Jose Torres | |
---|---|
Mayor of Paterson | |
In office July 1, 2014 –September 25, 2017 | |
Preceded by | Jeffery Jones |
Succeeded by | Ruby Cotton (acting) |
In office July 1,2002 –July 1,2010 | |
Preceded by | Martin G. Barnes |
Succeeded by | Jeffery Jones |
Council member Paterson City Council | |
In office July 1,1990 –July 1,2000 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1958or1959(age 64–65) [1] Paterson,New Jersey,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Residence(s) | Paterson,New Jersey,U.S. |
Alma mater | Rutgers University |
Jose "Joey" Torres (born 1958) [1] is an American politician who served as Mayor of Paterson,the third-largest city in New Jersey. Torres served two terms as mayor between 2002 and 2010 and had previously served five terms as a city council member. He was again elected May 13 and was sworn in July 1,2014. He pled guilty to corruption charges on September 22,2017,and was forced to step down from his mayoral position. [2] [3] Torres was succeeded by Ruby Cotton,the president of the city council,and was replaced by retired city clerk Jane Williams-Warren on October 10,2017. [4] [5]
Torres is Puerto Rican,born and raised in Paterson. He is the youngest of eight children of Juan Torres,who had migrated to the city in 1949,and Catalina Torres. The family lived in the Christopher Columbus public housing and owned and operated bodega businesses. [6] [7] He is married to Sonia Torres,who ran in a special election to represent of the 2nd Ward of city's council in 2012. [8] [9]
Torres first won a seat on Paterson's city council in 1990 after having previously run five times. He served on the City Council for five terms. He later became the purchasing agent for the city's housing authority. [6]
Torres first became mayor in 2002,winning the seat from Republican incumbent Martin G. Barnes, [10] and won a re-election bid in 2006. He was defeated in by Jeff Jones in 2010. [11] He became the first Latino mayor of the city,which has a Hispanic-Latino majority. Torres was a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG). [12]
Torres ran for election as an independent in the 2014 mayoral race which took place on May 13,2014. [13] He won the seat garnering 8,069. votes,in an election in which 22,896,or 30%,of the city's 76,059 registered voters participated. [14] [15] Voting was characterised an unprecedented 2,413 mail-in votes,almost 800 more than the total absentee ballots cast in the previous three elections combined and more than twice as many as in 2010. Torres received 930 of the absentee ballots,38.5 percent of the total and more than twice as many as any other candidate. [16] The mayor's salary was set at $119,000 per year after approval by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. [17] Torres collected $4,152 more than his salary from July 1 through December 5,2014 in erroneous payments. [18] He returned much of the erroneous payments after payroll clerks discovered the error and made his final payment after it was exposed in a local newspaper.
In 2015,Torres created the position of "deputy mayor",which are multiple,unofficial and unpaid. Their role is to advise the mayor on various aspects of city planning and to act as liaisons to Paterson's various ethnic communities. [19]
In 2012,Torres was fined $14,350 by Election Law Enforcement Commission for failing to include information on donors (names,occupations,employers and addresses) to his campaign for election in 2010. In 2017,he was sentenced to 5 years of prison for paying local construction workers to do personal work for him.t [20]
In January 2014,a 26-page report compiled by the city council reviewed payments made to Torres regarding salary payment irregularities. On July 29,2008,Torres had written a memo to the city's treasurer "requesting a paycheck for ten (10) vacation days from 2007". In March 2014,he returned $2,238 that he received in 2008 from $3,169 he claimed,saying it was a payroll error. [21]
During his last week in office in 2010,Torres received $73,996 lump sum payment claimed for sick leave and vacation time. [22] The city council asked that the funds be returned and questioned whether such a payment was legal or ethical. Torres said he was willing to repay the money only if the New Jersey Attorney General's office or the Passaic County prosecutor's office found wrongdoing. [23]
After Torres' defeat in the mayoral election he was appointed business administrator for the municipal government of Jackson Township on Ocean County,New Jersey. [24] [25] [26] Amid criticism that he had abandoned the position to campaign and to take up his role as mayor of Paterson,he resigned on May 30,2014. [27] Based on his work there,Torres is collecting a $68,000 pension. [28]
He was also appointed director of the Bunker Hill Special Improvement District,a business improvement district and Urban Enterprise Zone,established in 1994 in the Bunker Hill neighborhood,a mostly industrial area in the northwest of city along the Passaic River. [29] [30] In May 2014 Torres said he would discuss resignation from the position after being sworn-in as mayor. [31] [32] After his resignation the position was taken up by his wife Sonia. [33] [34]
As of 2014 Torres receives a full-time annual salary of $119,000 as mayor. He also receives free health coverage as a retiree based on his pension,due to the fact that the New Jersey treasury department approved his retirement and pension. Torres filed his pension application in May,one week after winning the mayoral election,at a time when he was working as business administrator in Jackson Township. The state approved a $68,000 annual pension for Torres that took effect June 1 and was based on 29 years and eight months of cumulative service time in his jobs with Jackson Township,the City of Paterson and the Paterson Housing Authority. The situation has led to questions about how he can be an employee and retiree of the city at the same time. [35] In August 2020 Torres requested his health insurance be paid with public funding. [36]
In March 2016 WNBC 4 NY (Channel 4) broadcast surveillance videos obtained from Harry Melber of AHM Investigations,Melber and his son Nicholas of Premier Enterprise Services,LLC. another NJ Private Investigators firm (formed after the investigation of the mayor),were the main investigators on the team who took video and carried out the investigation. The videos showed Paterson municipal employees conducting work at Torres’personal home and the business of a relative which led to coverage in other press and the start of a state investigation. [37] [38] [39] [40] Salary records show the workers each received considerable overtime payments. [41] [42]
In February 2017,the FBI subpoenaed all records relating to work conducted at Torres' home since 2012. [43]
Torres and three public works supervisors:Joseph Mania,Timothy Hanlon and Imad Mowaswes were indicted on March 7,2017 on charges of second-degree official misconduct,pattern of official misconduct,third-degree theft by unlawful taking or disposition,tampering with public records or information and fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records. [44]
Torres was indicted on corruption charges on March 7,2017. The charges came amid several investigative reports by WNBC 4 NY. The investigation of misuse of municipal workers began with broadcast surveillance videos taken by private investigations firm AHM Investigations LLC. Torres turned himself in to New Jersey State Police in Totowa on March 13,2017. [45]
Torres was arraigned on the charges on April 17,2017. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in Hudson County Superior Court. [46] He was offered a plea bargain deal. [47] He was later convicted &sentenced. [36]
He pleaded guilty to corruption charges on September 22,2017 and was forced to step down from his mayoral position. [2] [3]
Passaic County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census,the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county,with a population of 524,118,its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 22,892 (+4.6%) from the 2010 census count of 501,226,which in turn reflected an increase of 12,177 (+2.5%) from the 489,049 counted in the 2000 census.
Clifton is a city in Passaic County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways,the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census,the city retained its position as the state's 11th-most-populous municipality,just behind 2020 #10 Trenton,and well ahead of 2020 #12 Cherry Hill,with a population of 90,296,reflecting an overall increase of 6,160 (+7.3%) from the 2010 census count of 84,136,which in turn reflected an overall increase of 5,464 (+6.9%) from the 78,672 counted in the 2000 census. The Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 88,461 for 2023,making Clifton the 394th-most populous municipality in the nation.
Passaic is a city in Passaic County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census,the city was the state's 16th-most-populous municipality,with a population of 70,537,falling behind Bayonne,an increase of 756 (+1.1%) from the 2010 census count of 69,781,which in turn reflected an increase of 1,920 residents (+2.8%) from the 2000 census population of 67,861. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 68,903 for 2023,making it the 552nd-most populous municipality in the nation. Among cities with more than 50,000 people,Passaic was the fifth-most densely populated municipality in the United States,with more than 22,000 people per square mile.
Paterson is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census,Paterson was the state's third-most-populous municipality,with a population of 159,732. an increase of 13,533 (+9.3%) from the 2010 census count of 146,199,which in turn reflected a decline of 3,023 (-2.0%) from the 149,222 counted in the 2000 census. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 156,452 for 2023,making it the 168th-most populous municipality in the nation.
Pompton Lakes is a borough in Passaic County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census,the borough's population was 11,127,an increase of 30 (+0.3%) from the 2010 census count of 11,097,which in turn reflected an increase of 457 (+4.3%) from the 10,640 counted in the 2000 census.
Wayne is a township in Passaic County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Home to William Paterson University and located less than 20 miles (32 km) from Midtown Manhattan,the township is a bedroom suburb of New York City and regional commercial hub of North Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census,the township's population was 54,838,an increase of 121 (+0.2%) from the 2010 census count of 54,717,which in turn reflected an increase of 648 (+1.2%) from the 54,069 counted in the 2000 census.
Woodland Park is a borough in Passaic County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census,the borough's population was 13,484,an increase of 1,665 (+14.1%) from the 2010 census count of 11,819,which in turn reflected an increase of 832 (+7.6%) from the 10,987 counted in the 2000 census.
The Great Falls of the Passaic River is a prominent waterfall,77 feet (23 m) high,on the Passaic River in the city of Paterson in Passaic County,New Jersey. The falls and surrounding area are protected as part of the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park,administered by the National Park Service. The Congress authorized its establishment in 2009.
William James Pascrell Jr. is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 9th congressional district,having served in the House since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party and a native of Paterson,New Jersey,Pascrell represented New Jersey's 8th congressional district until 2013;due to the federally mandated redistricting after the 2010 United States census,which resulted in New Jersey losing a seat in the House,Pascrell's home city was placed in the 9th district,which he has represented since. Before his election to the House of Representatives,Pascrell served in the New Jersey General Assembly for four terms beginning in 1988,and was elected to two terms as mayor of Paterson.
Gary Steven Schaer is an American Democratic Party politician who represents the 36th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since he took office on January 10,2006. He also serves on the Passaic,New Jersey City Council where he is the council president. Schaer is the first Orthodox Jew in the New Jersey Legislature. In the Assembly,Schaer was Deputy Speaker from 2012 to 2023 and chair of the Budget Committee from 2014 to 2017,and has been the Assembly's Policy Chair since 2020.
Eastside High School is a four–year public high school located in Paterson section of Passaic County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey,that serves the eastern section of Paterson. EHS,which serves ninth through twelfth grade students,operates as part of the Paterson Public Schools. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1928. Eastside High School opened on February 1,1926.
Downtown Paterson is the main commercial district of Paterson,Passaic County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The area is the oldest part of the city,along the banks of the Passaic River and its Great Falls. It is roughly bounded by Interstate 80,Garret Mountain Reservation,Route 19,Oliver Street,and Spruce Street on the south;the Passaic River,West Broadway,Cliff Street,North 3rd Street,Haledon Avenue,and the borough of Prospect Park on the west;and the Passaic River also to the north.
Martin G. "Marty" Barnes was an American Republican Party politician from Paterson,New Jersey. He served as Mayor of Paterson,New Jersey for five years. He was the first African-American mayor in Paterson's history.
Danforth Memorial Library,also known as the Paterson Free Public Library,is located at 250 Broadway in the city of Paterson in Passaic County,New Jersey,United States. The library was built in 1905 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 1,1984,for its significance in architecture,education,and social history.
Gerald Speziale is an American law enforcement officer and Public Safety Director of the Paterson Police Department and the Paterson Fire Department in Paterson,New Jersey. A former member of the New York City Police Department,Speziale has also served as the Sheriff of Passaic County,New Jersey,as Deputy Police Superintendent - Assistant Director of Public Safety for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department,and as Chief of Police for the City of Prichard,Alabama. He has worked as an undercover officer in the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA),and for the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force while in the NYPD.
Paterson STEAM High School is a four-year public high school in Paterson in Passaic County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey,operated as part of the Paterson Public Schools. It is one of the academy programs serving students in ninth through twelfth grades offered by the school district.
Jeffery Jones is the former Mayor of Paterson,the third largest city in New Jersey. He served from 2010 to 2014. The Paterson City Council censured Mayor Jeffery Jones for refusing to testify about why he and top salaried officials received nearly $51,000 in overtime following Hurricane Irene.
Andre Sayegh is an American politician who has served since 2018 as the Mayor of Paterson,the third-most populous city in New Jersey. Prior to being elected as Mayor,Sayegh served on the Paterson City Council from 2008 until 2018.
Jane Williams-Warren served as the second female African-American mayor of Paterson,New Jersey (2017–2018).
Jose "Joey" Torres, 61, who was forced to resign as mayor of Paterson after his criminal conviction in 2017...
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