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Bucco: Corzine Should Disclose Documents on Fund's Casino Ties
By Andrew PrattSenate Republican Budget Officer Tony Bucco called on Governor Jon Corzine to release all documents detailing links between casinos and a hedge fund company in which the governor is invested. The Governor's financial disclosure forms show that he has invested in a hedge fund called TPG-Axon. The Star-Ledger reported that the fund has the same addresses and almost the same name as Texas Pacific Group (TPG), an operator of hedge funds that bought Harrah's Entertainment in 2006. Harrah's owns four casinos in Atlantic City. Yet the governor contends that his investment meets the letter and the spirit of the state casino laws.
"Our casino laws are designed to prevent even the appearance of conflicts of interest involving government officials, " Bucco stated. "Governor Corzine should immediately release documents detailing the ties between TPG (Texas Pacific Group) and the casino industry."
Stanley Block, a professor of finance at Texas Christian University who closely follows TPG, is quoted in the Star-Ledger as saying TPG-Axon is part of TPG's (Texas Pacific's) "network of affiliates" and the ties are so strong that there is a "potential for conflict of interest."
"Governor Corzine should immediately release any documents showing ties between these units, including any exchange of fees or services," Bucco said.
Bucco reminded the governor that he promised to sell off another hedge fund investment when he ran for governor in 2005 because the owner was heavily involved in the casino industry. Published reports say Corzine invested $7 million in a hedge fund after he was solicited by Wall Street financier and political donor Carl Icahn at a cocktail party in New York. Corzine said he was told the hedge fund was not invested in casinos, but Icahn himself was a big investor in casinos at the time. The Associated Press reported Corzine said that, given Icahn's investments in casinos, the decision to disinvest from the Icahn fund was a "no-brainer." "It's hard to see any difference between Carl Icahn and TPG (Texas Pacific)," Bucco said.
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