MaxedOutMama

That's what George Mytrowitz believes he's facing in Newark, where officials want to build 2,000 condominium units and retail space on 14 acres. City officials say the Mulberry Street area is blighted and should be demolished.

"The developers said 'We want it. Let's blight it and we'll figure out what to do with it after,'" said Mytrowitz, whose family's auto shop has been in Newark since 1913.

After Newark's Municipal Council initially voted against the plan in 2003, developers donated thousands of dollars to city campaigns, according to New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission records. Eight months later, the council voted to reverse its decision.

The joint Order requires that The NorCrown Trust and Charles Kushner pay civil money penalties totaling at least $12.5 million, to divest The NorCrown Trust's shares of NorCrown Bank, and to transfer the shares to a voting trust administered by an independent trustee until the divestiture is completed. The joint Order also prohibits Mr. Kushner from participating in the conduct of the affairs of any financial institution or holding company.

The Federal Reserve Board also issued an order upon consent under the Bank Holding Company Act requiring other individuals and trusts with relationships to The NorCrown Trust to cooperate in implementing the divestiture plan.

The enforcement actions resolve allegations that The NorCrown Trust and Charles Kushner violated the Change in Bank Control Act, the Bank Holding Company, or both, in a series of transactions from 1995 through 1997 that led to the formation of the NorCrown Trust, which never received the Federal Reserve's approval to become a bank holding company. The joint Order also resolves allegations of violations of Regulation O and Sections 23A and 23B relating to transactions with NorCrown Bank.

Less than 24 hours after New Jersey developer Charles Kushner pleaded guilty to retaliating against a federal witness and filing both false tax returns and false campaign-finance reports, the would-be political kingmaker was in his office on Columbia Turnpike in Florham Park. Shamed, humiliated, and facing at least a year and a half in jail, he was discussing his predicament with defense attorney Ben Brafman, marveling at how fast his life had unraveled. Wasn’t this the same man who had built Kushner Companies into a billion-dollar real-estate empire that controlled office buildings, condominiums, and apartments in half a dozen states? Hadn’t he skillfully crafted a role for himself as a major power broker with unfettered access by contributing millions of dollars to politicians?

It was no accident that when Bill Clinton was president, he made several appearances at Kushner functions in Florham Park. So had former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And so, especially, had Governor James McGreevey, who, more than any of the others, was a political creature built of his will and cash. Kushner, 50, was also a towering figure in the Jewish community, building schools, helping synagogues, and contributing freely to a broad variety of causes both here and in Israel.