From the Bergen Record
Feds probe web firm's dealings with Ferriero
Federal officials have subpoenaed at least six North Jersey towns seeking records related to a Web developer with ties to indicted Bergen County Democratic leader Joseph Ferriero, according to documents and local officials.
The U.S. Attorney’s office also sent a subpoena to the Bergen County Improvement Authority, in addition to Clifton, Demarest, Dumont, Nutley, Saddle Brook and Teaneck.
Local officials said contracts, correspondence, and other records were requested for:
• Web and emergency notification services provided by John Carrino and his Nutley firms – C3/Citizen Communications and Xquizit Technologies.
• Carrino’s firm Braveside Capital LLC.
• Ferriero and S.J.C. Consulting LLC. The firm is registered in Ferriero’s name in Las Vegas, according to the Nevada Secretary of State office.
The county Democratic chairman was indicted last month on eight felony counts for his alleged involvement in a grants consulting scheme that authorities say defrauded Bergenfield taxpayers.
Ferriero, who has taken a leave of absence from his leadership role, was indicted with former Democratic Party counsel Dennis Oury. Both pleaded not guilty to the charges in September.
The Ferriero-Carrino relationship dates back to at least 2007, when public records show that Carrino began developing websites for county Democrats.
Carrino’s firm, which set up the county Democratic Web site (votebergen.com), received $15,500 in December from Ferriero for County Chairman – the third biggest payout since 2004 from Ferriero’s leadership fund-raising committee, according to IRS records.
Carrino and his firms have secured $400,000 in government contracts since 2007, including a $150,000 deal to provide county emergency notification services.
Carrino’s ties to Ferriero and county Democrats is the focus of a bitter partisan fight in Dumont.
Republican council candidates have focused their attacks on Xquizit. The firm contributed $5,000 worth of in-kind Web services — listed as a loan on campaign finance reports — to the failed 2007 state Assembly bid of Democratic Councilman Carl Manna.
The councilman voted in January to award C3 a no-bid contract in Dumont worth $36,000. State officials said Manna and C3 did not violate state pay-to-play laws because the contribution went to a state-level committee, whereas the contract was awarded at the local level.
“I knew that they had done work for us,” said Manna, referring to his assembly campaign. “However, I didn’t see it as any kind of violation of laws. If I had seen it as such, I would have recused myself.”
In subsequent interviews, Carrino and Manna said the Web developer never did the work on the state Assembly Web site. Instead, the job was referred to an associate Angela Hayford, of Cornerstone Strategies LLC, in Bloomfield, Carrino said.
Hayford declined to comment, but is listed on state records as contributing $2,500 worth of unspecified in-kind services to Manna’s Assembly campaign. An invoice provided by Manna campaign treasurer Matthew McCarter, describes Hayford’s contribution as an “online website campaign for District 39.”
Manna blamed the controversy on a bookkeeping error.
