Joseph Roque, the oldest son of West New York Mayor Felix Roque, started a full-time gig at Town Hall at an annual salary of $75,000 earlier this month, according to public records.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
According to a new hire memo obtained by Hudson County View, Roque, 27, started his position as a clerk within the Town Clerk’s Office on February 5th.
He is now the second highest paid employee in that office, which only has a handful of workers, and he was sitting upon the dais taking notes at the February 15th Board of Commissioners meeting.
As Hudson County View first reported in July 2015, Joe Roque began working for the county Department of Roads and Public Property at a modest salary of just over $27,000.
Prior to starting at West New York Town Hall, he was working at the Hudson County Clerk’s Office.
“Mayor Roque is honored that his son works in Town Hall, since he holds West New York in the same high regard that he does,” said Town spokesman Pablo Fonseca.
Fonseca added that the younger Roque’s resume was submitted when there was a vacancy in the clerk’s office and he was the most qualified due to his work with the county.
Joe Roque was convicted of hacking the website Recallroque.com, a blog run by then-Freeholder Jose Munoz critical of his father’s administration, on October 1, 2013.
The offense was only a misdemeanor and he received a penalty of one year probation, 100 hours of community service and a $2,500 fine.
Meanwhile, the West New York mayor was found not guilty on all counts at the 2013 federal trial.
A town spokesman did not immediately return a request seeking comment.
NEPOTISM in it’s purest form or is that the sleaziest ?
How much was the person who previously had this position being paid and how many years were they in the clerk position?
Good questions, ConcernedWNYer. You should put in an OPRA request for the information – but they will claim their usual cop-out: they don’t discuss personnel matters.
This is such a disgusting farce. Roque is as corrupt as ever, and the sleazy Fonseca is still his spokesman. I thought we got rid of him a long time ago. Some things never change.
What stellar and rare clerical talents does Joe Roque possess that commands such an exorbitant salary for an entry level clerical worker with a criminal record? His hacking conviction alone should preclude him from working in State, County or Municipal Government because of access he potentially has to residents personal information that he may misuse. I call on the State Attorney General’s Office to investigate this appointment and to give residents a legal opinion about whether or not this sensitive political appointment is appropriate.
@WNYner
At 75k with no RMC/CMR/MMC cert. the state avg for a clerk is 56K and thats at a senior level.
https://www.salaryexpert.com/salary/job/municipal-clerk/united-states/new-jersey. This is the definition of nepotism and corruption.
@Watchdog
Municipal employee salaries are disclosed to the public and can be opra’ed while you OPRA that i would also OPRA where the vacancy was posted. My bet is that it wasn’t posted.
@ConcernedWNYer
If you know last person to of held the postion they would be listed in the link below.
https://php.app.com/agent/publicemployees/search?last_name=&first_name=&location=WEST+NEW+YORK+TOWN&county=&fundname=PUBLIC+EMPLOYEES%27+RETIREMENT+SYSTEM