ASSELTA,CLARK,DONOHUE CALL ON NJ AG TO INVESTIGATE CAMDEN DEMS’ CIRCUMVENTION OF CONTRIBUTION LIMITS FOR VAN DREW/ALBANO

(VINELAND, October 25) – First District Senator Nick Asselta and his Assembly running mates Norris Clark and Mike Donohue today called on New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram immediately to investigate a series of suspect campaign finance transactions funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Camden County Democratic Committee through the Cape May County Democratic Committee to the election fund of Democrats Jeff Van Drew and Nelson Albano in clear violation of several New Jersey campaign finance laws.

“We stand here today to defend the rights of the voters of the First District, to ensure that they have the power to make a free and fair choice in a legal election,” said Asselta. “In our democracy, no right is more important than the right to choose one’s own leaders – and that right is corrupted and negated when one side in a campaign willfully violates the laws regulating elections.

“We are asking Anne Milgram, New Jersey’s Attorney General, to defend the rights of the voters of the First District by immediately opening an investigation to determine whether and just how badly New Jersey campaign finance laws were broken by the Camden County Democratic Committee, the Cape May County Democratic Organization, and the Van Drew and Albano for Assembly Committee. She should also immediately intervene to prevent similar violations from occurring in this election.

“This was a clear violation of New Jersey election law,” said Donohue. “The Cape May County Democrats had the legal right to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to Van Drew and Albano, but they had virtually no money; the Camden Democrats didn’t have the legal right to give the money, but they had plenty of tainted cash lying around – so it appears the two got together and circumvented the contributions limits. Jeff Van Drew and Nelson Albano were perfectly happy to accept their generosity – and why shouldn’t they have been? Jeff Van Drew has been carrying water for the Camden Democrats for years.”

“These are serious and significant violations of law we’re talking about here,” Donohue added. “One of the penalties prescribed in the statute is forfeiture of office. It doesn’t get much more serious than that.”

“What’s truly hurtful about this,” said Clark, “is that all this tainted money moving into the First District had nothing to do with making the lives of our friends and neighbors any better. It had nothing to do with lowering property taxes, or cutting wasteful spending, or cracking down on illegal immigration. It was all about power, pure and simple – the Camden Democrats want it, and they’re willing to break the law to get it. And Jeff Van Drew and Nelson Albano, sadly, seem to be perfectly willing to go along for the ride.

“What’s really happening here is that this action undermines the confidence of the voters in our democratic process, on two key fronts:  First, voters want to know that their elected officials are beholden to them, and not to other special interests. Second, voters want their elected officials to tell them the truth. The excessive contributions undermine the confidence that Albano and Van Drew are beholden to them, while the money is being used to spread falsehoods – so they’re wrong on both counts.”

“Our message today is simple,” Asselta concluded. “If you want your neighborhood, your community, your county, to be controlled politically by the corrupt Camden County Democratic party bosses, then vote for Jeff Van Drew, Nelson Albano, and Matt Milam. If you want that control to remain right here in the First District, you should vote for Nick Asselta, Norris Clark, and Mike Donohue.”

Below is the text of a letter sent to Attorney General Milgram:

October 25, 2007

 Facsimile and FedEx 

Honorable Anne Milgram

Attorney General

Department of Law and Public Safety

Hughes Justice Complex

25 W. Market Street

P.O. Box 080

Trenton, NJ 08625

            Re:       Investigation of Illegal Campaign Contributions

Attorney General Milgram:

            I write on behalf of Senator Nick Asselta and Assembly candidates Norris Clark and Michael Donohue to request that your office open an immediate investigation into activities surrounding past and present campaign contributions received by the Democratic candidates in New Jersey’s First Legislative District.

            A recent article in the Atlantic City Press indicates that the Van Drew/Albano for Assembly Committee, the Camden County Democratic Committee, and the Cape May County Democratic Organization appear to have violated numerous provisions of the New Jersey Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act, N.J.S.A. 19:44A-1 et seq., during the 2005 general election Specifically, the actions of these entities appear to violate N.J.S.A. 19:44A-11.3 “Contributions to candidates; limitations;” N.J.S.A. 19:44A-11.6 “Loans for contributions; limitations;” and N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20 “Contributions or expenditures in fictitious name, in name of another or anonymously; solicitation, acceptance or donation; prohibition.” These activities must not be countenanced.

            While these apparent violations occurred in the past, your immediate review is necessary to ensure that similar violations do not re-occur during the current election cycle. Failure to immediately address these activities will deprive the registered voters of the First District of their right to choose their representatives in a free, fair, and legal election. It is manifest that contributions of the amounts outlined below have a significant impact on the outcome of an election. Accordingly, it is important to note that such activities would, if determined to be illegal, provide a basis to remove the recipient candidate from office pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-22(f).[1] Your office must act to ensure that such a situation does not arise.

            The facts are these:

• The Camden County Democratic Committee was and remains organized as a county political party committee pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-3(p).

• The Cape May County Democratic Organization was and remains organized as a county party political committee pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-3(p).

• Van Drew for Assembly was the candidate committee for Jeff Van Drew, a Democratic candidate for the New Jersey General Assembly in the general election of 2005.

• Albano for Assembly was the candidate committee for Nelson Albano, a Democratic candidate for the New Jersey General Assembly in the general election of 2005.

• Messrs. Van Drew and Albano formed a joint candidates committee pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-3(r).

• The First Legislative District is comprised of all of Cape May County, and parts of Cumberland and Atlantic Counties. None of Camden County is contained within the boundaries of the First Legislative District.

• As a political committee with no direct geographic connection to the First District, the Camden County Democratic Committee was and is limited to contributing no more than $8,200 per election to the Van Drew for Assembly Committee and no more than $8,200 per election to the Albano for Assembly Committee. (N.J.S.A. 19:44A-11.3(b)(2))

• According to reports on file with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, on November 1, 2005, the Camden County Democratic Committee loaned $250,000 to the Cape May County Democratic Organization. On the same day, the Cape May County Democratic Organization loaned $250,000 to the “Van Drew/Albano for Assembly” Committee as an in-kind contribution.

• According to reports on file with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, on November 3, 2005, the Camden County Democratic Committee loaned $150,000 to the Cape May County Democratic Organization. On the same day, the Cape May County Democratic Organization loaned $149,950 to the “Van Drew/Albano for Assembly” Committee as an in-kind contribution.

• Thus, in total, $399,950 moved from the Camden County Democratic Committee through the Cape May County Democratic Organization to the “Van Drew/Albano for Assembly” Committee within hours of its receipt by the Cape May County Democratic Organization. This appears to be a direct attempt to circumvent the contributions limits set forth in N.J.S.A. 19:44A-11.3(b)(2).

            State law is clear on the matter. A county committee of a political party may make unlimited contributions to a candidate committee only in the case of a candidate for nomination for election or for election to the office of member of the Legislature, in a legislative district in which, according to the federal decennial census upon the basis of which legislative districts shall have been established, more than 40 percent of the population resides within the county of that county committee. N.J.S.A. 19:44A-11.3(b).

            Again, no part of the First Legislative District is within the bounds of Camden County. Therefore, the Camden County Democratic Committee was prohibited from contributing more than $16,400 to the Van Drew/Albano for Assembly Committee.

            Moreover, N.J.S.A. 19:44A-11.3(b)(2) declares, in part:

 With respect to the limitations in this paragraph, the Legislature finds and declares that: (a)    Persons making contributions to the county committee of a political party have a right to expect that their money will be used, for the most part, to support candidates for elective office who will most directly represent the interests of that county; (b)   The practice of allowing a county committee to use funds raised with this expectation to make unlimited contributions to candidates for the Legislature who have a limited, or even nonexistent, connection with that county serves to undermine public confidence in the integrity of the electoral process; (c)    Furthermore, the risk of actual or perceived corruption is raised by the potential for contributors to circumvent limits on contributions to candidates by funneling money to candidates through county committees; (d)   The State has a compelling interest in preventing the actuality or appearance of corruption and in protecting public confidence in democratic institutions by limiting amounts which a county committee may contribute to legislative candidates whose districts are not located in close proximity to that county; and  (e)    It is, therefore, reasonable for the State to promote this compelling interest by limiting the amount a county committee may give to a legislative candidate based upon the degree to which the population of the legislative district overlaps with the population of that county.             Further, state law includes a prohibition against excessive loans by one political committee to another. N.J.S.A. 19:44A-11.6 declares that: Any person, partnership, association, political committee or continuing political committee may make a loan or loans to any person, partnership, association, political committee or continuing political committee with knowledge or reason to know that the prospective recipient of the loan intends to use the proceeds thereof to make a contribution in aid of any candidate or the candidate committee or joint candidates committee of any candidate, provided that, at any time, the aggregate total of the unrepaid portion of all such loans by that lender shall not exceed an amount equal to twice the maximum amount of contributions in the aggregate which, under subsection a. of section 18 of P.L.1993, c. 65 (C. 19:44A-11.3), the lender is permitted to make such a candidate.             The lender – the Camden County Democratic Committee – was limited to giving $8,200 per election to the Van Drew for Assembly Committee and $8,200 per election to the Albano for Assembly Committee. Twice the amount of contributions permitted would be $16,400 for their joint candidates committee. In this case, however, the Camden County Democratic Committee loaned approximately $400,000 to the Cape May County Democratic Organization which funds were then immediately transferred as a loan to Van Drew/Albano for Assembly. This immediate pass through to Van Drew/Albano for Assembly offers prima facie evidence that the loan from the Camden County Democratic Committee was specifically earmarked for Van Drew/Albano for Assembly and not for the Cape May County Democratic Organization. As such, the loan should be viewed as a loan by the Camden County Democratic Committee directly to Van Drew/Albano for Assembly in violation of N.J.S.A. 19:44A-11.3(b)(2).  Therefore, the unrepaid loans totaling $399,950 made by the Camden County Democratic Committee appear to represent an illegal contribution of $383,550.             Finally, state law declares that Agreement, in violation of the Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Reporting Act, that donor's contribution will be funneled by donee political party committee to a predetermined recipient may be proved by circumstantial evidence alone, and evidence need not lead to a certainty, but violation must be shown by clear and convincing evidence. In the event such illegal contributions exceed $50,000 and have a “significant impact” on the outcome of the election, the candidate receiving the benefit of said contributions “shall forfeit that public office.” Markwardt v. New Beginnings, 304 N.J.Super. 522, 701 A.2d 706 (A.D.1997);  N.J.S.A. 19:44A-22              The loans/contributions outlined above together with the immediate transfer of such funds to Van Drew/Albano for Assembly constitute, at a minimum, circumstantial evidence warranting an investigation into whether the Camden County Democratic Committee, the Cape May County Democratic Organization, and the Van Drew for Assembly Committee and Albano for Assembly Committees conspired for the purpose of circumventing the contributions limits set forth by statute. 

Based on the proximity of the loans/contribution dates between the committees and the nearly identical contribution amounts it strains credulity to suggest that these contributions were merely coincidental.  Instead they appear to be part of an orchestrated scheme to evade New Jersey’s strict contribution limits.

While I recognize the “political” nature of this issue this close to November’s election, strict enforcement of our campaign finance laws, no matter when implicated, is necessary to ensure the integrity of our electoral process.  In the absence of such vigilance the public cannot be assured that similar illegal contributions will not be made at a time when they are most likely to affect the outcome of this November’s election. In order to avoid such a scenario you must act now. Do not allow illegal contributions or  schemes to circumvent campaign finance limits to cast doubt on November’s elections in the 1st Legislative District.

             Again, I respectfully urge you to investigate this matter with all possible speed and diligence. 

Respectfully,  

Mark D. Sheridan

SFNJ1 1196587v1

MDS:bjm
[1] Significantly, when N.J.S.A. 19:44A-22 was amended in 2004 (P.L. 2004, c.19)  to limit/prohibit “wheeling” effective January 1, 2006, Assemblyman Van Drew was co-sponsor of that legislation.

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Paid for by Asselta Clark Donohue