Corruption charges business as usual for Middlesex County Dems

In other places, news that a former longtime elected official was being charged with corruption would qualify as a bit of a stunner.

But not in New Jersey. And certainly not with the Middlesex County Democratic machine involved.

Truth is, no one should be particularly surprised that former Sheriff Joseph Spicuzzo is the target of allegations of misconduct that include accepting bribes in exchange for providing jobs within the sheriff's department. Spicuzzo is, after all, a party boss in the county, having served as sheriff for three decades before deciding not to seek re-election last year, while continuing in his role as county party chairman which he has held for 16 years.

We're frankly more surprised when county Democrats with that kind of pedigree are not accused of being dirty.

We'll spare readers the county's full litany of transgressors and accused transgressors; a couple of prominent names should make the point — Joe Vas and John Lynch. Vas, the former Perth Amboy mayor and assemblyman, pleaded guilty last year to charges including illegally funneling money into a congressional campaign fund through a "straw donor" scheme. Lynch, a former Senate president and mayor of New Brunswick, was convicted of mail fraud and tax evasion and completed his prison term in 2009.

Both, in other words, were longtime elected officials and power brokers in the county who were pulling countless strings behind the scenes before their fall. Spicuzzo's general profile is an almost perfect match.

Clearly there's a bigger problem here that goes far beyond any individual case. The Middlesex County Democratic machine doesn't run clean. But since Republicans can't seem to make any meaningful inroads in the wake of these scandals, Democrats, it seems, feel little incentive to change.

Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono, D-Metuchen, was quick to call for Spicuzzo to resign immediately as party chair, which Spicuzzo did Monday. Other Democratic lawmakers followed suit with similar denouncements. But of course it wasn't long ago when Democrats were heaping praise upon Spicuzzo when he was appointed a commissioner with the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority by former Gov. Jon Corzine in December 2009. Gov. Chris Christie subsequently called Spicuzzo "probably the most unqualified candidate for the Sports Authority you can find."

It's easy, however, for Democratic leaders already in position of power to blast someone like Spicuzzo after the fact. What Middlesex County Democrats really need are the rank-and-file committee members and local elected officials speaking up, pushing the party to start doing business differently rather than accepting the kinds of corruption too often explained away as "just the way things get done here."

And many voters would do well to consider sending their own message moving forward, rather than reflexively supporting the candidates with the "D" next to their names.