The Frank Stare charge: two persons are lying

According to news reports by WCLT and the Advocate, Newark Law Director Doug Sassen has been accused by Frank Stare's former legal counsel, Mike King, of admitting the political implications for charging Stare with solicitation a week before last November's election, in which Stare ran unsuccessfully for city council.

According to the WCLT report, "Sassen allegedly told King that his own political future could be affected by the decision." Sassen denied that, but, according to the Advocate report, "he accused King of trying to talk him out of moving ahead with the case because of the upcoming vote."

King is Democratic Party chairman and Sassen was coming up for election to a judgeship earlier this month, but was defeated.

The conflict is more than just a he-said-he-said between attorneys dissecting the he-said-she-said wrangle in which Stare is now ensnared. One of the two attorneys is lying, if these reports are accurate, and one of the parties to the Stare accusation is lying.

Stare's present legal counsel has declared in a court motion that "at least the appearance of impropriety was rampant in the investigation and the decision to file (the solicitation charge) one week before the Nov. 6 election," according to the Advocate's report.

Local government likely has been affected by this charge against Stare. It is fitting, then, that the liars involved - whomever they are - get plenty of media attention.