DeCROCE EXPRESSES AMAZEMENT THAT CORZINE AND TOP DEMOCRATS RATHER REMAIN BLIND TO CORRUPTION

            Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce angrily denounced Gov. Jon S. Corzine and top Democrats in the Legislature for their nonchalant response to the growing political corruption problem in New Jersey.

            A day after DeCroce called on Corzine to summon the Legislature, which is on its summer break, back into session to pass tough new ethics reforms and strengthen the penalties for any public official guilty of political corruption, the governor and Democratic legislative leaders dismissed the idea, contending “we have all the laws we need.”

            “Twenty-nine public officials were just hauled off in handcuffs by the FBI on corruption charges,” asserted DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “A member of Corzine’s own cabinet was forced to resign. And all the governor has to say is ‘we have all the laws we need’? It would be laughable if his response weren’t so preposterous and the issue so serious.

            “The head of the FBI’s political corruption investigations division says ‘New Jersey's corruption problem is one of the worst, if not the worst, in the nation.’ The chairwoman of the State Ethics Commission – Corzine’s own appointee – says ‘the time is now’ for lawmakers ‘to come together in a non-partisan way’ to crack down on officials who betray the public trust. But reconvening the Legislature to deal with this ethical morass would be pointless and just be an opportunity for ‘political posturing’? That insults the intelligence of New Jersey taxpayers who are fed up with paying for the crimes of corrupt public figures.

            “I hope Corzine seriously reconsiders his position,” DeCroce said.

            During radio interviews, Corzine and other top Democrats claimed no further action is required because bribery and extortion are already illegal.

            “Such a narrow view ignores the fact that under current law, including some weak ‘reforms’ accepted by the Democrats in the past, there is nothing on the books that would require public officials accused of corruption to step down immediately and stop collecting a paycheck at the taxpayers’ expense,” DeCroce noted.

            “There is nothing on the books that would require officials convicted of corruption to forfeit all of their public pensions and benefits. Since the Democrats refused to ban dual office holding immediately, as we recommended, millions of tax dollars are still being spent on government pensions and benefits for convicted officials.

            “While there may be no way to stop public officials who are hell-bent on breaking the law or accepting bribes because they think they will be the ones who get away with it, they should serve time in jail if they are caught. There is no law on the books that requires mandatory prison terms for convicted public officials.

            “These gaping loopholes in the law should be closed immediately, and they could be if we returned to work and did our jobs,” DeCroce said. “At the same time, maybe we could finally pass a top-to-bottom ban on pay-to-play, end wheeling and enact other meaningful campaign finance reforms that have been blocked by the Democrats.”

            DeCroce said every one of these reforms are included in the Assembly Republican Blueprint for a Corrupt-Free New Jersey that was offered in September of 2006 and virtually ignored by Corzine and the Democrats in control of the Legislature.

            The blueprint can be viewed by going to njassemblyrepublicans.com on the Web and clicking on “Ethics Reform.”

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