NACo-Gate Day 23: Magazzu Continues To Hide; Cumberland GOP Requests Investigation

Millville - Lou Magazzu's NACo-Gate has continued to drag on due to his complete and total failure to come clean to the voters of Cumberland County. For more than two weeks Magazzu has been hiding behind attorney Brendan Kavanagh, and the two have been spinning a story that Kavanagh was Magazzu's campaign manager in July. News accounts from three separate papers all prove Kavanagh was not the campaign manager until September 1st.

The issue of Lou Magazzu's NACo-Gate appears to have led to the organization adopting "a voluntary limit on the amount of campaign funds candidates for NACo office can spend" according to an August edition of County News.

Given the many questions Lou Magazzu's NACo-Gate issue has raised, including a $5,000 dollar contribution from Jon Corzine a month after Magazzu withdrew his name from the NACo election and a controversial $10,000 no interest loan from the Cumberland County Democratic Organization to Lou Magazzu, Cumberland County Republicans made the decision to take the matter to an investigator and have all the information obtained reviewed by legal counsel. Legal counsel's review of the information pertaining to NACo-Gate has led Cumberland County Regular Republican Organization Chairman Robert "Bob" Greco to send a letter to New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram requesting her office launch a full investigation into the matter.

"Lou Magazzu's scheme to move money from The Cumberland County Democratic Organization's coffers to himself and then repay that money with money from others, including half of it from Jon Corzine, sent up too many red flags that left us with no choice but to take a closer look," Cumberland County Regular Republican Organization Chairman Bob Greco said.

"From public statements given by Magazzu all indications are that his NACo account is a personal account and it is highly unusual for others to give an individual money to repay a loan, especially in today's economy," Greco continued. "Magazzu's decision to hide behind an attorney for more than two weeks demonstrates even he knows the circumstances around the loan and the gifts used to repay the loan look bad."

"It is unfortunate that Lou Magazzu has allowed NACo-Gate to get to this point," Greco lamented. "I did not take the decision to request the state's Attorney General investigate the matter lightly and took the step of seeking legal advice and opinion before making the final decision."

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Paid for by Cumberland County Regular Republican Organization