Rothman turns defeat into huge paycheck

Steve Rothman of Englewood when he was a  U.S. congressman. His smile is even broader now that he's landed a job with a big law firm. (Wikipedia)

It's bad enough Steve Rothman of Englewood ran from a fight against one of the most conservative members of Congress, and took on fellow Democrat Bill Pascrell Jr. of Paterson.

Lots of Democrats cheered mightily when Pascrell defeated Rothman in the election this past November, and roared with laughter as the latter's 16-year career in Congress ended in disgrace.

Now, Rothman has parlayed all the campaign donations he received from top defense contractors into a job with one of the state's biggest law firms, where he will head a new division that will cater to defense-industry clients (Page 1 of The Record on Friday).

Isn't that cozy?

The newspaper doesn't like reporting on the hourly rates charged by lawyers -- one of the factors that denies people who want to sue their employers access to the courts.

But I'll bet Rothman's hourly rate at Sills Cummis & Gross will be big enough to choke a horse or a litigant. 


The Record's story omits how Rothman moved back to Englewood from Fair Lawn to avoid running against Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage.

Second look

So far, Margulies the cartoonist is the only member of the news or editorial staff to expose how Governor Christie is sweeping all of his policy failures under the rug as part of his "Superstorm Sandy clean-up" (A-10 on Thursday).

This week's cover story on suburban sprawl in the Signature section contains more discussion of mass transit than has appeared in the newspaper in the past decade (Thursday).

Bat, Mac and fat 

In Friday's Better Living section, Staff Writer Elisa Ung devotes half of her restaurant review to the "back story" of Bat Barry's, an "American bistro" in Westwood.

"Bat," it seems, is a nickname used by Bartholomew Barry, just as "Mac" is the nickname of Chairman Malcolm A. Borg.

And I always thought the nickname "Mac" recognized his love of mac and cheese for breakfast.

"Fat" is what Ung must be after sampling at least three of Bat Barry's artery clogging desserts -- among the hundreds she has eaten and often complained about since she took over the restaurant beat more than 5 years ago.   

Today's paper

A story on the Local front today reports Hackensack will maintain a computer database for inspection reports "to make sure no buildings 'fall through the cracks' and that codes are enforced" (L-1).

The Record's investigation found serious violations at two buildings on Johnson Avenue that are owned by politically connected lawyers.  

Those homes aren't the only ones with building violations. 

The house at 177 Euclid Ave. -- especially the front steps -- has been in a state of disrepair for more than 5 years, and the city's Building Department seems powerless.