Who Hired Move Forward's Swastikas-on-Wheels? -UPDATE

Does anybody know?  We've got a real mystery on our hands.

top left, clockwise: World Media Entertainment (WME) listing on Manta, Google street view of WME business location, Lane Bajardi presenting his juxtaposition of a GA caricature next to a Nazi poster to the City Council on Dec. 15, 2010, Lane Bajardi's presentation graphic displayed at Wallace School on October 16, 2012.

Back on April 6, 2011, the very same truck sat across from Hoboken City Hall playing an F.B.I surveillance video showing Mike Russo directing Maher Khalil, Solomon Dwek's bag man, to put the $5,000 bribe in the Russo For Hoboken account (its Treasurer is Move Forward's Campaign Manager, John Castellano).

GA was there and snapped this pic:

April 6, 2011- World Media Entertainment truck plays the FBI surveillance tape of  the Russo-Dwek meeting

Pulling off a multi-media event of this kind is a collaborative process.  You have those who produce the video: the cameraman, narrator, graphic artist, audio and video production crews , the financier, and of course, the 'idea' people: planners, strategists and those who execute the plan directly with the vendor.  In this case, Neil Torres of  World Media Entertainment.

Now that you understand it take a village to raise a video-truck event, let's talk about the one at City Hall on April 6, 2011.  The video shown that evening was produced by the FBI with titles by Hoboken resident Greg Bond, the narrators were Mike Russo, Solomon Dwek, Khalil Maher.  As for the rest of the team...  those who planned and executed the hiring truck in 2011 freely admit to it, and have gone on record, either directly to GA or as noted.

Here are a few of them:

Greg Lincoln (email)
You may already know this.

Back during the 2011 city council campaigns, a few days prior to the protest at the city council meeting (after the FBI tapes had been released), Joe Branco had suggested to me that our campaign should hire this video truck to play parts of the FBI tape. He knew all the details about the truck, and who to contact. He was really pushing for it, it sounded like he was friends with the owner.

While the idea seemed intriguing, we were working off a very limited campaign budget and decided not to spend the money on that. Now, I can't remember if the city-wide campaign ended up paying for it, or if Joe himself paid for it. But it certainly wasn't funded by my campaign.

Greg Bond did create the video that played on the truck though.

I recalled reading somewhere that the either someone said (or Joe himself) that they had no idea who was hiring the truck, and they had no knowledge about it. Of course that's BS, there is no way Joe Branco isn't involved with the renting of the truck.



Jake Stuiver (email)

As I recall, it was Joe who suggested the idea of using the "media truck" when I was organizing last year's protest in the wake of the Russo FBI tapes coming out. Joe brought the existence of such a truck-for-hire to my attention in the first place and enthusiastically championed the idea of using it. He gave me the name and phone number of the truck's proprietor, suggested some possible routes and parking locations near City Hall, and explained how the truck could be used to draw the attention of uninformed passers-by to the message we were seeking to convey. Once Joe provided the proprietor's phone number, I coordinated with the driver and helped raise money to cover the cost (which I recall as being $100/hour), and throughout the day I continued to consult with Joe on various logistics. I can certainly say that the idea and execution of the media truck for the Russo protest would not have been possible, or even on anyone's radar, without the invaluable and eager assistance of Joe Branco.


Greg Lincoln (MSV post)
Just reposting from the HR site:

With a little bit of due diligence, the HR could actually follow up and find that Mr. Castellano is not telling the truth. "Move Forward" is indeed behind the video truck rental.

The video truck also appeared in Hoboken about a year and a half ago, the night of the protest at city hall after the FBI video was released of Mike Russo's meeting with Solomon Dwek.

The person responsible for bringing the truck to Hoboken that time was Joe Branco. The same Joe Branco who is the campaign manager of the "Move Forward" efforts.

According to Roman Bryce's inquiries of Mr. Branco, "MSV spoke to Move Forward co-campaign manager Joe Branco. Asked about the origins of the truck and its appearance outside the Wallace School, Branco repeatedly said he didn't "know anything" about it including its cost."

That also is an outright lie. Joe Branco was the person who suggested having the van last time, and was the one who made all the arrangements. If I remember correctly, Joe described it to me as "I have a friend who has this truck...". For him to deny any knowledge of it at this point is patently ridiculous.

Joseph Branco  (MSV post)

Greg, for complete transparently I didn’t hire the truck this time or last time. I didn’t make the arrangements for the truck this time or last time either. You are correct that I did give his number out last time but it wasn’t my idea for the video nor did I make the video. I had been asked for his number and I gave his number to one of your co-commissioners and he called and made the arrangements. Your co-commissioner also had the video edited by one of your buddies. This time is a little different; I had absolutely nothing to do it. Nobody asked me for his number, nor did I arrange it. The real Joseph Branco. 

Thanks, fellas for going on the record.  You had nothing to be ashamed of in 2011.

That video was simply a hidden camera surveillance tape. It  wasn't made to disseminate lies or present out-of-context imagery spun out of malevolence.  The 2011 truck did not ride around town flashing swastikas.

I guess that's why no one has a problem admitting to 'hiring' WME back in 2011.

Then what about Move Forward's Swastikas-on-Wheels?  Here it was, outside my daughter's school on the night of October 16, 2012:

October 16, 2012- repulsive: Move Forward flashes swastikas on their video truck parked outside Wallace School

 That was before and after Move Forward's Third Reich Cinema drove up and down Washington street blasting:

"I think all good people of Hoboken should stand up and condemn Nancy Pincus for what she is!" 

Oh wait... that was Lane Bajardi to the City Council on  December 15, 2010.  He created  the juxtaposition of graphics- mine and a Nazi poster- that was used on Move Forward's Swastika-truck!  Perhaps it was blasting this:

"Do you condone this type of stomach-turning scatological display as appropriate political activity?"

No...  that was Lane Bajardi to the City Council on April 7, 2010.  He handed out  color copies of the 'poop' graphic that was used on Move Forward's Swastika-truck!  Maybe the 'Nazi truck' said this:

"Ms. Minutillo wrote a letter of thanks. Liz Mulholland and Kyra Bond were the first and second people thanked. The third person was Nancy Pincus. Ms. Minutillo proudly identified Ms. Pincus as quote "our graphic designer" and she plays the same role..."

Wrong again!

That was Lane Bajardi to the Board of Education on April 10, 2010.   He distributed more color copies of the 'poop-graphic' that was used on Move Forward's Swastika-truck!

Well...

Until someone Moves Forward and admits they hired Joe Branco's friend to drive around town showing swastikas... 

Until someone Moves Forward to say he called World Media Entertainment with the telephone number provided by Joe Branco...

Until then we'll never know WHO was behind the political stunt that flashed Nazi symbols on Washington Street and at a school, defamed a local resident/mom/blogger to win VOTES for Move Forward, co-managed by Joe Branco.

Illegal donation to Move forward: enough to buy 70 hours of MF's vile Swastika-video on Washington St.
 

(Update: 4:20 PM)

The media has coined it a 'Nazi Truck'.  Now Hoboken's rabbis are weighing on Move Forward's use of a swastika in their BoE campaign against Kids First:  According to the Hoboken Reporter:

Rabbi Moshe Schapiro of Chabad in Hoboken said he hadn’t seen the truck himself, but “I’ve seen pictures and I think it’s despicable. I’m appalled and shocked that anyone can use an image of such hatred and bigotry. I don’t know whose side, what side, if they’re repeating something, but how can one be so insensitive to Holocaust survivors who will walk by, or people who had grandparents who survived the camps, and have to witness such an image driving around the city?” 

He added, “Whoever is responsible should immediately remove it and apologize. I am shocked this could happen in this day and age. In other countries it’s a crime to use that image. We have freedom of speech, but a million and a half Jewish babies were killed…this is not something that should be used for some political gain.” 

Rabbi Robert Scheinberg of the United Synagogue of Hoboken, who two years ago issued a statement after Pincus was criticized for using Nazi imagery in a parody on her blog, said this time around, “Using Nazi imagery in a local Hoboken election, trivializing the cataclysmic events of World War II, is completely inexcusable. I would urge whoever is responsible for these projected images to follow the example of the local blogger who, two years ago, publicly apologized for her use of such images on her blog and immediately removed them.” 

Yep, follow my example Joe.

And John, Beth, Ricky, Mason's videographer who filmed me at the Zoning Board then put it on this 'Nazi truck', and whomever else participated in this historic first usage of Nazi imagery in a Hoboken political campaign.

That's quite a distinction.