Will Mayor Gilliam Audit Chiesa Firm Invoices to Atlantic City?


Yo, Mayor Frank. Might be time to roll up your sleeves and get down to the business of defending Atlantic City taxpayers. ACprimetime just received a letter written by local attorney, Seth Grossman. Looks like you received a copy too.

Seth Grossman is a former Atlantic City councilman and the tenacious director of LibertyandProsperity.com. Grossman has some interesting things to share with the new Mayor of Atlantic City.

Item of greatest interest: the need for investigating and auditing the Chiesa Law Firm bills to Atlantic City. This is pretty heavy stuff for Mayor Frank. Mucho dinero is vanishing right under his nose, just like it disappeared under Guardian’s.

Is Gilliam ready to step up for his beloved City? The Northside needs a protector, not another cheerleader that only cares about Southside casinos. Ya feel me?

liberty and prosperity seth grossman


From Seth Grossman, Director of LibertyandProsperity:

Editors note: the following are highlights, lightly edited for space & clarity considerations. See actual PDF letter at bottom of page.

Dear Frank: Congratulations on your hard fought and well-earned election. For two years, the efforts of LibertyandProsperity.com were frustrated by the previous mayor, who for some unknown reason, put the interests of State insiders above what was best for local taxpayers.


Atlantic City Bills & Payments Related to Chiesa’s Law Firm Should Be Investigated & Audited.

Chiesa can bill the city $400 per hour. Partners at his law firm can bill $350 per hour. Associates charge $240 per hour. Paralegals can bill $90 per hour.

Philly.com says $118,000 was invoiced for reviewing City Council agendas. Really.

According to Philly.com, the Chiesa Law firm has billed over $4 million so far. Invoices show that. But who’s the recipient of those invoices, and who’s paying the Chiesa Law Firm?

  • If local taxpayers are paying Chiesa, there should be records in City Hall. Mayor Gilliam and guys like Councilman Delgado should know where to find them.
  • If the State is paying Chiesa, there should Treasury Department records. However, the Treasury Dept denies having any records of payments made to the Chiesa Law Firm.

So just how is the Chiesa Law firm getting paid? Who’s paying his invoices? Where’s the money coming from? Let’s hope the Chiesa firm is NOT being being paid with PILOT, ACA or IAT funds. (monies that should benefit taxpayers of Atlantic City)

Recently, routine OPRA (Open Public Records Act) requests were submitted. The following three government agencies should have reviewed and/or paid Mr. Chiesa’s invoices to Atlantic City:

  • Atlantic City Government
  • NJ Division of Local Government Services
  • New Jersey Department of the Treasury

Each of these agencies report they do NOT have any records pertaining to Mr. Chiesa. The NJ Division of Law say they have “more than 100 invoices” pertaining to Jeffrey Chiesa and/or his law firm. Some “require redaction”. This is disturbing. Chiesa was not appointed to be a lawyer for Atlantic City. He was appointed to be a municipal government administrator.

Because neither Atlantic City nor the Division of Local Government Services have any records pertaining to Mr. Chiesa, it appears that none of them reviewed the necessity or reasonableness of Mr. Chiesa’s invoices and payments for non-legal work.

The Chiesa Law Firm billed taxpayers approx $3 million so far. Charging for: union legal battles, casino settlements, reviewing City Council agendas, and a variety of unclear matters and litigation.

One example of possible over-charging: Members of Atlantic City Council report that multiple attorneys from the Chiesa Law Firm sat in on conversations that only required one representative of that office.

SETH GROSSMAN, President

LIBERTYANDPROSPERITY.COM

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