopment discussion if he gets there at 9pm, but probably not the open Public Comment portion.
If he needs to be somewhere else meeting voters (which makes perfect sense to me) I would suggest that I sign him up for the open portion, but that we don't sign him up for the Southwest Redevelopment resolution until he gets there at 9pm.
He can always comment on the Southwest Redevelopment issue during the public portion as well. It's not like our comments are going to change the vote on this. It's just an opportunity to show their inaction on the plan, which we have already done with the press release, and I will also do so during the resolution discussion.
So, yes... meeting voters and pressing the flesh should be job 1 until 9pm, followed by the meeting. If it is for some reason moving ridiculously fast I can get in touch with Tim and let him know if he will be in jeopardy of missing the open portion.
I like it, too. Nicely done. It's more "Hey, did you know Lenz is Effing us? That's not cool! Here's what I'm going to do about it." Much more Tim-like, and Cruz's letter should be the basis for Tim's comments tonight.
Tim should also say something about how so many Hoboken families with parents
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who have lost their jobs are suffering to make ends meet and pay COBRA bills for their health insurance while Lenz pockets a $4600 bonus. This will thwart the guaranteed Lenz response of "This is an unfair attack because my family has had to suffer and do without for my choice to step up and bring my skills to Public Service for the county and the city at a much lower salary than I made in the private sector..." It is imperative Tim include the comments above to avoid that trap.
I know how Lenz thinks. This will be his response strategy. We need to disarm him BEFORE he speaks, because Carol Marsh won't give Tim the chance to follow up. This is crucial.
I will be at the council meeting and can sign Tim up to speak in his absence. What time would you expect him to be there if he does show? It won't be a super heated meeting, but I doubt they will get to the Southwest Redevelopment resolution before 8:30, and the Public Portion won't happen before 9pm, if not much later.
This is very good On Oct 20, 2010 8:45 AM, "david cruz" <[email protected]> wrote:
here's an edit of the e-mail language. It closely resembles the press release we're putting out on this.
The only problem is that Tim may not make the city council meeting tonite, ehich may alter the schedule of release somewhat. We'll just have to retouch the language in the e-mail to something like "Today, I'm calling for ..."
Seriously though, now I'm concerned that he is going to try to get me fired. It is imperative that you never admit to anyone that I have written anything for you, especially if Lenz and Soares are about to drop a dime on me to my bosses.
As for accuracy, it will all be there on Channel 78 for the world to see.
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, 8 Nov 2007 4:51 pm Subject: Fw: Lane/Prof Pinetop gave you wrong info.
I'm gonna run him over one day
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile -----Original Message----- From: tony soares <[email protected]> Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:33:23 To:Hoboken411 <[email protected]>
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Subject: Lane/Prof Pinetop gave you wrong info.
Mason was not supported by Councilmembers . Beth looked like a fool I would think his ghostwriting by now would have landed him In Bloomberg News former employees file but no. Ths post was true: At yesterday’s City Council meeting, Ms. Mason acknowledged that she was not aware that this step had been taken. Given her interest in this issue, I found that surprising, and somewhat “disappointing.” Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail!
From: Hoboken411 <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 12:47 PM To: 'Red Haven' <[email protected]> Subject: RE: Holy crap - a council meeting on 7/1? If I had sales help (I’m interviewing two this week) – I would be able to. I’m 2 months behind in rent and u=li=es now as it is. And going forward what is reasonable compensa=on so I can budget it in if sales pick up?
From: Red Haven [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 11:47 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Holy crap - a council meeting on 7/1?
Yes a preview is in order. So is reasonable compensation for the preparer of said preview.
-----Original Message----- From: Hoboken411 <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tue, Jun 28, 2011 3:52 am Subject: Holy crap - a council meeting on 7/1?
I couldn’t believe it when I saw it... why would they schedule a council meeting on the
July 4th Weekend? Horrible! Is it true? If so – I guess a preview is in order? WTF? Cheers,
Perry Klaussen Founder / Publisher www.hoboken411.com [email protected] (201)777-0411 (email is preferred, though)
I wanted to check in with u I have the full agenda. I told someone that its 33 resolutions 7 ordinance and a pea in a shell game. Garage is still topic etc while We spent 7k on bike racks. Hope all three of you are well and enjoying the summer. I would like to offer our house upstate if you would like to use it to get away. All the Best. Beth !Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
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EXHIBIT I
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Red Flags: How much does it cost to buy an election in Hoboken's 4th ward? by: Rosi Efthim Tue Dec 21, 2010 at 03:06:24 PM EST Outgoing Hoboken Councilman Michael Lenz's supporters say it costs about $22,000. That's how much his opponent Tim Occhipinti spent on "campaign workers" to win Ward 4's Council seat in November. What's unusual about that? Well, nothing, until you consider that there were about 575 of them, and that for all that Election Day "field" help there was little Occhipinti campaign presence visible on 4th Ward streets (say the Lenz folks). And that Occhipinti paid 575 workers for an election in which only 2,076 people cast ballots (Lenz Election Day paid workers = 17). Most alarming is a spike - a big one - in vote-by-mail ballots, and who it was who turned them in: overwhelmingly it was Occhipinti's "campaign workers". Hoboken Ward 4 absentee voting dwarfs that of every other election in Hudson County, according to the Hudson Clerk's figures. The county prosecutor's office recently referred 190 vote-by-mail ballots to the state Attorney General's office, though it's not known if any investigation concerns the Lenz campaign's allegations. Take a gander at this graphic, then tell me you don't see red flags. You're looking a chart of the vote-by-mail percentages for the Hudson County general election (data source). Compare Occhipinti's absentee voter percentages with other Hudson races, and with Len We wrote about this Oct. 28, when 3 Ward 4 residents swore out affidavits saying they were offered "$40 as an incentive to vote absentee". But this is bigger now. The new information, via ELEC final campaign spending reports illustrates that the breadth and size of what may be election corruption may be far greater. Do we know there was corruption? We do not. But where this many red flags are raised, there should be investigation. And Hoboken's next election should be monitored by credible election protection experts. Some of Hoboken's councilmembers are already taking a position: "It looks like he bought the election," says Councilman Ravi Bhalla, who is also volunteer legal counsel for the Lenz campaign. Among Occhipinti donors: Councilmembers Michael Russo and Beth Mason. Among Lenz's: Bhalla, fellow councilmember Carol Marsh and Mayor Zimmer. Bhalla goes so far to allege forgery. Of 99 ballots thrown out election night, he says 82 had mismatched signatures. In 2 Ward 4 districts, about 80% of absentee voters were also employed by the Occhipinti campaign.
For the record, an Occhipinti spokesman denies any wrongdoing, and rejects the suggestion that the payment to "campaign workers" (most paid $40, some $100) was not for their labor but to buy their vote-by-mail. An Occhipinti spokesman:
Campaign workers did everything from wearing t-shirts to making calls to prospective voters, canvassing, walking with Tim, and distributing signs. In addition, Occhipinti himself says all campaign staff signed a contract outlining duties, agreeing to "lawfully promote and encourage the participation of voters," and to "engage in only lawful conduct." Occhipinti also says it costs more to topple an incumbent, which is why he raised/spent more.
Of Hoboken's 6 wards, only the 4th was in play in November, a special election to Dawn Zimmer's seat, after she was elected out of Council to become mayor. Lenz was appointed to the seat, but had to run to
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keep it last month.
But take a look at the figures for vote-by-mail after the jump - the math behind the graph above. Ward 4's huge absentee spike may indeed be more than good field work, as Occhipinti's campaign suggests. It may be an attempt - a successful one - to purchase the votes, for not much money, of Hoboken residents who needed the jingle in their pockets and didn't mind allowing their names to be written in on ballots they may not have even filled in themselves. There may indeed be more - much more - than a loser's sour grapes involved in these allegations.
On such things, the direction of a city may turn. Vote-by-mail percentages for Hudson County, after the jump.
Rosi Efthim :: Red Flags: How much does it cost to buy an election in Hoboken's 4th ward? Vote by Mail ballots/Total ballots Cast = VBM percentage) (data source) House 9th: 1185/20910 5.7% House 10th: 683/10877 6.3% House 13th: 2912/65696 4.4% Assembly 31: 1034/32332 3.2% County Sheriff: 3687/96134 3.8% East Newark Council: 7/224 3.1% Guttenberg Council: 68/1634 4.2% Harrison Mayor: 103/2612 3.9% Harrison Ward 1 Council: 15/502 3.0% Harrison Ward 2 Council: 26/625 4.2% Harrison Ward 3 Council: 37/829 4.5% Harrison Ward 4 Council: 25/656 3.8% Hoboken Ward 4 Council: 440/2215 19.9% Jersey City Ward B Council: 143/4551 3.1% Kearny Ward 1 Council: 16/913 1.8% Kearny Ward 2 Council: 19/783 2.4% Kearny Ward 3 Council: 60/1718 3.5% Kearny Ward 4 Council: 23/1312 1.8% Secaucus Ward 1 Council: 95/1335 7.1% Secaucus Ward 2 Council: 169/1820 9.3% Secaucus Ward 3 Council: 119/1788 6.7% Public Question #1: 3687/96134 3.8% Tags: Hoboken, Tim Occhipinti, Mike Lenz, (All Tags) ! !
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EXHIBIT J
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Soares - Direct
1 way, the first thing you do is you remove the more
2 powerful or the more -- the stronger opinion that
3 can sway opinion so that that other person who
4 doesn't want you in there can run the show.
5 Q So you think that you were excluded
6 because of how powerful a personality you are?
7 A Stronger personality I would say.
8 Q Okay. We're going to continue on
9 with paragraph number three. Now I'm just going
10 to read out the first few sentences and you let me
11 know if I'm reading it correctly.
12 "At a Hoboken Historical Museum
13 Annual Auction around 2006, I was cornered by Lane
14 Bajardi and his wife by the silent auction table.
15 As I waited on line for a drink, Mr. Bajardi
16 stated that: 'Beth and I are going to own your
17 condo.' I believed he was alluding to his
18 suspicion that I had commented against his
19 political views and opinions online on nj.com and
20 Hoboken 411." Did I read that correctly?
21 A Yes.
22 Q So let me try to understand this.
23 You were waiting on line for a drink, and your
24 testimony is all of a sudden Lane just walked up
25 to you and said, "Beth and I are going to own your
I have met with an attorney to review my options. The law has not caught up with the realities of the internets. The only thing for certain is a lawsuit will cost a shitload of money. It will also probably take years to resolve. I obviously do not have unlimited finances to fight a protracted legal battle. Did you ever talk to a lawyer about the lies they were publishing about your business?
-----Original Message-----From: Hoboken411 <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tue, Jan 4, 2011 7:33 pm Subject: RE: CC meeting
I appreciate your point of view on this. Before this Tuesday's School Board meeting my last public comment on the machinations of Hoboken government was back in October. That didn't stop both Roman Brice and Kurt Gardiner from continuously attacking me for calling things as I see them.
Not only have they sought to silence me, they have also sought to impede my ability to make a living. By putting up blog posts calling me "unemployable" and referring to me repeatedly as a "looney leprechaun", they are deliberately trying to make Google searches of my unique name come up with damaging attacks on my reputation and character designed to limit my employment opportunities.
It has crossed a line from simply trying to belittle a political foe to an advanced attempt to drive me out of town and impede the ability to provide for my family. These attacks have caused emotional distress and may also cause irreparable damage to my career. The time has come to hire a reputable attorney who has experience in these matters to begin to file suit against these people. The people attacking us count on the fact that legal action is time consuming and expensive, so they continue their slanderous attacks with a vengeance.
If I am to continue to be involved here I need legal assistance. The line has been crossed many times, and it's time to seek damages and send a message that this activity should not be condoned. Any assistance you and Ricky can give me in this matter would be welcome and appreciated.
I do. I do not shy away from bullies. I especially cannot stand hypocracy. As a mother of two daughters who is teaching them to stand up for themselves, I cannot stand by permit hatred to silence those who seek to expose those who seek to
silence those who seek the truth and justice on behalf of the people. If we let this go it becomes the acceptable norm. I would like to know what you think we should do. Thanks for asking and glad to have you back. Beth :)Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
I had been advised not to go to this site and now I know why. Roman is a bully. He's afraid of being in the spotlight. If you want to teach this guy a lesson and get him to stop harassing Beth, then there are ways to do it.Let me know if you want to pursue more aggressive tactics than just walking past him.
I know Roman Brice aggressively approaches you at City Council meetings but you really need to ignore this guy. He is a hateful human being who is only out to hurt and embarrass you. Attached is just one of the many images he has put on his website of you. This is a clipped image meant to insinuate that you own Maureen Sullivan. The full image includes you dressed that way as a pimp and Lane and Perry from 411 dressed as prostitutes. Another photo shows Perry fishing with a Nazi flag after he took umbrage with Zimmer's using the Holocaust as a comparison for the Police Audit. Needless to say there is no reason for you to ever talk to this guy. If you tell him you do not want to speak to him and he continues to harass you we will just have him arrested.
[email protected] Subject: Some of the latest threats Thanks for meeting with me last week. It was good to see you. I thought you should see a small sample of the invective directed at my family this weekend by Nancy and her ilk on Patch. The poster "ThisMeansWar" continues to threaten Benjamin, and harass Kim and I even though we do not post anything on the site.
ThisMeansWar
8:02 pm on Sunday, March 4, 2012
Nice to see you back up the wife for a change Lane. Now what about your child? Have either of you two losers EVER thought about the damage you are doing to him? It's not just that he is growing up in a toxic atmosphere of LYING and DECEIT. But he will be the kid who is KNOWN the second he walks through the doors of ANY school as the progeny of you two hateful people. Children are cruel. You are digging an awful hole for that child. Fairly or not he will be punished for the sins of the father. And mother. Stop thinking about how badly you want to hurt everyone associated with Zimmer and reform, and start thinking about how badly you ARE hurting your own child.
ThisMeansWar
5:07 pm on Sunday, March 4, 2012
You're a PAID LIAR. This is not debatable. Public Service Announcement. Lane Prosbus-HQ and Kim Curiousgal are PAID LIARS. Their sole motivation is to be paid for POLITICAL DIRTY TRICKS and CHARACTER ASSASSINAITION.
Pages and pages of rants designed to incite violence against my family and yours by this poster can be seen by clicking here: http://hoboken.patch.com/users/thismeanswar/comments
The only way the police will pay attention is if I show up with a lawyer to make them. The only way to stop the harassment and threats in this alternative universe created by Nancy Pincus, Roman Brice, Michael Lenz and Tony Soares is to get a lawyer who will go after those responsible. They are threatening to send their kids in to assault mine. This cannot stand. I need help to unmask these horrible people and punish them for their unlawful trespasses.
I don't need a million dollar attorney who needs $20k to write a letter, but I do need help to take action before one of these crazies really loses control. The time to take legal action is long overdue. History shows us lies left unchallenged become perceived truth, and repeated public threats left unchallenged become violence. I cannot let that happen.
Beth,!I thought it best to leave the meeting without speaking with you in public. I was also concerned you might be annoyed with me.
Meetings can't continue like this. All they have left are their most vicious attack dogs, but in contrast I seem to be the only one (besides Perry, who wasn't there tonight) who defends you and the majority. You need more soldiers to combat their attacks and lies.
Just FYI that Lenz told several lies tonight. Kim is not Red Haven and I am not Professor Pinetop. Though I purposely did not say it at the mic, Melissa is Katie_Scarlett and has no business lecturing you about civility. She recently posted that I am such an asshole that it would be a good idea if somebody called DYFS on us to look into Benjamin's well being. This is the kind of person she is.
Kim is beside herself after Lenz's attack. She wants to file charges against him.
But the thing that takes the cake is Arch calling me a liar. Nothing I said was a lie and I got none of that info about the memo from you, so I can say so if need be. Too many people saw it today, by the way, and I was even urged to do what I can do to get it widely distributed. I didn't want to go that far without consulting with you first.