[SHOCKING VIDEO] Mahwah Resident unleashes accusations of corruption by Township attorneys at Council meeting.

Mahwah Resident Jessica LoPiccolo openly accused Township attorneys of corruption for their ties to Lakewood, NJ

Last night, the Mahwah Township Council allowed several questions regarding the settlement agreement signed between the Township and the Bergen Rockland Eruv Association to end the ongoing Civil Rights litigation.

Resident Jessica LoPiccolo stated to the council that there could be a “conflict of interest” and a “breach of confidential information” based on the fact Mahwah’s attorneys represented Lakewood, NJ in unrelated tax appeals.  She stated that she “also had legal representation look at this and attorneys and all of them also saw a conflict of interest here.”

[ed note — representing another town in an unrelated action is not a conflict of interest in any way.  These are serious accusations and were proffered without a shred of evidence]

The episode was reminiscent of Mahwah councilman (now resigned) Steven Sbarra claiming that a Holocaust survivor addressing the council was a paid actor and imploring those in attendance to “follow the money, folks“.

This was too much for even Township attorney Brian Chewcaskie to take. Chewcaskie responded:

“What does the town of Lakewood have to do with anything?  Besides the fact that it has a Jewish community. Is that your point?”

Council President Robert Hermansen doubles down on the Jewish Conspiracy Theories

At the end of Ms. LoPiccolo’s comments, Council President Robert Hermansen connects the dots from (((Tracy Zur))) to the (((Simon Wiesenthal Center))) to (((Michael Cohen))) and then to Mahwah Mayor (((Bill Laforet))).

Hermansen stated:

“I found out about something also afterwards.  I found out about Chairwoman Zur and how she was involved with the Simon Wiesenthal Foundation too. And it just was miraculous that all of a sudden that we ended up with one thing having one thing to happen and before you know it we had someone who was representing them who was on the same board as she was, here, which just so happened to be someone else’s best friend who is sitting on our dais.  There was a lot of miraculous things starting to occur that I find out afterwards. Piecing things together, that’s all.”

Tracy has always been an active member of her community by serving as a Board Member of both the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey as a Women’s Philanthropy and Executive Board Member, as well as being an active member of the PTA. In addition, Tracy sits of the Board of Trustees at the Gerrard Berman Day School, and has volunteered for Alternatives to Domestic Violence and Meals on Wheels. She also serves as an NLC and Simon Wisenthal Center mentor and serves on the Board of both Emerge NJ and Women for Progress.

  • The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Mision states:

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is a global human rights organization researching the Holocaust and hate in a historic and contemporary context. The Center confronts anti-Semitism, hate and terrorism, promotes human rights and dignity, stands with Israel, defends the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations.

Is it any stretch of the imagination that an organization whose mission is combating hate in a contemporary context, sent a representative to speak at a Town, whose council has been described as “entertain[ing] – and act[ing] under the influence of – public comments rife with hate and bias”, by the State of New Jersey?

The action against Mahwah and the Town Council has not yet been resolved.  I wonder what the reason could possibly be?  Perhaps Hermansen isn’t the only person that can connect some dots.

The AG Lawsuit against Mahwah and its council can be found here.


I reached out to the firm of Cleary Giacobbe Alfieri Jacobs, LLC, Mr. Olear and Council President Hermansen.
Mr. Hermansen responded via text “please go away”. I have not yet heard back from the law firm or Mr. Olear, but will update the post if they wish to comment.

Mahwah’s problems are just warming up

Leave a Reply