August 10, 2005
Democrats Steer Homeland Security Funds to DemocratsMeanwhile, across the Hudson River:
Despite its public statements, the office of acting Democratic Gov. Richard Codey played a key role in doling out millions of dollars in state homeland security grants this yearto legislative districts controlled by his party, a review of government documents shows.This is the state in which a former Democratic senator had to bow out of a re-election campaign due to financial improprieties, and was illegally replaced by Frank Lautenberg to save the seat for the Democrats. It is also the state in which the former Democratic governor had to resign because he misused state funds to pay hush money to his extra-marital lover. Now it is also the state in which the current Democratic governor directs security funding as a spoils system. It's no accident "The Sopranos" is set in New Jersey.A series of internal letters, memos and e-mails messages, obtained under the Open Public Records Act, makes it clear that decisions on which towns got grants have been influenced by the governor's office from the time the program was established in 2002 under Gov. James E. McGreevey.
The documents contradict repeated claims by Codey's spokespeople that the program was handled by the state Attorney General's Office without political influence...
Among hundreds of pages of other documents obtained by The Star-Ledger was a memo from a top administrator in the Attorney General's Office who describes the program as "Christmas Tree funding" -- a term long used in Trenton to describe grants given along party lines to loyal and politically connected lawmakers for use on pet projects in home districts.
Posted by Jonathan R. on August 10, 2005 11:46 AM
Comments
Corruption? In NJ Democrat circles? You could have knocked me over with a feather!
Posted by: Reverend Scaramonga ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.gopbloggers.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at August 10, 2005 02:06 PM
This story tells a tale about a New Jersey boy. His name, Senator Jon Corzine. The potential next governor of New Jersey has a few of his own problems. Senator Corzine, is keeping mum on his dealings with his sweetie, Carla Katz. Katz, who is the president of Local 1034 of the Communication Workers of America (and just happens to represent half of the state government's unionized workers), received a "loan" from Corzine for $470,000 to cover Katz's buyout of her ex-husband's share of a farmhouse in Hunterdon County. (that figure appears to be $100,000 more than she actually needed. Then some things started happening:
1. Their romance ended.
2. He announced as a candidate for governor
3. He forgave the loan to Katz (e.g., gave her the money - no need to repay) and paid another $200,000 in taxes on the gift.
4. Katz's union endorsed Corzine.
Coincidence? We really don't know since neither Corzine nor Katz are talking, claiming a right to privacy. You know, just like the one they strongly support when Corzine speaks out against the vile and vicious probes into Judge John Roberts' personal life. Corzine insists it is all legit, nothing to worry about, you know, but for some pesky reason, he forgot to file this on his Senate disclosure forms, a requirement of the Senate.
As they say in the cheap TV come-on ads, "But wait, there's more!" Seems as though Ms. Katz doesn't even live in the house Corzine gave her the money to purchase. No, she lives in a waterfront apartment in Hoboken. And here's another coincidence - Senator Corzine lives in an apartment just two floors up. And we know know that Katz isn't the first woman that Corzine has gifted with large sums of money. But at least the others, Corzine fessed up to on his disclosure forms.
Corzine, who is rumored to be worth $260 million from wall street and chairman of Goldman-Sachs, recently (last October) invested $7 million in a hedge fund headed by Carl Icahn, who just happens to be a majority owner of the Sands Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. If a sitting governor did this, it would be considered a conflict of interest, for obvious reasons.
But here's the doozy. Corzine is working with Charles Kushner, a wealthy real estate tycoon who is about to be convicted in a sex and tax fraud case, to provide financial backing to keep the New Jersey Nets in New Jersey. Does the name Kushner ring a bell? Well, how about Jim McGreevy, the former (1 year ago) governor who had to step down in the midst of a sex scandal and corruption. Seems that Kushner was the link between McGreevy and his homosexual lover, Golan Cipel. Small world, no?
yea, Corzine will fit right in to New Jersey politics, right along with Anthony "Tumac" Accetturo.
Posted by: Reverend Scaramonga at August 10, 2005 03:37 PM
