Republican Committee of Union County

UNION GOP CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF ESTRADAREPUBLICAN COMMITTEE OF UNION COUNTY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 15, 2006

Contact: RCUC Chairman Phil Morin 908-709-1450

UNION GOP CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION BY MVC OF ESTRADA

Special Prosecutor Questions Freeholder Estrada’s Handling of Goore’s License, Registration Problems

Union County Republican Chairman Phil Morin issued the following statement following the release of the investigative report issued by Special Prosecutor Richard Williams regarding Attorney General Zulima Farber’s intervention in a May traffic incident involving her live-in boyfriend, Hamlet Goore, and the assistance provided by Freeholder and Motor Vehicle Commission manager Angel Estrada:

Special Prosecutor Williams’s report makes clear that Bob Menendez’s protégé, Zulima Farber, violated several ethics rules in connection with this incident. However, left unresolved is whether Freeholder/MVC manager Angel Estrada violated MVC rules and regulations in having Hamlet Goore’s driving records modified over an hour before Goore even arrived in Elizabeth. Judge Williams found that “Mr. Estrada’s handling of this matter before Hamlet Goore arrived at the MVC agency raises questions about the propriety of his practices and whether they were in compliance with MVC procedures."

While Judge Williams stated that he did not have jurisdiction to investigate Freeholder Estrada’s conduct, the MVC should - after all the Chief Administrator of the MVC, Sharon Harrington, is also an appointee to Governor Corzine’s State Ethics Commission. To help Ms. Harrington get started on this investigation, I have some questions to assist her in getting the ball rolling:

First, was it a violation of any MVC rules or regulations for Freeholder Estrada to call MVC’s central office and “take care� of Goore’s license suspension?

Second, was it a violation of any MVC rules or regulations for Freeholder Estrada to order a staff member to process Goore’s vehicle registration before first having Goore sign the certification, pay the $137 fee, or even be present at the Elizabeth MVC?

Third, was this the first time in which Freeholder Estrada placed a call to help out a friend with a “problem�? Doesn’t Judge Williams’s report indicates otherwise?

Fourth, did Freeholder Estrada’s actions comport with the Mission Statement of the MVC, namely: “to achieve public trust and confidence in the quality and integrity of those services� or its Core Values of integrity and personal accountability?

Fifth, if, in fact, MVC rules and procedures were violated, and motor vehicle records can be so easily augmented with just a phone call and keystroke, what steps can be taken to stop someone from compromising an office manager of a MVC location and making other changes to licenses that could result in identity theft or compromise public safety and security?

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