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| The Great Falls in Paterson. See letters to the editor on Page A-9 today. |
By Victor E. Sasson
Editor
The sensational story of millionaires and billionaires battling over an heiress' inheritance dominates Page 1 of The Record today, as well as nearly a full inside page (A-1 and A-6).
Much is evident in this tortured tale by Staff Writer Kibret Markos, but many other questions remain.
Clearly, the Cohens and Perelmans spend far more money filing and defending lawsuits than Bergen County's most litigious family, the Borgs, who own North Jersey Media Group.
Ronald Perelman may have billions, but the A-1 photo of him shows a fashion-challenged klutz in ugly shoes who couldn't find matching jacket and pants.
Breaking news
Since 2008, the litigants have been fighting over the fortune amassed by Hudson News founder Robert Cohen of Englewood, where Chairman Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg also lives.
Is it possible NJMG and The Record had no business relationship with the newspaper delivery and newsstand giant, and if they did or do, shouldn't that be in the story, perhaps to explain why so much attention is being given to this prolonged legal battle.
The Borgs and Cohens do use the same Hackensack law firm, Pashman Stein.
Markos is a lawyer and the full-time reporter assigned to Superior Court in Hackensack, one of the busiest in the state, and he can be seen taking frequent smoking breaks outside the 10 Main St. courthouse entrance.
Although the reporter is fresh off the August court recess, you'd think he'd be a lot busier than his bylines indicate.
Two things he doesn't write about are the outrageous hourly rates charged by law firms -- cutting down on public access to the courts -- and all of the age-discrimination lawsuits that were generated by layoffs during the recession.
Oh, that face
Look at the photo of state Sen. Barbara Buono on A-3 today, and tell me you wouldn't rather look at that gorgeous face for four years over Governor Christie's ugly mug.
Then listen to Buono on "the culture" that grew under the GOP bully:
"This is a culture where the rich pay less than their fair share and the rest of us struggle ... where women are told that politicians are better fit to make our health-care decisions and that we don't deserve equal pay for equal work.
"The poster boy for this culture is none other than Chris Christie," Buono said.
Beer and donuts
On the front of Local, head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes celebrates the tailgating tradition of overwight, beer-guzzling football fans (L-1).
Another L-1 story reports Montvale Police Chief Jerry Abrams has no college degree, violating departmental policy.
You'd don't need a 4-year degree to find Dunkin' Donuts.
'Good' noise
On L-3, readers learn how thousands of North Jersey motorcyclists get away with routinely breaking every anti-noise ordinance on the book:
Once a year, 1,300 of them get police to close roads to cars so they can raise money for charities with a 70-mile ride that likely woke the dead (L-3).
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