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Addonizio's claim of immunity did not amuse U.S. Attorney Frederick B. Lacey. Lacey marched Addonizio before Federal Judge Robert Shaw and asked him to order the mayor to answer. Shaw declined to issue the order, but did demand that Addonizio explain his refusal in open court. Addonizio justified his silence on the grounds that he felt his answers might help forge a chain of evidence that could incriminate him. He knew the younger Boiardo, he said, and believed that he was under investigation. "Well, I guess that disposes of that one [question]," Shaw commented dryly.
Addonizio is not the only Newark official in trouble. Speaking in Florida the night before Addonizio's grand jury appearance, Attorney General John Mitchell revealed that he soon expected "a massive indictment of public officials on a local level" in a state corrupted by organized crime. He also disclosed that federal authorities were on the verge of cracking "probably the largest gambling syndicate that's ever been broken up in this country." Although Mitchell's unusual advance buildup did not identify the state, Justice Department officials said it was New Jersey.
Strike Force. It would hardly be surprising if it is. New Jersey was for years the domain of the late Vito Genovese, and since his death its rackets have been under the suzerainty of Gerardo ("Jerry") Catena. Nearly two years ago, the office of Essex County Prosecutor Joseph Lordi began to study the relationship between city officials and Mafiosi. In January, the Federal Government got into the act. A strike force of investigators from several agencies descended upon the state. Working with state officials and information developed by Lordi and the Essex County probe, it secured bribery and conspiracy indictments against two IRS officials, the head of a local contracting company and an accountant.
Whatever comes out of the continuing investigations, Addonizio—and Newark—is in trouble. Federal authorities have left to State Attorney General Arthur Sills the decision of whether to enforce a New Jersey law providing for the removal from office of public officials who refuse to waive immunity before a grand jury. Addonizio faces tough opposition if he decides to seek re-election in May. While the city's blacks are politically divided, Addonizio has a determined challenger on the right. City Councilman Anthony Imperiale, an Independent whose anti-black stand has won him wide support from Newark's white lower middle class, has already announced his intention of running for mayor. For Newark voters who truly want to make the city a community of which they can be proud, the election shapes up as not much of a choice.