Trenton Mayor, now inmate, Tony Mack, being sworn in by soon-to-be-inmate Judge Lamarre-Sumners [Picture from The Trentonian Newspaper]

As America is unwillingly transformed into a Third World society, what VDARE.com calls the Minority Occupation Government is becoming more common in cities and states throughout the country. The minority-majority city of Trenton, capital of the state of New Jersey (and one-time capital of the US), is a case study: former municipal Judge Renee Lamarre-Sumners exemplifies the kind of corruption, naked self-interest, and cynical exploitation of multiculturalism likely to be the new standard.

A majority black city, Trenton features the kind of racialized one-party rule all too common in American cities, in which a series of often corrupt African-American politicians use the institutions of government like their own private piggy bank. The city is also home to a “hugging drug court judge” releasing non-white drug offenders and it is a “sanctuary city” that offers ID’s to illegal aliens [New Jersey Cities Give Illegal Immigrants ID’s, Judicial Watch, May 17, 2010].

In effect, like so many other post-American communities, the state capital is a multicultural kleptocracy, dominated by racial-grievance mongering and far-Left policies appealing to resentment against whites.

The recent administrator of this demographic disaster was former Trenton Mayor Tony Mack. But Mack’s tenure ended in disgrace when he was arrested with his brother and an associate on corruption charges in 2012. Before his fall, however, Mack had insisted on making Lamarre-Sumners a city municipal judge, telling a white opponent on the Trenton city council: “I want her made” [Trenton council member says extortion allegations against lawyer are not surprising, by Isaac Avilucea, The Trentonian, April 14, 2015]. Lamarre-Sumners was eventually confirmed with only one dissenting vote.

Needless to say, Lamarre-Sumners was remarkably unqualified for such a prestigious post, and even unqualified to be a standard ambulance chaser. She had not paid her law license renewal fees, had IRS liens on her home, and had a warrant out for her arrest. She had also been repeatedly placed on a list of attorneys ineligible to practice law in the state of New Jersey.

After questions were raised about her past and credentials, Lamarre-Sumners refused to take a background check and eventually resigned in order to “shut everybody up” [Top NJ Court: Trenton Judge Renee Lamarre Sumners ordered off city bench, by L.A. Parker and Paul Mickle, The Trentonian, November 8, 2010].

Indeed, in 2010 Lamarre-Sumners managed to portray herself as the victim. As she put it:

"I don't think that I was given a fair shake. You guys know that I did a good job as an attorney and prosecutor. Yes, I had a warrant, but that was a civil case that I resolved. We are all human. We all make mistakes. The mistakes got corrected."

But that was only the beginning of her “mistakes.” Lamarre-Sumners continued to practice law in Trenton. And in March of this year she was arrested on charges of extortion for trying to defraud four illegal immigration clients who were afraid of being deported.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the United States District Court, Lamarre-Sumners presented clients with forged correspondence from the United States Department of Labor which said they would face severe legal penalties unless Lamarre-Sumners could get them off the hook. Frightened clients dutifully presented checks to the disgraced judge, who then pocketed the cash.

In late April 2015, Lamarre-Sumners accepted a plea deal (which victims slammed as far too lenient). Despite owing money to various creditors, her record of fiscal irresponsibility, and seemingly still in serious financial trouble, Lamarre-Sumners is somehow free on a $100,000 unsecured bail. She also has retained a high-profile lawyer, Jerome Ballarotto as her attorney.

Lamarre-Sumners will be sentenced on August 19th in federal court, but under the terms of her deal, state prosecutors cannot ask for more than 18 months in federal prison. If she had been indicted without accepting a plea deal, she might have been facing as much as 20 years.

Furthermore, although Lamarre-Sumners must repay $15,050 as restitution to her victims, this is less than what the victims gave her. And the money that victims paid to various attorneys to try to recoup their losses is also not stated in the agreement [Former Trenton judge charged with extortion accepts plea deal, by Isaac Avilucea, The Trentonian, April 30, 2015].

It appears that this is an actual case of immigrants being brutally and cynically victimized—in this case, by a Democratic “woman of color.”

Of course, the biggest mistake these victims made was assuming that the federal government was interested in enforcing immigration laws. Lamarre-Sumners exploited the “anarcho-tyranny” of our immigration system by exploiting illegals’ personal fears for her own selfish gain.

Needless to say, although no-one argues these “undocumented workers” are in the country legally, there appears to be no talk of actually deporting them. And as VDARE.com has reported before, any victim of a crime could apply for legal status. In that sense, perhaps Lamarre-Sumners did them a favor.

It is important to remember that there is nothing unusual about this. Trenton remains a majority black city with a one-party system. This entire sad episode has done nothing to challenge Democratic domination or the rule of a seemingly permanent political machine in the city. And as (white) South Ward Councilman George Muschal told The Trentonian’s Avilucea in his April 14 interview cited above, the news about Lamarre-Sumners’s arrest took a long time to get out. Wondering whether people in the legal profession covered for her, Muschal mused: “Just like the police take care of their own, the county likes to take care of their own.”

But it’s not the “county.” It’s a political system that regards minority takeover of city governments as inherently a good thing, regardless of whether corruption increases or the quality of service collapses.

Lamarre-Sumners got where she did because of her racial background and political connections. In Third World America, that was more than sufficient to compensate for her total lack of professional and personal qualifications.

As a final note, Judge Lamarre-Sumners was, until recently, listed on the site of the National Association of Haitian Professionals. The post has since been removed, but it once described her as:

First generation American, Judge Renee LaMarre-Sumners makes her home in the Greater Trenton area. A talented professional who capitalizes on performance in a number of legal roles in private, corporate and government sectors as it relates to diversity and equality issues and initiatives. Judge LaMarre-Sumners graduated with a BS in Political Science and History from Manhattanville College. She then completed her MBA at Fairleigh Dickinson University and followed up with a juris doctorate from Touro Law School. Judge LaMarre Sumners believes in the power of education. She began her career as a municipal prosecutor in 2003, prosecuting in most of the greater Trenton municipalities and was appointed municipal court judge in June 2010. Her strong leadership, communications, technical and project management skills result in consistent high-profile successes that enhance the perception and reputation of the Haitian community Judge LaMarre-Sumners continues to promote the Haitian community and education both to them and about them. Her goal is to foster positive thought and respect for the Haitians in America. [Program for the NAHP 2012 Symposium, PDF, (Google Cache link)]

Emphases added. And that’s just the problem. When people are appointed to political office so as to create “positive thought and respect” for privileged minority groups because of their experience with “diversity and equality issues,” government competence is no longer a priority.

Immigration is the key factor driving this process. It gives us ever more “first generation Americans” like Lamarre-Sumners who bring their Third World standards of governance and financial schemes here.

And as immigration continues, government and society in the United States will increasingly resemble the dysfunctional failed states that our vibrant “fellow Americans” just fled.

The only difference is that we members of the historic American nation have nowhere else to go.

Thomas O. Meehan (email him) is a free-lance writer and former government Senior Research Analyst and law enforcement official. A refugee from the People’s Republic of New Jersey, he now lives in Bucks County PA. He blogs from Odysseus On The Rocks.