The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor and the “Perjury Trap”

This blog has been prepared as a public service for the hardworking men and women who work the seaports of New Jersey and New York.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ronald Zweibel slammed the Waterfront Commission for creating a “perjury trap” in order to nail Dominick DiNapoli, who was convicted last June on five counts of lying to investigators.

“It is clear that the Waterfront Commission was so focused on alleged perjury with respect to minutia, that the Commission lost sight of the forest . . . for the trees,” Zweibel wrote, in reversing the conviction.

Although the Waterfront Commission pursued Mr. DiNapoli with a vigorous, or some might say, viperous prosecution, Judge Zweibel, so the case for what it really was, “a perjury trap.”

Longshoremen, Checkers, Security and Maintenance-man should never appear for an Article IV interview without first consulting with an experienced Waterfront Commission Lawyer.

By-in-large the Waterfront Commission performs its statutory duty, under the Waterfront Act, to protect the ports from criminal activity and influence with fairness and professionalism, and has no desire to take away the livelihood of any of the good men and woman who work everyday in the ports of New Jersey and New York.  However, having said that, any Longshoremen, Checker, Maintenance-man or security personnel, being called down for an Article IV interview must understand that there is a specific reason why the worker is being called in by the Waterfront Commission.  Accordingly, the worker must understand his rights, or lack of rights, during these interviews, and understand that he or she must be extremely careful in every response given, so as not to intentionally, or unintentionally, give a answer which the Waterfront Commission might consider to amount to perjury.  All interviews are under oath, and perjury is a crime punishable in New Jersey or New York, depending on the circumstances. 

If you are being called to the Waterfront Commission for an Article IV interview, or any interview, you owe it to yourself to consult an experienced Waterfront Attorney, who has been practicing waterfront commission law for 29 years with successful results.

Law Office of Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr.

CriminalDefenseNJ.com

277 North Broad Street

P.O. Box 261

Elizabeth, N.J. 07207

(908) 354-7006

April 8, 2015

Quote of the Day: “Innocence, not revenge, undoes violence. In a world that refuses to admit objective justice, the innocent can be put forward as guilty by the guilty, as long as the guilty are loud and ubiquitous enough.” Author unknown.

Interesting facts about Elizabeth, N.J.  Princeton University was founded and had its first building erected in Elizabeth, N.J., in the year 1746.  The site of Princeton’s first building was on Broad Street, next to the First Presbyterian Church, the site of the Old School House, in which Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr attended grammar school together. And you thought Elizabeth was only about Port Elizabeth.