Freedom Bank Welcomes
William J. Pascrell, III, Esq. to its Board of Directors

Oradell, NJ – Paul Fitzgerald, President and CEO of Freedom Bank, located at 550 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell, is proud to announce the recent addition of William J. Pascrell, III, Esquire to Freedom Bank’s Board of Directors. He assisted in raising the initial capital for the Bank and is also an investor.

With a prominent career in state and federal public affairs, Mr. Pascrell (also known as BPIII), the son of U.S. Congressman, Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr., is a partner with the Princeton Public Affairs Group, Inc. (PPAG.) Mr. Pascrell also serves as the Passaic County Counsel since he was first unanimously appointed by the Passaic County Board of Freeholders in 1998. Recently, he was unanimously re-appointed for his fourth three year term in 2007.  As the County Counsel, BPIII runs the Passaic County Legal Department.

The County Counsel is the Chief Legal Advisor to County Government. The County Counsel is responsible for providing legal advice, representation, and assistance to the Board of Chosen Freeholders and all County Departments, as well as all constitutional officers including the Sheriff, County Clerk, Surrogate, County Prosecutor and the judiciary. The County Counsel oversees all litigation in which the County is a party and reviews all contracts, transactions, and resolutions adopted by county government.

Mr. Pascrell has orchestrated the consolidation of the Office of Consumer Protection with the Office of Weights and Measures and amalgamated the County Adjusters Office to streamline and bring more efficiency to County government. He also drafted Passaic County’s first Ethics Code, which is the strongest in New Jersey and by which the County abides.

Additionally, Mr. Pascrell served as a key advisor to John Kerry’s Presidential campaign and played an instrumental role in President Bill Clinton’s 1992 and  1996 presidential campaigns in New Jersey.  Mr. Pascrell was also significantly involved as a senior advisor in both of Governor Jim McGreevey’s campaigns, including his landslide victory over Bret Schundler in 2001. He has been an advisor to Governor Jon Corzine, Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, and Congressmen Robert Roe, Herb Klein and Albio Sires.  

As Congressman Klein’s Chief Counsel and Chief of Staff, BPIII coordinated programs to help constituents and helped to bring millions of dollars back into the 8th Congressional District of NJ. On behalf of Congressman Klein, he also worked with the Clinton Administration to draft, pass and implement the national program to put 100,000 police officers back on the streets of America. As Special Counsel to Governor Florio, Mr. Pascrell aided in developing and implementing the $1 billion dollar NJ Economic Recovery Fund.

BPIII is a member of the bar in Washington, D.C., New Jersey and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition to serving on the Board of Freedom Bank, he is on the Board of Directors for the NJ Community Development Corporation, Habitat for Humanity, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the United Way of Passaic County.

Mr. Pascrell has had a long and prominent career as a television political analyst. He was the star of the Emmy-nominated television program, “The Battling Bills” which was a national political and public affairs program on Comcast CN8. Mr. Pascrell is also a regular political commentator on talk shows such as “It’s Your Call” with Lynn Doyle, “Diner Politics” with Laura Jones, and News 12’s “Power and Politics.” Pascrell also appears regularly on MSNBC, CNBC and UPN9 as a democratic strategist commenting on Presidential politics.

Freedom Bank serves local businesses and retail clients with a wide variety of banking services including commercial mortgages, business loans and lines of credit, home equity lines of credit, residential mortgages, and traditional commercial banking products for small to medium size businesses. The Bank also offers internet banking, bill pay, remote merchant capture, and other technology-based products.

Lobby and drive-up hours are: Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. For more information, call Paul Fitzgerald at 201-599-3000 or visit the Freedom Bank website at www.freedombanknj.com.  The Bank is a member of the FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.