Email from Chris Christie for Governor
"He's [Corzine] giving money to party bosses whose idea of party building is to keep themselves in power, to make more money and to urge the legislators from their counties to vote against reform."
- Senator Loretta Weinberg (The Bergen Record, 3/28/07)
While corruption in New Jersey has continued to permeate every level of government, since the day he took office Governor Corzine has stood by completely oblivious to the breadth and scope of the problem. Seemingly oblivious to the unethical wheeling and dealing going on behind closed doors, Jon Corzine ignored the opportunity to use his near limitless personal wealth to be independent of this corrupt system and help end it. Instead, Governor Corzine willingly became the number one financer of corrupt politicians and county bosses in New Jersey.
Jon Corzine's own runningmate, Senator Loretta Weinberg, couldn't have said it any better, "He's [Corzine] giving money to party bosses whose idea of party building is to keep themselves in power, to make more money and to urge the legislators from their counties to vote against reform." (The Bergen Record, 3/28/07)
New Jersey can't afford a governor who not only fails to see the serious impact corruption has on how the state operates and provides New Jerseyans basic services, but also encourages it by blindly donating money to organizations without asking any hard questions.
Sheriff Kim Guadagno said, "Governor Corzine should be the one setting a strong tone from the top that corruption in any form and by any one is unacceptable. Instead of standing on the sidelines watching the problem grow and ignorantly rewarding party bosses, Governor Corzine should be stopping the money flow and demanding reform.
"Jon Corzine's obliviousness to political corruption and his continued enabling of corrupt politicians and party organizations raises serious questions about his judgment. One thing is clear from his ineffective approach on corruption, you can't change Trenton from the inside," concluded Sheriff Guadagno.
Starting today, the Christie-Guadagno campaign will begin to illustrate Jon Corzine's continued insufficient leadership and poor judgment.
Day One: Bergen County
Jon Corzine donates $394,600 to disgraced State Senator Joe Coniglio and Corrupt Party Boss Joe Ferriero, and repeatedly fails to take a position and condemn their actions.
But nearly $400,000 to corrupt politicians and political organizations was not enough. Jon Corzine got his family in on the act, with his mom from Illinois and former wife pitching in another $47,000 to Joe Ferriero's Bergen County Democratic Organization...
Total contributions from the Corzine family to Coniglio and Ferriero: $441,600.
October 1999:
Jon Corzine Donates $25,000 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
March 2000:
Jon Corzine Donates $7,500 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
May 2000:
Jon Corzine Donates $22,500 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
September 2000:
Joanne Corzine Donates $10,000 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
July 2001:
Jon Corzine Donates $25,000 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
October 2001:
Jon Corzine Donates $49,000 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
September 2002:
Jon Corzine Donates $37,000 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
October 2003:
Jon Corzine Donates $6,600 To Senator Joe Coniglio And $37,000 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
October 2004:
Jon Corzine Donates $37,000 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
Nancy Corzine, Jon Corzine's Mother And A Resident Of Illinois, Donates $37,000 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
October 2005:
Jon Corzine Donates $37,000 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
October 2006:
Jon Corzine Donates $37,000 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
September 2007:
Jon Corzine Fails To Condemn Corruption, Excuses Coniglio's Behavior As "Slightly Different" Than The Ethically Challenged Behavior Assembly Members Taking Bribes. "I respect Senator Coniglio's decision [to not run for re-election] because it allows for debate on the issues that matter in people's lives not about facts and speculation about the circumstances... The situation with the Assembly folks that were caught on tape taking bribes is slightly different than the ethically challenged behavior. Whether that's criminal or not is still to be determined." (Deborah Howlett, "Corzine praises Coniglio for not seeking re-election," 09/13/2007)
October 2007:
Jon Corzine Donates $37,000 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
February 2008:
Senator Joe Coniglio Is Indicted On Fraud And Bribery Charges. A federal grand jury today indicted former state Senator Joseph Coniglio onnine counts of mail fraud and extortion in connection with an influence-peddling schemeconnected to a $66,000-a-year consulting arrangement with Hackensack UniversityMedical Center. (United States Department of Justice, Press Release, 2/14/08)
March 2008:
Jon Corzine Donates $37,000 To The Bergen County Democratic Organization. (New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, http://www.elec.state.nj.us, Accessed: 08/09/2009)
August 2008:
FBI Seizes Documents From Bergen Democratic Chairman Ferriero's Law Offices. A half-dozen agents, all in suits, were still at Ferriero's law offices at the firm of Scarinci Hollenbeck early this afternoon and had loaded at least eight boxes of documents into unmarked cars with non-government plates. No police officers were at the site. (Michael Gartland, Stephanie Akin, and Peter J. Sampson, "Feds on the Hunt," The Record, 08/22/2008)
Jon Corzine, Indifferent To Ferriero FBI Raid, Casually Says "The Chips Will Fall Where They Fall," And Won't Ask Ferriero Not To Represent Bergen County At National Convention. Gov. Jon Corzine said today he has no intention of asking a prominent Bergen County Democrat whose office was raided on Thursday by federal agents to sit out the Democratic National Convention next week. ... "The chips will fall where they fall with regard to whatever investigation is taking place. I'm not going to be judge and jury." (Robert Schawaneberg, "Corzine won't ask target of FBI raid to stay away from convention," The Star Ledger, 8/22/08)
September 2008:
Bergen County Democratic Organization Chairman Joseph Ferriero Charged With Fraud In 8 Count Indictment. "Former Bergenfield Borough Attorney and Counsel to the Bergen County Democratic Organization ("BCDO") Dennis Oury and BCDO Chairman Joseph Ferriero were charged today in a eight-count Indictment with conspiring to defraud the Borough of Bergenfield of Oury's honest services and using the mails in furtherance of that scheme." (United States Department of Justice, Press Release, 9/8/08)
Even As Ferriero Is Indicted on Corruption, Jon Corzine Does Not Publicly Call For His Resignation. The governor had been noncommittal in recent weeks about Ferriero's leadership in the state's most-populous county, even as the county chairman's legal position deteriorated. (Michael Gartland, The Record, 9/13/08)
Governor Corzine Fails To Take Tough Position, Instead Hiding Behind Surrogates. "Governor Corzine has requested through surrogates that Joseph A. Ferriero step down as chairman of the Bergen County Democratic Organization, party sources confirmed today." (Michael Gartland, The Record, 9/13/08)
January 2009:
Loretta Weinberg Calls Ferriero Resignation "Long Overdue," While Jon Corzine Remains Silent. State Senator Loretta Weinberg, a longtime rival and critic of Ferriero, described his resignation as "long overdue," and his announcement that he would end his leave of absence as "unacceptable." (Michael Gartland, "Bergen Dem Chairman Joseph Ferriero To Resign," The Record, 1/9/09)
April 2009:
Coniglio Is Found Guilty On Five Counts Of Mail Fraud And One Count Of Extortion. "Former State Senator Joseph Coniglio, who funneled more than $1 million in public funding to Hackensack University Medical Center after it gave him a high-paying consulting job, was convicted yesterday on six counts of fraud and extortion." (Ted Sherman, "Coniglio Found Guilty of Fraud Extortion," Star ledger, 4/18/09)
The Same Day Coniglio Is Found Guilty, Corzine Still Reluctant To Admonish His Behavior. Governor Corzine stated, "To those who knew Senator Conigilio as one of the voices for working families in the Legislature, his conviction is all the more disheartening. We must embrace the fact that a jury of his peers heard the facts of the case, drew a conclusion and the system of justice prevailed." (John Reitmeyer, "N.J. lawmakers react to Coniglio conviction," Star Ledger, 04/18/2009)
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