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Glen Rock Council Taps Ridgefield Mayor Suarez For Borough Attorney

GLEN ROCK, N.J. -- Glen Rock Mayor Bruce Packer said in a recent blog post that he will discuss the hiring of a new borough attorney at a meeting of the Council on Wednesday.

Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez, right, has been chosen as the borough attorney for Glen Rock, N.J.

Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez, right, has been chosen as the borough attorney for Glen Rock, N.J.

Photo Credit: Ridgefield NJ Democrats/Facebook

In his post, Packer said that Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez was appointed to the post at a reorganization meeting in January.

Suarez will replace longtime Borough Attorney Robert Garibaldi, Packer said.

The town advertised the job and received about a dozen responses, the mayor said. These were narrowed down to three candidates: Garibaldi, Suarez, and Doug Bern, who also answered the town’s ad for a labor attorney.

Bern was appointed as the town’s labor attorney, Packer said in his post.

Suarez was chosen, Packer said, because he had experience in issues relating to “police departments, downtown redevelopment and revitalization, and affordable housing.”

Certain members of the public have raised issues both about Suarez’s background and the selection process, Packer wrote.

According to a report in NorthJersey.com, Suarez had been arrested in 2009 as part of an FBI and IRS probe of a money-laundering ring. He had been charged with accepting a bribe, the NorthJersey.com reported, but was acquitted on all counts in 2010.

In his post, Packer addressed the 2009 case, saying that Suarez, having been falsely accused, proved his innocence during the trial.

Packer also noted that the new borough attorney, a member of the New Jersey state bar since 1993, has an ethics record that “is absolutely clear.”

Packer, writing that he hoped the borough could now “move forward,” said he and the council “did not ignore Mr. Suarez’s past as we felt that there was nothing to ignore.”

Packer, in his post, also said, “There was not a cover-up at the meeting where Suarez was appointed as the borough attorney has always been part of the consent agenda at reorganization meetings.”

The council meeting is set for 8 p.m. Wednesday. A work session was scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday. Suarez is expected to be at both meetings, Packer wrote in his post.

To read Packer's full post, click here.

To read NorthJersey.com's story, click here.

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