Political two-step by
"choreographer"
leads him to federal
prison
Rick Malwitz,
EDITORIAL, Home News Tribune Online September 17, 2006
On the Friday before Thanksgiving,
the last place attorney Jack Arseneault wanted to be was by John Lynch's side
when John Lynch was explaining to the Home News Tribune the business he was in.
The week before, the FBI had executed a search warrant at Lynch's office in
Tinton Falls, where he and developer Jack Westlake ran a company called
Executive Continental. What exactly did Lynch do with Executive
Continental, we asked.
Lynch said he was a "choreographer and facilitator" for clients who needed
approval for their projects. His job was "to make sure the politics
worked." And when it worked he received a "success fee." His income
was "substantial," he said.
The FBI had seized records of his dealings with 57 entities. One company
that would explain to us how it worked was the Dallenbach Sand Co. of South
Brunswick, whose president, Harold Herbert, explained to me his problem, as he
sought to wade through bureaucracy: "Where do you start? Where's
first base?"
Herbert explained he paid Executive Continental $38,000, and though the project
was stalled, he considered the money well spent, allowing him to avoid costly
mistakes.
When Lynch pleaded guilty in federal court to corruption charges on Friday, it
was for the substantial fees he received from Dallenbach for his work as
"choreographer." He made the politics work by writing a letter to the
commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection on state Senate
letterhead.
What Lynch did in court Friday was verify the account he gave to us in November.
The U.S. Attorney barely needed a costly investigation: He could have had
the goods by buying the Sunday paper for 75 cents. No wonder Arseneault
did not want Lynch telling his story, and himself did not want to be quoted.
And why did U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie target Lynch? Lynch had
his theory.
In July 2004, Christie indicted Democrat fundraiser David D'Amiano, and to tell
the whole story of the indictment — which would involve then-Gov. Jim
McGreevey's code word "Machiavelli" and the Halper Farm in Piscataway — would
require a volume nearly as thick as "War and Peace."
In August 2004, Lynch wrote an angry op-ed piece in the Home News Tribune,
accusing Christie of not playing fair.
After the FBI seized Lynch's records, Lynch told me it was Christie's
"vendetta," his payback for the op-ed piece. When I mentioned this to
Arseneault, Arseneault said he would make a call and get back to me. When
he got back to me, he asked that I save the "vendetta" quote for another day —
which is today.
I asked Arseneault if he read John the riot act. You could say that, he
said.
I like John Lynch. John Lynch is an acquaintance of mine, even if he
always seemed to be reminding me I was the dimmest bulb in the room — something
I suspect he reminded everyone else, including Jack Arseneault.
The saddest thing about him having to do federal prison time, for as many as 41
months, is what it means for his 15-year-old son.
"Matthew. He's the king," Lynch said in a 1999 interview.
Last week, friends and foes said essentially the same thing: They admire
the father's love for the son, and feel bad for Matthew, who will apparently go
through his high school years with his dad in federal prison.
Rick Malwitz's column appears Sundays and Thursdays. His blog
appears Mondays at www.thnt.com.
Contact him at Rmalwitz@thnt.com, (732) 565-7291.
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