We're not sure which is more pathetic: a small-town New Jersey mayor begging the Kuwaiti government for a handout or the mayor, now deposed, threatening to send a dead fish to a Press reporter nosing around the story. If you don't know the symbolism behind that threat, pick up a copy of "The Godfather."
Former Lake Como Mayor Lawrence G. Chiaravallo, who was defeated at the polls in November after an eight-year reign, sent a series of letters to the Kuwaiti government starting in 2001 asking whether they would be willing to pony up $750,000 for a new borough hall.
Chiaravallo apparently felt the Kuwaitis owed the U.S., and by extension Lake Como, formerly called South Belmar, a debt of gratitude... Chiaravallo, a former drug company salesman, made his pitch to the Kuwaitis only after his entreaties to Oprah Winfrey and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation fell on deaf ears.
The Kuwaiti ambassador actually agreed to meet with Chiaravallo in Washington last summer — likely to get him off his back. By that time, the new borough hall had been built. But Chiaravallo presented a new $3.7 million wish list for a new police building, a new firehouse and a ladder truck. C hiaravallo swears the ambassador didn't throw him out on his ear, and suggests that if he had won re-election, the Kuwaitis might have written out a check.
When the story of Chiaravallo's secret dealings with the Kuwaitis first broke in the Press last month, the newly elected mayor, Michael B. Ryan, said he was "appalled" Chiaravallo would be negotiating with a foreign country to build a police headquarters. He has since modified his views. Last week, he again said he was appalled — but apparently not enough to reject charity from the Kuwaitis if their generosity could be used instead to build a new firehouse or pay down debt....
Meet the new boss; same as the old boss. I wonder, if the Kuwaitis had agreed to pay for the Mayor's wishlist, if he would have done something for them in return if asked - very little is given these days with no strings attached, especially when coming from an Emir's checkbook...
And for futher giggles, read the first comment after the editorial:
What did he do to merit such scorn but look to save the taxpayers of Lake Como, some of their hard earned dollars! He thought outside the box and arrived at almost a great solution to the problem of having a municipal building that was built in the 1950's...
...you scorn the man for intelligent creative thinking! You all deserve what you have gotten! You are incapable of saying thank you, Larry for looking out for our interests! Well-done, Mr. Mayor!!!
Well, even in insanity there is a grain of philosophy...we all do "deserve what you have gotten", by allowing a culture of corruption, deceit, and stupidity to become so ingrained and consequence-free that we simply vote out one lot of criminals and replace them with a different variation on the same theme.
Let's keep digging, folks...you know you haven't hit the bottom in Jersey until the ooze starts seeping up between your toes...
wait! I do feel the ooze!
ReplyDeleteno, that's just Jimmy Hoffa's innards....
I'm lost for words. If it weren't so pathetic, it would be the stuff of a hilarious comedy.
ReplyDeleteI was speechless when I saw it as well - I probably should not even had added any commentary when I reprinted the editorial; it stands alone as a monument to all that is twisted in the Garden State.
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