- In late July of '79, Jeane Dixon, whose claim to fame was supposedly clairvoyantly foretelling the assassination of John F. Kennedy, missed the chance to predict yet another political disaster looming on the horizon. Ms. Dixon was in Jersey City to drum up interest in the grand-opening of a Castro Convertible showroom on Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City. Mayor Tommy Smith also was there for the ribbon-cutting. With a little help from Bernadette Castro Guida (who those old enough remember as the little girl in the TV commercials with the "first to conquer living space" jingle), Psychic Dixon became aware that she was in Jersey City and Smith was the Mayor. Jeane Dixon, after reading Mayor Smith's palm, announced "If he chooses to run for governor, he will win"
- Meir Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League, had a number of connections with Hudson County:
- On the Hoboken piers, a young Kahane packed guns for shipment to the Irgun fighting to establish Israel. Lucky Luciano controlled the docks. As Meyer Lansky supported the founding of a Jewish state, the Mob was happy to provide safe transport for the tools required.
- Max Stern, of Hartz Mountain, attended a fundraiser for the JDL. While listening to Kahane speak, the birds seed entrepreneur reportedly said, "Yeah, but what's he going to do about the n-----s!"
- The gunman accused of shooting, Kahane, El-Sayyid A. Nosair, was a member of Sheik Omar Abdul Rahman's Jersey City Mosque
- In the past, area residents could throw money at local horses. There was a race track at Paulus Hook, another at what is now the corner of Beacon and Palisade Avenues in the Jersey City Heights, and yet another at today's North Hudson Park. New York City "sportsmen" reached the Paulus Hook race course by a ferry from Manhattan.
- One local Congressman wasn't one to pass up any income-inducing opportunity. Local high school students applying to West Point needed a letter of recomendation. The parents of those patriotic young people first had to give the Congressman ten thousand dollars. That's easily equivalent to one hundred thousand dollars today.
- During the dazed and confused '70s, Saint Peter's Prep high school was the rule proving exception. Most of the students were quiet and serious. Here and there, a few who thought of themselves as rowdy might go as far as to wear sneakers or work boots on the way to school. In any event, beards and moustaches were strictly forbidden.
One of the most docile students was Lombardo. Thin and shy, not one to call attention to himself, he never spoke except when one of the teachers asked him a question. One semester, Lombardo began to grow a beard. He also constantly had a distracted, yet shocked, look on his face. In any group of adolescents, personality changes, phases, are not rare. But, with Lombardo, the degree was so abrupt, that it was impossible not to notice. Plus, the school disciplinarian, who quite possibly might have sent a peach home to shave, walked right past Lombardo without saying a word.
A week or so later, Lombardo stopped attending classes. I mentioned this to one of the other kids in the class. He told me that Lombardo's father, formerly the Commissioner of Public Safety for Union City, had entered the Witness Protection Program. The entire family disappeared with him. This was the beginning of the federal case against Bill Musto.
- Back during the merry days of McCann's first round as Mayor of Jersey City, some person or persons unknown (to me, anyhow) pasted fliers all over town promoting the candidacy of one "Bucky" -- a male stripper -- for Mayor. In addition to the bold terse text, each of the 8 1/2 by 11 copies featured a fuzzy image of an uninhibited individual prancing and dancing. I don't know the purpose of the onslaught of circulars or even if "Bucky" was a real person.
- Kissinger said, "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac." It's definitely the ultimate something-or-other. Take Hudson County's own Bob Menendez as a for instance. Over ten years ago Menendez's fans chortled, "He's got a little chippee at every exit offa 95 between here and D.C." One might ask to what degree this statement erred due to exaggeration. But, were there any errors of omission?
- If New Jersey Politics is a circus, then Hudson County is the sideshow.
- Jersey City's master numbers banker, Joseph "Newsboy" Moriarty, lived with his sister in a house close to Hamilton Park (conveniently, next door to J.V. Kenny). One day, the none too responsible Miss Moriarty by mistake turned on the furnace. The house filled with smoke and the Fire Department was alerted. The firemen soon found the trouble's cause. The flue was stuffed with bags full of cash.
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"Newsboy" always dressed in well-worn work clothes. During the Depression, Joe Moriarty walked into a local bank to inquire about opening an account. The not very enthusiastic bank officer, expecting something along the lines of the usual thirty-eight or forty-nine cents, asked how much the initial deposit was going to be. Moriarty opened a satchel and started to pile large denomination bills on the desk. The shocked banker screamed for the guard to lock the door.
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Millions of dollars (more loot than any pirate's buried treasure on record) was found in an old car in a garage in Jersey City. People at the scene told how they saw the police remove five duffel bags. Four were carried into the police station. All the police directly involved with the transportation of the money retired within a year.
For years, Moriarty denied that the cash was his. Many branches of government attempted to grab the money. An IRS agent visited "Newsboy" while he was on trial for a gambling charge. The revenuer explained to Moriarty that he was going to be convicted -- whether or not he claimed the money. But, if Newsboy asserted ownership of the funds, then the IRS would take half the money for taxes and return the rest to him. That "Newsboy" bought a new Cadillac when he got out of jail is given as proof of this Moriarty episode. Never having had a legitimate source of income before, Moriarty always drove
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One of the Moriarty's secrets of success -- and longevity -- was that he did not tally his numbers records during normal business hours -- when the gambling squad worked. Instead, "Newsboy" hid everything during the daylight hours. He'd recover and go through the slips during the dead of night when most detectives were sleeping -- and any unusual activity was easy to spot.
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The last time "Newsboy" Moriarty was arrested, Jersey City's top bookmaker was going to pick up number slips from my uncle Gus. They were in back of Rt. 440 by Ege Avenue. My uncle got away because he was riding a bicycle! The cops came after him in the car. But, they forgot about the steel poles that made the block into a dead end. (You can't go to or from 440 by way of Ege.) The bike fit through the spaces in the poles. The police car had to stop. The cops backed up and went around the corner. My uncle rode the bike through empty lots. He was long gone by time the police car sped up the block.
