ALBERT PAUL OPACITY |
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| South Bergenite |
February 14, 2001 |
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Pol faked military record, resigns |
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| BY E.J. CHUPAK Managing Editor LYNDHURST - The alleged political war swarming around the Board of Commissioners appears to have reached a cease-fire.
Revenue and Finance Commissioner Albert P. Opacity struck an agreement
with the Bergen County Prosecutor's When Opacity was charged last September with falsifying his DD-214 military document by embellishing service in Vietnam and distinguished honors such as a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Infantry Badge, he adamantly claimed his innocence. Five months later, the maligned commissioner has entered into a pre-indictment plea program that requires immediate resignation, a letter of apology to the Lyndhurst Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post and relinquishment of his Green Beret uniform and all badges and medals not properly attained. According to Assistant Prosecutor Ike Gavzy, the probationary intervention spans six months and is available for nonviolent, first-time offenders with no prior criminal record. "A lot of times if the case meets the criteria, we'll offer this program," Gavzy said. "If the program is satisfactorily completed, all charges are dismissed." |
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| Opacity and his wife,
Ida, claimed last year that the charges resulted from fallingouts with
high ranking town officials and a subsequent political conspiracy.
Lyndhurst resident and Opacity acquaintance Bob Brack, Sr. - who said he served as a Special Forces Green Beret in Vietnam - said last year that he was certain Opacity was telling the truth. Both Opacity's and Brack were unavailable for comment. Charges of political malice against Opacity mounted in December after a rocky relationship with township clerk's office employees boiled over and resulted in his being relieved as head of the department. Mayor James Guida said last week that while he has no ill feelings toward Opacity, the persistent finger pointing in the direction of his Board of Commissioners is disturbing. |
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"There was nothing political here,' Guida said. 'I've said that
all along.'
He added, 'It's a sad day when we lose a commissioner this way. I hope he would put his life back together and straighten this situation out."
Guida said he will suggest to the Board the open seat not be filled before
the municipal election in May. "This is a case of stolen valor," said Lyndhurst. Police Chief James O'Connor. 'It blemishes the heroic acts of those who went to Vietnam and gave their lives. 'It also blemishes their families." Gavzy said the matter is over, as far as the Prosecutor's Office is concerned. The pre-trial intervention program was deemed sufficient, he added. "I think it's pretty obvious what went on here and the investigation is closed, " he sad. |
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Friday, February 9, 2001 |
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The Record Bergen County Friday, February 9, 2001 In return, the felony charge against him will be dropped if he complies with all the stipulations of the agreement, which was reached during a pretrial hearing in Superior Court in Hackensack. Albert Opacity, who was finishing his first term as a township commissioner, had said he served as a Green Beret in Vietnam, retired as a captain, and received a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, and several combat awards. Opacity included these false claims on a form that all veterans must file with the Lyndhurst tax assessor's office to receive a property-tax discount, prosecutors said. Opacity's official records in St. Louis make no mention of service in Vietnam or the Special Forces, known for their green berets. There are no records to indicate that he was awarded a Bronze Star or Purple Heart. And the records say Opacity left the Army as a clerk typist with a rank of specialist fourth class, not as a captain, as he said on the Lyndhurst form. "He didn't even go into the military until after the Vietnam conflict was over," said Bergen County Assistant Prosecutor Ike Gavzy. During the hearing Thursday, Gavzy said Opacity, who was charged with tampering with public records, used his phony military record in his 1997 political campaign. Judge Joseph Conte said Opacity betrayed fellow veterans in Lyndhurst, and he ordered him to write an apology to the town's Veterans of Foreign Wars post. "If he held himself out to his fellow servicemen with those honors and that rank and he did not have it, he owes them an apology," Conte said. Opacity stood silently as the conditions of the pretrial intervention agreement were read. He and his attorney, Terence Scott, would not discuss the agreement after the hearing.
Opacity blamed his fellow commissioners for the charges against him. After running on the same ticket three years ago with Mayor James Guida, Commissioner Thomas Graffam, and others on the governing body, Opacity had a political falling out with them. Graffam and Guida criticized the way he ran his departments, and they say he mistreated government employees. In December, the commissioners voted to strip Opacity of oversight of the township clerk's and assessor's offices after employees complained of harsh treatment. Gavzy said there was no political influence behind the charge. Guida and Graffam discounted Opacity's theory that they were behind it. "What's politics got to do with the truth?" Graffam said when contacted Thursday. "It's a matter of right and wrong."
"Being a veteran myself and losing two friends in Vietnam
and having one friend who did
receive a Purple Heart -- a guy doing this should offend any
veteran." But unfortunately he must have felt guilty for something." Guida said Opacity's seat is not expected to be filled until the municipal election in May.
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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Tuesday, September 19, 2000 |
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Lyndhurst, New Jersey Official charged in record altering |
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Distributed through the P.O.W. NETWORK in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. |