Untold story of Zisas' attempted comeback betrays readers

In February, former four-term Hackensack Mayor Jack Zisa spoke to an overflow crowd of loyalists at the Crow's Nest Restaurant, where Team Hackensack was launched. The so-called community organization, backed by the Zisa family, sponsored candidates in April's school board and school budget election, and plans to run a slate in next May's municipal election.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Six months after the Zisa family got three candidates elected or appointed to the city's Board of Education, The Record still hasn't printed a word about their new political organization, Team Hackensack. 

The Zisas ruled Hackensack for more than 30 years, beginning with the election of Frank Zisa in 1977.

Through the years, their influence was so pervasive, the city soon was cursed with the label of "Zisaville."

Now, Team Hackensack plans to run candidates in next May's municipal election, hoping to defeat the slate of reformers elected in 2013.

At the inaugural meeting of Team Hackensack in February, supporters were greeted by:

Jack Zisa, who served as mayor from 1989-2005; former City Attorney Joseph C. Zisa Jr.; and Ken Zisa, the former police chief who last week reached an agreement with the city that will bring him nearly $3 million.

See: Ken Zisa hits municipal jackpot

Today's paper

So-called Road Warrior John Cichowski continues to turn his back on commuters to write about a "traffic trap" in Cedar Grove that snared rapper Fetty Wap (A-1).

The Paterson native is shown on Page 1 holding some of the $175,000 in cash he brought to municipal court (A-1).

Let's hope the rapper, whose real name is Willie J. Maxwell II, doesn't become the target of the same kind of gunpoint robbery that reportedly stripped celebrity Kim Kardashian of $10 million in jewels.

Christie's F-bombs

When a Monmouth County freeholder left an expletive-filled voicemail complaining about Governor Christie taking credit for Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts in 2012, the GOP bully upped the ante with several F-bombs of his own.

In a Page 1 story on testimony in the Bridgegate trial, The Record quoted Christie with "expletive" in brackets, but on Twitter, Staff Writer Paul Berger was far more explicit:

"Who the fuck do you think you are calling me 'a fat fuck?' I'm the fucking Governor of this state," Christie told Freeholder John P. Curley.

"If you're not in Keansburg tomorrow, standing behind me on the podium, I will fucking destroy you. I will have a robo call sent out to every Republican before Election Day telling them not to vote for you."

Coal-fired plants

In another Page 1 story today, environmental reporter James O'Neill fails to mention that coal-fired power plants are the main source of mercury in fish (A-1).

Opponents of a 23-cents-per-gallon hike in the gasoline tax haven't come up with an alternative way of funding the Transportation Trust Fund, which is run by an independent agency of state government (A-1).

The legislative logjam lasted for years until Christie got Democrats to agree to cut taxes on the wealthy.