Hoboken Mayor-elect Ravi Bhalla leaving law firm prior to being sworn in

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Hoboken Mayor-elect Ravi Bhalla will be departing high-powered law firm Florio Perucci Steinhardt and Fader tomorrow, three days prior to being sworn in.

Ravi Bhalla

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

“Leaving the firm is bittersweet as I will truly miss the partners, associates, staff members and clients who I have worked so closely with at Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader over the past four years. I am so grateful to have been part of such a remarkable team,” Bhalla, a firm partner, said in a mass email sent out by FPSF.

“The entire firm is proud of Ravi and all of his accomplishments as an exceptional attorney and as a public servant. We will greatly miss him and we know the City of Hoboken will benefit greatly from his leadership,” said ex-Gov. James Florio, a co-founder and partner at the firm.

Last month, Bhalla won a hotly contested mayoral race against five other opponents, including three other elected officials.

The victory, historic since he will be the first Sikh mayor in New Jersey, didn’t come cheap: Hudson County View exclusively reported that it took over half a million dollars to propel Bhalla into the winner’s circle.

The Rochelle Park-based law firm gave the councilman-at-large some headaches during the election cycle, as chief rival Mike DeFusco, Hoboken’s 1st Ward councilman, alleged Bhalla had a conflict of interest on the Suez contract since the agency was a client of FPSF.

Bhalla ended up abstaining on the matter, but DeFusco later filed an ethics complaint  against him for voting on the Hoboken Yard property in 2014, since the property is owned by NJ Transit – another FPSF client.

The Bhalla camp wrote off the complaint as a “desperate political stunt.”

The law firm formally changed their name at the end of last month, with Camden County Freeholder Director Lou Cappelli, Jr. taking the reigns from Paul Fader.

Fader, a former Englewood mayor, passed away less than two weeks later (h/t The Record).


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12 COMMENTS

  1. Ravi Bhalla has a real record of accomplishment in both the private and public sectors that made him the best qualified to be mayor of Hoboken.

    Michael “Desperate Publicity Stunt” DeFusco on the other hand has always been all smoke and mirrors.

    • That comment from DeFusco is old and from the campaign. When are you Bhalla paid operatives going to give it a rest and celebrate the victory?
      Bhalla won, attacking the 6, yes six council members Mayor Bhalla needs is just plain dumb!

      He has to govern and that will ale DIPLOMACY, not smear and slander.

      DeFusco along with Dave Roberts were invited to be a committee chairs and they showed class by accepting- especially after the attack’s Mayor Roberts received on here and from Dawn Zimmer when she blamed him for the 1999 Suez contract extension which lead to the added costs – added costs it seems someone deferred , buried or forgot to pay for the last 8 years

  2. Davey Roberts took the chair position because he is struggling to be relevant. He accomplished nothing during his 8 years in office. (except maybe opening a faux Cybils Cave). Kudos to Ravi for having the heart to go along with the charade.

  3. Ravi is having former mayor Russo at the swearing in. What, no Camarrano? I mean, since were are inviting ex-felons. I guess getting Michael Russo to swear allegiance came with a price. Let the deals begin!

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