Weinberg tells Christie to disclose his involvement in prosecuting tax cheat

State Sen. Loretta Weinberg, the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, say GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie should disclose the details of his involvement with the federal prosecution of former Assemblyman Morton Salkind (D-Marlboro). 

"While Christie has been quick to take credit for all the accomplishments of the U.S. Attorney's office during his tenure, he has run away from the office's failures even faster," Weinberg asked. "The people of New Jersey deserve answers to critical questions about Christie's role as U.S. Attorney.  What was the policy and criteria for cases being brought to his attention as U.S. Attorney?

The Star-Ledger reported on Wednesday that Samuel Yarosh has filed a lawsuit claiming that federal prosecutors allowed Salkind, his onetime business partner, to plead guilty to a single count of tax evasion, ignoring evidence of additional fraud.  Salkind was represented by a law firm headed by Herbert Stern and John Inglesino, both political allies of Christie, the Republican candidate for governor.

"There are only two possible explanations for Mr. Christie's  assertions that he was unaware of this case- either he mismanaged the U.S. Attorney's office so that a case of this size and import could be settled without his approval or knowledge, or he is not telling the truth about what he knew and when he knew it."

Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, told PolitickerNJ.com that Christie did not sign any documents relating to the Salkind prosecution, and that he "had no role whatsoever in the decisions leading to the plea agreement and resolution of the case."