Assemblyman Richard Merkt

MERKT: SPECIAL PROSECUTOR'S REPORT STATES THE OBVIOUS, AND NOW FARBER MUST BE REMOVED

FARBER CANNOT REMAIN AS ATTORNEY GENERAL WITH ETHICAL CLOUD LOOMING OVER HER HEADAugust 15, 2006
Assemblyman Richard Merkt/908-850-1595(ext. 520)
Assembly Republican Office/609-292-5339

MERKT: SPECIAL PROSECUTOR'S REPORT STATES THE OBVIOUS, AND NOW FARBER MUST BE REMOVED

FARBER CANNOT REMAIN AS ATTORNEY GENERAL WITH ETHICAL CLOUD LOOMING OVER HER HEAD

Assemblyman Richard Merkt today demanded that New Jersey Attorney General Zulima Farber be removed from office after a special prosecutor's report today concluded that she violated the state's code of ethics when she showed up at the scene of her boyfriend's traffic stop in May.

"The special prosecutor's report this morning merely confirms what everyone in New Jersey with a lick of common sense already knew," Merkt said, R-Morris. "Attorney General Farber violated state ethics code when she went to the rescue of her boyfriend following a routine traffic stop, and this represented an unacceptable lapse in judgment."

Retired Appellate Judge Richard J. Williams was appointed by Governor Corzine to investigate whether any criminal or ethical misdoing occurred during a traffic stop of Farber's live-in boyfriend during which Farber arrived on the scene with her State Police driver.

A Fairview police officer voided traffic summonses he had written for the boyfriend of Farber after she showed up at the scene, where the officer had pulled over a 1995 Oldsmobile van driven by Hamlet E. Goore. The officer had issued two tickets to Goore, one for driving with a suspended license and one for driving an uninsured vehicle.

At that time a New Jersey State Police vehicle arrived with Farber, who stepped out of the car. Although Farber didn't speak directly to the Fairview officer, the trooper driving Farber did, and the tickets issued to Farber's boyfriend were subsequently voided.

"Zulima Farber holds the highest law enforcement position in the State of New Jersey," noted Merkt, asking, "How can the public have any faith in her integrity as Attorney General in the wake of this incident?"

While Williams' report concluded that Farber's did not constitute a crime, it found that she violated the state code of ethics and that "her conduct does raise significant ethical questions that must be addressed."

"The public declaration by the Governor's team that his administration would be 'zero-tolerance' on ethics violations was either serious or pure hot air," said Merkt. "Attorney General Farber is clearly 'damaged goods' in terms of having the requisite ethical standing to serve in this high position of public trust, and she should be fired if she does not have the good sense to resign."

"By the way, just how much money did it cost the taxpayers to find out that wrong is wrong?" queried Merkt. "The Farber fiasco should have been dealt with swiftly and decisively two months ago. The question for Governor Corzine now is, will this ongoing embarrassment to New Jersey and his administration finally end, or will we just see further delays, ending in a wrist-slap?"

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