

Paramus' new borough administrator was permanently barred from a Secaucus union five years ago after a federal monitor learned of his connection to an alleged Genovese crime family associate.
Paramus Mayor James Tedesco said he knew about the disciplinary action and said it did not deter him from choosing Anthony Iacono to fill the borough's top spot, which has been vacant for more than a decade.
"There's nothing to hide here," Tedesco said. "We knew it all." But other council members said they didn't know.
Iacono came to Paramus from Secaucus, where he was paid about $107,000 a year as town administrator. He is making $135,000 a year in Paramus, though his current contract runs only through the end of the year.
According to a report by the union's public review board, Kurt Muellenberg, the monitor who oversaw Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union Local 69, banned Iacono in 2002. The report concluded that Iacono gave a cellphone to John N. Agathos Sr., the union's former president who was barred from it for ties to organized crime. The report alleged Agathos embezzled $170,000, though criminal charges were not brought against him.
In an interview Thursday, Iacono denied being involved with organized crime or giving Agathos a cellphone, but said he has been friends with the Agathos family for more than 20 years.
"Nobody has anything on me," he said. "There's no law that says who you can or can't be friends with."
Five years ago, the federal monitor forbade union members from having any contact with Agathos. When federally appointed union investigator Howard O'Leary asked Iacono to explain his connection to Agathos, Iacono resisted and resigned as a Local 69 member. "The evidence that Iacono repeatedly evaded all attempts to depose him is overwhelming," the union's report said. "Iacono resigned his union membership rather than be deposed."
The report contends that Agathos "knowingly associated with Genovese Crime Family members and associates, conspired to extort money from a New Jersey restaurant owner and embezzled HERE [Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees] Local 69 funds."
A federal judge appointed a monitor to purge the union of organized crime in April 2002.
Iacono's involvement with Local 69 stemmed from his part-time employment as a maitre d' for the Pegasus restaurant and the Stadium Club at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The jobs, both of which he still holds, came through his connection to Agathos while in college, said Iacono.
Iacono, who holds a master's degree in public administration, said he continues to work there because of the additional income and he enjoys the job.
He was hired by Paramus soon after the council unanimously approved Tedesco's appointment of him on Aug. 28. In addition to his salary, he's also entitled to a borough car.
He has been a public servant for about 19 years, serving as a city administrator in Union City and a township manager in Weehawken, where his father, Stanley Iacono, previously served as mayor. Before that, he worked with the state Department of Community Affairs.
From 1997 to this past August, he served as the borough administrator in Secaucus, where his salary was about $107,000 in 2006, according to state records.
A spokesman for the state Treasury Department said that despite Iacono's longevity, he would not immediately be eligible to receive a state pension for at least 10 years because of his age. Iacono is 45.
The latest state records show that Iacono has logged 19 years and eight months in the state pension system. He needs to achieve 20 years in the system so that he can begin collecting in 2017, according to Mark Perkiss, a spokesman for the Treasury Department. However, the post in Paramus may give him the extra time to vest his pension and collect later.
He continues to work in Secaucus as a consultant and will earn $1,600 per month through December, according to acting Town Administrator Peggy Barcala.
His political opponents there say he was pushed out.
"He had to go. People were disgusted with him," said Frank MacCormack, a past opponent of Iacono's boss, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell. "I was shocked when Paramus took him. ... If they researched deeply enough, they would see an undercurrent that's suspicious."
Elwell disagrees.
He described Iacono as energetic and hardworking, and said he never felt Iacono's relationship with Agathos was cause for concern.
"He was an excellent administrator in Secaucus," Elwell said. "He knows how to make calls and get things done."
Paramus council members who interviewed candidates for the administrator job described Iacono as a perfect fit. They said his current contract covers only three months because, under borough ordinance, the position is appointed on a yearly basis.
The search for a new administrator officially began in March.
Councilman and Police Commissioner Richard LaBarbiera worked on the search committee that reviewed resumes and interviewed candidates. He described the process of filling the position as intensive and said Iacono's contract most likely will be renewed in January.
"That was a huge void, and we're glad he filled it," said LaBarbiera, who's running for council as an incumbent in Tuesday's election. "He's been good. Hopefully, he'll stay around Paramus for a long time."
He said he did not know about Iacono's connection with Agathos or the ban from Local 69, but does not think it would have a bearing on his ability as an administrator.
"This is all news to me," LaBarbiera said. "It sounds like it's tied to a relationship that has nothing to do with his ability to perform."
Tedesco said he thought the council asked Iacono about Agathos and Local 69.
When asked if the subject came up during his interview, Iacono replied, "absolutely not."
Council members Denis Niland and Connie Wagner were also members of the committee that identified Iacono as the best candidate from a field of about a dozen.
"The reason why we took a long time to decide was we wanted somebody to stay with us ... so we wouldn't have to go through the process again," Niland said. "I'm happy with him. ... He's doing a good job."
LaBarbiera and Niland both said they first learned about Iacono's application for the job while reviewing resumes, and not through a personal recommendation.
Wagner, who is also a Bergen County freeholder and a candidate for state Assembly, did not return several calls for comment.
The decision to hire Iacono was not entirely up to the search committee, though. The council voted to appoint Iacono unanimously.
Tedesco said before the borough hired its new administrator, he received anonymous messages detailing Iacono's past, but did not examine whether any of the claims were true.
"He had made me comfortable that this was in the past and didn't affect his job," Tedesco said. "As far as Paramus is concerned, it's not an issue."
(northjersey.com)