Mayors in corruption sweep linked to Burlco PAC

Two North Jersey mayors under scrutiny after a corruption sweep last week received campaign money from an unlikely source: a political action committee that contributes mostly to Democrats in and around Burlington County.

In recent months, the New Frontier Committee has donated $15,400 to election funds associated with Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano III, who is expected to resign as early as today following his arrest on bribery charges.

The charges were part of a July 23 corruption and money-laundering sweep by the FBI that netted 44 arrests and targeted key players in Hudson County politics. Among those arrested were the mayor of Secaucus and the deputy mayor and council president of Jersey City.

The committee contributed $1,500 in March to the campaign fund of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, who was not charged. Healy confirmed in a statement last Friday that he was an unnamed official prominently mentioned in a criminal complaint outlining corruption charges against Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini.

New Frontier, based in Medford, has contributed more than $26,000 since last year to Hudson County political candidates and organizations, a departure from its typical focus on regional races, state election records show.

Chris Russell, a political strategist who works for the Burlington County Republican Party, raised questions about the money in a news release yesterday, asking what interests local Democrats shared with Hudson County officials.

The Democratic organization in Hudson County is among the strongest in New Jersey, while Democrats have been the minority party in Burlington County for decades.

The New Frontier Committee was formed in late 2006 and initially was chaired by Gary Karr, a former chairman of the Burlington County Democratic Committee. Soon thereafter, Dean Buono was named chairman and Jack Senechal treasurer. Buono was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for county freeholder in 2005, and Senechal has been involved in Medford Democratic campaigns.

Neither man returned telephone messages yesterday. A woman who answered the phone at Senechal's home said he would have no comment.

Democratic leaders in Burlington and Hudson Counties did not return calls. Healy's press secretary and Cammarano's lawyer also did not respond.

New Frontier's establishment appears connected to an aggressive campaign by Democrats in Evesham, Burlington County's largest town, in spring 2007 to topple the GOP monopoly on the township council. The political committee's first substantial contributions - a total of $20,000 - went to winning candidates Chris Brown, Randy Brown, and John McKenna.

A previous Evesham solicitor last year called for a review of campaign contributions to New Frontier by several firms that had contracts with the township, citing a potential violation of the municipal pay-to-play ban. A subsequently appointed solicitor concluded there was no wrongdoing.

New Frontier has doled out more than $90,000 to political candidates and committees. More than $50,000 has gone to Democrats in Burlington County, including the Burlington County Democratic Committee and the party's candidates for the freeholder board, clerk's office, and Mount Laurel and Medford councils.

New Frontier began to make substantial contributions to Hudson County this year, including to the campaign funds of Jersey City Councilman William Gaughan, West New York Mayor Sal Vega, and Hoboken Councilman Michael Novak.

Its donations to the election funds of Cammarano and his running mates for council took place from April to June.

"I would think what this is probably all about is Democrats networking statewide," said Paul Swibinski, a media consultant for Cammarano's recent mayoral campaign.

"I know [Cammarano] had friends and contacts in just about every county - partly, I think, because he represented so many political candidates as an attorney," Swibinski added. "He had a wide network of people who he met and were impressed with him."