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Political consultant Jack Shaw found dead in Jersey City
by The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
Tuesday July 28, 2009, 8:03 PM

JERSEY CITY -- Jack Shaw, a Jersey City political consultant who was among 44 people charged in a federal corruption probe, has died.

Two officials with knowledge of the investigation said Shaw was found at home with several bottles of pills nearby. One of the officials said Shaw, 61, had an unspecified medical condition, and authorities are not jumping to conclusions about the cause of his death. Shaw was charged with taking $10,000 from Solomon Dwek, an FBI informant posing as a real estate developer, and proposing Dwek make another $10,000 payment to a Jersey City official.

Shaw was a longtime political lieutenant for former Governor Jim Florio, joining his camp while Florio was still in Congress, before becoming an operative for the Hudson County Democrats around 1991.

"Jack Shaw was a very intelligent political operative," said state Sen. Ray Lesniak, who said he first got to know Shaw during his years in Trenton. "Very blunt, straight forward, and intellectual....not a tough guy, a Hudson county politician type. He was more of a thoughtful analyzer of the issues and what the public wants from government."

Around 7:30 p.m. tonight the regional medical examiner arrived at Shaw's waterfront apartment building, located in the Paulus Hook neighborhood of Jersey City.

Jersey City Councilwoman-at-Large Willie Flood said Shaw was very well known in the area's political scene.

"He was a staple in Jersey City," Flood said. "Everybody knew Jack."

She was shocked at the news of his death.

"This is such a horrible thing," Flood said. "Jack Shaw? He knew everybody."
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/jack_shaw_jersey_city_politica.html