YUDIN WELCOMES FEDERAL ENCAP INVESTIGATION; WANTS BERGEN TIES PROBED

201-880-1646                                                                   

   HACKENSACK, NJ -- The federal subpoenas dropped last week on Gov. Corzine’s desk seeking information on the infamous EnCap development catastrophe in the Bergen County meadowlands will hopefully unmask the politicians responsible for the boondoggle, says Bergen County Republican Party Chairman Robert Yudin. 

“EnCap encompasses just about everything that is wrong with New Jersey government under the Democrats,” said Yudin. “This was a political deal manipulated behind the scenes by very prominent Democrat lawmakers, well connected lawyers and developers who wanted to cut corners and line their pockets with taxpayer money,” said Yudin.

 The GOP Chairman, who as a candidate for county freeholder, railed against the corruption and waste in the now bankrupt EnCap project, said he is glad the federal government is stepping in to do the job that the state government has failed to do. 

 “The oversight of the EnCap project has been practically non existent,” said Yudin. “I find it incredible that after volumes of newspaper reports on EnCap’s failures, and even a State Inspector General’s Report -- that Gov. Corzine has not publicly condemned the project and demanded a full blown investigation by the state Attorney General’s office.” 

Yudin said that the State Inspector General’s report, despite its shortcomings should have been acted on immediately by Corzine, but was not.    The Inspector General’s office failed to interview either former governor, James McGreevey or former Acting Gov. Richard Codey regarding their involvement in the EnCap debacle. 

 “It’s hard to look at the IG’s report and not see it as a coat or whitewash put on a very ugly problem with a politically inspired redevelopment project that was forced upon the people of Bergen County,” said Yudin. 

EnCap was first broached as landfills to golf courses reclamation project. Gradually it morphed into a monstrous housing development that would have overwhelmed Meadowlands communities. The project was laden with upfront payments from the developers to town officials to buy their compliance, efforts to strong arm state environmental officials to relax their oversight of EnCap’s landfill cleanup and efforts to use taxpayer money to finance the development. 

 Yudin said he hopes the federal investigation will answer a lot of questions, including how the Bergen County Improvement Authority got involved in loaning money to the developer. The BCIA loaned $103 million to EnCap but, according to published reports “never asked for records explaining how EnCap would use its $103 million loan.”  But said Yudin, the BCIA made sure to pay its consultants very well for the EnCap loan.  

 “The BCIA and the Bergen County Executive and Freeholders have done nothing to derail EnCap and in fact tried to make it possible for their supporters to capitalize on this boondoggle,” said Yudin.  “I hope the federal investigation will open the doors on this project and show how Bergen County Democrat officials were involved in this boondoggle,” he added.