With Passaic’s Mayoral election set for May 9th, New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission records show that Passaic Council President and State Assemblyman Gary Schaer used a false address to donate $7,200 to acting Passaic Mayor Hector Lora’s 2015 campaign for Passaic County Freeholder. Schaer, a resident of 511 Passaic Avenue, made two donations totaling $7,200 in October 2015 to fellow Democrat Lora’s campaign for county freeholder from 211 Passaic Avenue according to ELEC records.
On October 6, 2015, Schaer made a donation of $5,700 to Lora’s campaign and on October 19, 2015, Schaer hit the maximum donation limit of $7,200 by funneling $2,500 to Lora’s campaign. Lora would go on to win the race. More recently, Schaer donated $2,500 from his actual address on 511 Passaic Avenue to Teaneck Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin.
On November 17, 2016, Lora resigned his post as Passaic County Freeholder to assume the position of interim/acting Passaic Mayor after former Passaic Mayor Alex Blanco pleaded guilty to federal charges of bribery and extortion. Schaer and other council members had handpicked Lora for the interim post. Lora previously had served alongside Schaer as a Passaic councilman.
NJ.com reported that at the November 17 emergency Council meeting, several residents, including Passaic NAACP President Jeffrey Dye, criticized Schaer:
“Every appointment in this city, any appointment, has to go through you,” he said to Schaer during the emergency council meeting to appoint Lora. “How is it that you keep escaping this corruption but everybody underneath you is being brought up on charges?”
Lora said at his swearing in, “The public trust has been compromised. I understand that. I want to make sure the public knows someone is in charge.” And that’s Gary Schaer.
New Jersey Corruption 
By the time Schaer had donated the money to Lora in October 2016, Blanco had already pleaded guilty in September 2016. Schaer’s plan all along was to install Lora. My god. Good reporting.
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The money was given in 2015 during his Freeholder run and was put into his campaign. He can not use it for personal use. It much be accounted for in the campaign ledger.
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This does not surprise me one bit in this corrupted city – it is a shame
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All this proves is that someone either doesn’t know how to write 2 or someone doesn’t know how to read 2. It was a campaign contribution, he can not use it for personal use. It is normal and not illegal, Passaic just isn’t used seeing that amount. Richer towns see that kind of contribution if not larger all the time.
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While as a former citizen of Passaic the constant stink of corruption disturbs me, we cannot place it at Mr. Schaers doorstep. I have j=know Gary for over thirty years and while I agree he may have high aspirations, I have never known him to be crooked or on the take, he is an intelligent man who I believe wants the best for all people. Some of the negative comment about him sometimes has the whiff of antisemitism which cannot be condoned at all. I respect everyone’s opinion but lets keep it civil.
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Accusing someone is very easy and I see no violation of election law, 211 or 511 could be a typo ..need to present a better case, before you destroy someones career, and you better be sure with cold hard facts.
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Schaer is highly corrupt & racist politician, it is time he should leave politics. There is a long list of individuals working for the Passaic Twp that sued Schaer for job & racial discrimination. Town has paid millions of dollars because of Schaer’s stupidity and racial discrimination. Just for example; In March 2010 a black firefighter Todd Pickett with 18yrs of service filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the Passaic Fire Department and Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost for Racial Discrimination. In Oct. 2011 another Black administrator Douglas Johnson with the Passaic Department has filed a civil rights suit against the city, alleging that he was repeatedly denied promotions because of his race. In this suit he has included Council President Schaer also. Johnson says he told Schaer about the master’s degree and expressed interest in the business administrator’s post. In response, the lawsuit says, Schaer stated, “If you weren’t black, you would be a star in this city.”
Schaer put his son in Police Department by manipulating rules.
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