Cop, private eye linked to scandal
- Porcus Ubiquitous -
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
By John P. Martin and Robert Rudolph
Newhouse News Service
An East Orange police captain and his brother, a private investigator
from New York, were the middlemen that real estate mogul Charles
Kushner allegedly hired to lure Kushner's brother-in-law into a
videotaped tryst with a prostitute, sources familiar with the
investigation said.
The officer, James O'Toole, is a 28-year police veteran who last month
applied for early retirement from the East Orange force. His brother,
Thomas O'Toole, runs a private investigative service near Utica, N.Y.
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A criminal complaint filed against Kushner last week identified the
middlemen only as co-conspirators A and B. In interviews, Thomas
O'Toole and an attorney for James O'Toole did not deny the brothers'
involvement, but said they had committed no crime.
The inclusion of a veteran police officer as a possible conspirator in
the case adds another sensational detail to a lurid crime plot that
already includes a fierce feud between millionaire siblings, secret
sex tapes, high-priced hookers and federal agents.
Kushner, a multimillionaire developer, philanthropist and prominent
Democratic Party donor, allegedly paid the men and two call girls
about $37,000 in cash to arrange and videotape the seductions of two
of his former employees.
The targets had been cooperating with FBI and IRS agents who were
investigating Kushner's businesses and political contributions.
The middlemen allegedly directed a prostitute to pose as a motorist
with car trouble and lure Kushner's brother-in-law, attorney William
Schulder, to a Bridgewater motel for sex in December.
Prosecutors say that Kushner then waited five months before ordering a
videotape of the encounter mailed to Schulder's wife - who is
Kushner's sister, Esther - as retaliation for the couple's cooperation
with agents.
The middlemen and a second call girl allegedly set an identical trap
for another witness, former Kushner Companies bookkeeper Robert
Yontef. But Yontef spurned the prostitute's advances. The men split
about $25,000 in cash from Kushner, according to the FBI complaint.
The rest went to the call girls.
Kushner, 50, was charged with obstruction, retaliation against
witnesses and conspiracy to promote interstate prostitution. His
attorneys have called the charges baseless and vowed that he would be
exonerated.
Some supporters of Kushner also suggested the sex-tape plot might be
little more than the latest volley in a bitter five-year feud between
Kushner and his brother, Murray, over the family holdings. Still, the
allegations sent political and business shock waves throughout the
region.
Kushner's Florham Park-based business owns and manages hundreds of
millions of dollars in property. He also has been a generous donor to
charities, as well as the Democratic Party, and has been the largest
individual campaign contributor for Gov. James E. McGreevey.
It is unclear how Kushner knew the O'Tooles. Several sources said a
former female employee of Kushner's introduced him to James O'Toole.
Both men are about the same age, are avid runners and live in
Livingston about a mile apart.
Spokesmen for the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment
when asked about the O'Tooles.
A former Rutgers University policeman, James O'Toole, 53, joined the
East Orange Police Department in 1980. He was promoted to captain two
years ago and recently commanded the night shift.
Requests for comment left at his home were returned by West Caldwell
attorney Richard Roberts, who said he represented O'Toole.
Roberts, a former deputy Essex County prosecutor, said it would be
inappropriate to discuss the case because it involved an ongoing
investigation, but said O'Toole "had no knowledge of any of the
alleged criminal aspects of the complaint."
"Let me tell you this: Captain O'Toole has not been charged with any
criminal offense and will not be," he said. "Jimmy is a straight
arrow."
Last week, the civilian board of police commissioners in East Orange
approved O'Toole's retirement, effective Dec. 1. Roberts said the
timing was coincidental.
"He had planned for years to retire at this time," he said.
The captain's brother, Thomas O'Toole, 44, has operated Emerald
Priority Investigations from his New Hartford, N.Y., home for at least
seven years, according to state records.
Reached at his home Sunday, Thomas O'Toole said, "I've done nothing
wrong and no one has suggested I've done anything improper in this
matter."
He declined to say more, except that he had not retained a lawyer for
the case.
"I don't need an attorney for this matter," he said.
At a news conference last week, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie
said none of the conspirators have been charged. He declined to say if
they are cooperating with investigators, although the complaint
recounts their private meetings and conversations with Kushner.
Meanwhile, McGreevey and state Democrats on Monday said they will
donate to a stem cell foundation $13,600 that had been given them by
Kushner. The executive director of the state Republicans Party called
the amount - from more than $1 million Kushner and his connections
have given to Democrats over the years - "a pittance."
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Copyright 2004 The Jersey Journal. Used with permission.