COHEN/PANTER ANTI-CORRUPTION BILL BECOMES LAW

(MARLBORO) - Legislation Assemblymen Neil M. Cohen and Michael Panter sponsored to curb corruption by government officials and politically connected individuals was signed into law today by Governor Jon S. Corzine.

The measure (S-1192/A-2465) establishes a new crime - corruption of public resources - for anyone who knowingly misuses public grants, loans, assets or property for purposes other than the intended governmental purpose.

Violators will face graduated penalties, the severity of which will depend on the value of the resource and the intended government purpose that was compromised.

"The way to restore the people's trust is by cleaning up the people's government," said Cohen (D-Union). "These tougher penalties for corruption infractions will ensure the integrity of government functions and safeguard proper spending of the taxpayers' money."

"New Jerseyans want the culture of corruption in all levels of government to end," Panter said. "Our residents should not be forced to pay the price of higher taxes for the trespasses of corrupt government officials. The price should be paid by those who violate the people's trust in the form of stiff fines and jail time."

The new law criminalizes three specific forms of conduct:

· Misappropriation of public funds that are earmarked to perform or facilitate the performance of a government function or public service;
· Misappropriation of public funds that are not allocated to perform a governmental function or public service;
· False material misrepresentation to a government agency, official or employee for purposes of obtaining a public resource.

The new law is part of a four-bill package of anti-corruption and government reform measures that Corzine signed at the public library building in Marlboro, a community that was at the center of a highly publicized corruption scandal involving a politically connected developer from roughly 2002 through 2004.

Cohen and Panter said the new law's provisions are necessary to hold corrupt individuals accountable for misusing or subverting scarce public resources.

They said the misappropriation of public funds deprives the state of the fiscal value of the misdirected funds and the benefits of the intended use of such resources. In addition, other qualified individuals, who would have properly utilized the public resources in accordance with the purpose for which they were provided, are denied the opportunity to utilize the resources for the intended purpose, Cohen and Panter said.

The following outlines the increased severity of penalties under the new law with regard to crimes under current law; monetary element of the crime; and gradation of the crime:

Official Misconduct 

Amount involved over $200 - Second Degree

Amount involved under $200 - Third Degree

False Claims in Government Contracting:

Amount of claim $25,000 or greateer - Second Degree     

Amount of claim between $2,500 and $25,000 - Third Degree

Theft by Deception 

Amount of theft over $75,000 - Second Degree

Amount of theft between $500 and $75,000 - Third Degree

Money Laundering 

Amount laundered greater than $500,000 - First Degree  
                        
Amount laundered between $75,000 and $500,000 - Second Degree

Amount laundered under $75,000 - Third Degree 

First-degree penalties are punishable by up to 20 years in jail and a $200,000 fine. Second-degree crimes are punishable by up to 10 years in jail and a $150,000 fine. Third-degree crimes are punishable by up to 5 years in jail and a $15,000 fine. And a fourth-degree crime is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $10,000 fine.

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