From: Philip Swibinski
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2018 5:29 PM
To: Paredes, David (NBCUniversal)
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Request for interview....
David, here is a statement from myself:
"Your story is a collection of false charges and anonymous sources hand-picked by corrupt
political opponents to spread lies about North Bergen. By blindly accepting this false premise
you are proving yourself to be either fundamentally biased and part of a political smear, or
incompetent and unable to separate obvious political attacks from real journalism. If you have
any actual evidence of wrongdoing you should immediately take it to the Prosecutor instead of
airing these blatant political smears with no corroboration."
We will not be providing any further response and the Mayor will not be interviewed for this
story.

From: Philip Swibinski
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2018 4:39 PM
To: Morris, Amy (NBCUniversal)
Subject: [EXTERNAL] I-Team Story on North Bergen
Dear Ms. Morris,
I am a public relations representative for North Bergen Mayor and New Jersey State Senator
Nicholas Sacco. I am writing regarding a pending story by David Paredes and Jonathan Dienst of
WNBC’s I-Team that I strongly believe is either politically motivated or fundamentally flawed,
and I am bringing these issues to your attention so that they can be dealt with according to the
editorial process and journalistic ethics.
David Paredes cites “multiple sources,” none of whom are identified, as a basis for making false
allegations of a political network where employees are expected provide political support for the
Sacco Administration and must purchase tickets to attend the Mayor’s fundraisers. This is not
only a wild accusation with no factual basis, it amounts to an allegation of criminal conduct.
Any story of forced employee support for the Sacco Administration is yet another example of
NBC’s politically biased reporting relative to North Bergen and Mayor Sacco’s Administration.
Making matters worse, WNBC is being used as a vehicle by a convicted criminal to assist him in
once again attempting to gain political power in North Bergen for corrupt purposes.
The accusations that make up the foundation of this story are the same political accusations
being made by the Sacco Administration’s political opponent, Larry Wainstein. The similarity is
striking -- it is as if Paredes’ questions were being asked by Wainstein himself. We believe that
these allegations are being facilitated by Wainstein and that by airing them WNBC would be
allowing itself to be misused for a political purpose.

 Wainstein’s closest political adviser is Joseph Mocco, who is often seen at Wainstein’s campaign
headquarters. Attached is a copy of a New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division decision
that upheld parole conditions imposed upon Joseph Mocco after his release from jail. The case
details and notes the following:
·
While the Town Clerk and Registrar of the Township, Mocco orchestrated an
elaborate election fraud scheme that involved steaming open and altering more than 500
main-in ballots.
·
Also while the Town Clerk, Mocco engaged in another complex criminal scheme,
this one involving
Mocco taking bribes to surreptitiously allow garbage dumping in
the Meadowlands in North Bergen.
·
Mocco was convicted of conspiracy to commit racketeering, bribery, and official
misconduct.
·
Mocco was sentenced to 20 years in prison, fined $200,000, and ordered to make
restitution of $56,300.
·
Mocco has spent the bulk of his adult life seeking to gain, exercising or seeking to
regain political power in the Township of North Bergen.
·
Mocco is a skilled political organizer who is adept at using deception and
concealment to hide large scale organizational efforts from the public.
·
Whenever Joseph Mocco has succeeded in attaining political power in North
Bergen, he has invariably used it for corrupt or criminal purposes.
Mocco is now using Larry Wainstein to attempt to gain political power in North Bergen, and he
is exploiting WNBC’s reporters and investigators by providing them with “sources” making
utterly false accusations.
The allegations of relatives working for North Bergen and other related entities are grossly
exaggerated. As with any political entity, fire department, police department, or any private
employer for that matter, if the work is stable and the career path is a good one, family members
are often likely to follow their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles into the same
career paths. North Bergen is no different.
Neither Mayor Sacco, nor anyone in his administration, force anyone to engage in political
activity of any kind. People, including employees, become involved and support the
administration because of its great accomplishments – stable taxes over multiple decades, fiscal
restraint leading to four bond rating increases over the last 10 years saving taxpayers hundreds of
thousands of dollars, a police department that is nationally recognized for both its
professionalism and diversity, new parks, new and renovated schools, safe neighborhoods and

 decreasing crime. Candidly, with this Administration’s record there is no need to force anyone’s
support.
We hope that the management of WNBC will hold its reporters and investigators accountable,
and require them to investigate with whom these “sources” are aligned and their political agenda
before blindly accepting their accusations. The WNBC reporters and investigators are either
being duped by a sophisticated criminal, or they are blindly following his narrative based on their
bias.
In the event the biased, false and deceptive reporting continues, the Sacco Campaign will be
forced to seek all available legal and equitable remedies and damages. We hope that this will not
be necessary and that your network will act responsibly by not allowing a political candidate and
his criminal backers to misuse your broadcast for their own purposes.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss further.
Philip Swibinski
Vice President, Vision Media Marketing Inc.