UNION CITY – Ronnie Rosario and William Perez had heard the news.
“It wasn’t a surprise to me,” said Rosario, who has lived in this city since 1971. An immigrant from Puerto Rico, it was certainly appropriate that he was wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates jersey in honor of Roberto Clemente.
Perez concurred about the political event of the day, if not baseball.
“Gold .. money … a car,” he said, a Yankee baseball cap providing at least a semblance of shade.
The men were sitting outside a bodega in what was once Bob Menendez’ neighborhood.
The senator often has spoken about growing up in a tenement. The building in question is a few blocks away on Hudson Avenue. The bodega is within shouting distance of the old Union Hill High School, which is where Menendez’ interest in public life began more than 50 years ago.
Fifty years is a nice number – a number that suggests the beginning and end of a cycle. Or in this case, a political career.
It was in 1974 – 50 years ago – when Menendez ran for the Union City Board of Education.
That was a big year in city politics, the first year of an elected board of education. Menendez, in fact, was involved in the petition drive that brought it about.
So it was natural that he would run for the board even if he was only 20-years-old.
Well, sort of.
He was also a Cuban and at the time, the city, which had been mostly German and Italian, was “changing.”
The machine, which was run by Bill Musto, needed a Cuban on the school board ticket. Menendez was the logical choice.
He won election and later became the board’s secretary or business administrator, but that’s not the juicy part of the story.
While Musto launched Menendez’ political career, it was the same Menendez who famously testified against Musto in 1982 and helped send him to federal prison on corruption charges.
Menendez eventually became mayor and then moved up the ranks of politics – through the state Legislature, into the House and finally the Senate.
It seemed as if he had escaped the shadow of Bill Musto. He certainly had surpassed him in rank; Musto never served about the state Senate.
And now, perversely, Menendez has surpassed his mentor in criminality as well. Go figure.
Musto was convicted of taking kickbacks from a contractor building additions onto city schools. This really is your typical type of political corruption in New Jersey.
It pales in comparison to a guy taking gold bars, large amounts of cash and other goodies in return for favors.
During his trial, Menendez’ lawyers argued – a bit incredulously – that having large amounts of cash at home was a “Cuban thing.” That’s because in an unstable government, money is not safe in banks.
The problems here were many.
Menendez never lived in Cuba; he was born in New York City. His parents came to the U.S. long before the Communist revolution.
Walking around his old neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon, I met a man walking three dogs right outside the senator’s old residence at 4607 Hudson Avenue.
He said he was Cuban and upon arriving in the United States, he would buy multiple plastic bottles of shampoo, just in case the supply dried up.
He laughed at the absurdity. Bottles of shampoo on one hand; hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash in the other.
The point was unmistakable. As the jury concluded, the “it’s a Cuban thing” was no defense.
In talking about his modest upbringing, Menendez enjoys giving the impression that his life story – from a tenement to the U.S. Senate – is a “rags to riches” type of thing.
There now seems more truth to that than Menendez ever intended.
It was a desire for the “riches” that have Menendez where he is today.
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After Senator Bob Menendez was acquitted of federal corruption charges, Insider NJ reported on the reactions in Union City, where Menendez has strong ties and a loyal following.
Many residents of Union City expressed relief and satisfaction at the verdict, believing that Menendez had been unfairly targeted by prosecutors. They praised his dedication to serving the community and his track record of fighting for important issues such as immigration reform and healthcare.
Others, however, were more critical of Menendez and the verdict, questioning his ethics and integrity in light of the allegations against him. Some felt that the verdict was a sign of a broken justice system that allows powerful politicians to escape accountability for their actions.
Overall, the reactions in Union City were mixed, reflecting the complex feelings that many have towards Menendez and the political system as a whole. As the senator continues to serve in office, it remains to be seen how his constituents will view him in the aftermath of the verdict.
