Although, this has nothing "directly" to do with Governor Chris Christie, if we were turning his story into a Shakespearean play, this scene might be used to introduce the character of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, as well as to warm up the actors and media. It must also have his whole gang of thugs sweating bullets as these crimes pale in comparison the theirs. Fishman announced an 11 count indictment against the former mayor of Manalapan, NJ, Andrew Lucas. In FBI take former Manalapan mayor into custody on 11-count indictment, we see what might be considered a warm up act for the frog march many here yearn to see. (And, I say this only in the nicest possible non-partisan way, and only if Christie should be found worthy of such indictments by the prosecutor. I wouldn't want anyone to think I was hounding the poor man.)
A Republican, Lucas is a former unsuccessful candidate for Monmouth County Freeholder who resigned his local office last year.
The former mayor of Manalapan, N.J., was arrested today on charges that he falsified his 2010 tax returns in order to purchase a farm property in Manalapan and that he provided federal investigators and a federal grand jury with a fabricated document in 2013, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Lucas, 36, was arrested as a result of an 11-count indictment charging him with illegal monetary transaction, loan application fraud, false statements to the IRS, aggravated identity theft, obstruction of a grand jury investigation and falsification of records in a federal investigation. Lucas is scheduled to make his initial court appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Arpert in Trenton federal court.
Even as we speak (2:04 p.m.), Lucas is being arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Arpert in Trenton federal court. I don't know if we will see videos of him being escorted by the F.B.I. in handcuffs, but this shows why it is useful to have a practice run, in the event any of the many sordid allegations against Governor Christie or Kim Goudagno should lead to indictments. The press and all of us has to be ready at a moments notice. Please keep an emergency stash of popcorn on stand-by at all times. Practice makes perfect.
On a different note, my second comment in this post will be number 25,000 here at Daily Kos since I joined in 2005 after lurking for about a year. Thanks to all you for making this my favorite blogging site anywhere as we work together to advance progressive causes. Please feel free to tip my comment and rec this post as encouragement, moral support, and just general "hound dog fun," even if you think it may be a little thin on substance. And, if you've enjoyed my posts and want to encourage me to continue writing, please consider clicking on the follow Hounddog button as I only need about 50 more followers to make it onto the front pagers of the most followed list under the People of Daily Kos list.
Cheers, and thanks for reading.
11:25 AM PT: Happy 25,000 th comment HoundDog!
If it weren't for my pledge to only use Hypnotoad magic for the forces of good and not personal gain, I'd have him suggest he tell you to rec, tip, and follow me for moral support. Can you believe what a good hound dog I'm being? If only Governor Christie had had this kind of self-restraint and impulse control.
11:33 AM PT: Keep on Truckin' my friends!
3:53 PM PT: Correct Andres to Andrew, thank to Lysias for the catch. And, changed "this has nothing to do with Christie" to 'this is a big frigging deal" to see if I could get more recs, after languishing for hours. Now I know what it is like to have a birthday party and no one comes. --Sheesh!