Joseph Coniglio

Reacting to news that certain state legislators were given sole discretion on where millions of dollars in state funds were spent, State Sen. Leonard Lance – who was Senate Minority Leader at the time – said it was outrageous, and made other scandals about “Christmas tree” items inserted into the budget look tame.

Lance said he was not a beneficiary of the program.

“We voted against the budget and we were railing against the Christmas tree items. But I think this goes beyond that. I haven’t examined it fully, but…. that’s an extremely bad procedure,” said Lance. “We haven’t been involved in the Christmas Tree process, but if someone outright says I want something for my district and it’s there in black and white, we can have a debate back and forth. But this is even worse because it’s done behind closed doors.”

Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) refused to comment on testimony delivered today by George LeBlanc, a Democratic budget aide, who said legislators abused a state program dedicated to property tax relief.

LeBlanc gave his testimony in the corruption trial of former Sen. Wayne Bryant (D-Camden).

In a brief conversation with PolitickerNJ.com, Codey said his lawyers have advised him against making comments about last year's state budget scandals until after the end of the corruption trial of state Sen. Joseph Coniglio (D-Bergen).

Joe Coniglio is the target of a federal criminal probeBergen County GOP Chairman Rob Ortiz has filed a formal complaint with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission regarding former State Sen. Joseph Coniglio’s use of leftover campaign funds – about $90,000 – to pay for his legal expenses. ELEC ruled on Wednesday that former State Sen. Wayne Bryant, who is under indictment, could not use his warchest to pay attorney fees. Coniglio is the target of a federal criminal probe.

Governor Jon Corzine will fill the Republican seat on the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission “within weeks or even days,” according to his spokesman, Jim Gardner. The seat has been vacant since Corzine named Judge Theodore Davis to serve as the Chief Operating Officer of Camden in December 2006.

Earlier this week, ELEC postponed a decision on the use of campaign funds to pay attorney fees in a criminal corruption case by a 2-1 vote, with the lone Republican Commissioner voting against the postponement. Republican National Committeeman David Norcross sharply criticized Corzine for leaving the GOP seat vacant for more than a year, calling it “inexcusable.” Norcross, a former ELEC Executive Director, said the law requires the commission to be bi-partisan.

Loretta Weinberg has signed off on John Molinelli's renomination as Bergen County ProsecutorJust a month and a half ago, the re-nomination of Bergen Prosecutor John Molinelli to another five year term looked to be in jeopardy.

The revelation that he had accompanied outgoing state Sen. Joseph Coniglio on a trip to Italy while the Senator was under federal investigation raised doubts among top Democratic officials whether he should be reconfirmed. Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Henry McNamara and Democratic Sen. Loretta Weinberg had already exercised senatorial courtesy for different reasons, refusing to sign off on Molinelli's nomination.

But today, the prospect of Molinelli securing another term looks much more likely, even if he has several more political obstacles to overcome.

Another bad day for State Sen. Joe ConiglioThe Bergen Record’s Charles Stile reports that the home and legislative office of outgoing state Sen. Joseph Conilgio have been searched by the federal agents.

The search is reportedly “the final act of the investigation” into whether Coniglio steered legislative grants to the Hackensack University Medical Center while working for the hospital as a $5,500-per-month plumbing consultant.

Sources say Harold Hodes testified in Coniglio grand jury probeLobbyist Harold Hodes, a top advisor to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in New Jersey and one of the state’s most powerful political insiders, has spent several hours testifying before a federal grand jury probing State Sen. Joseph Coniglio, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Hodes, appearing in response to a federal subpoena, testified about appropriations Coniglio allegedly obtained for Hackensack University Medical Center while the two-term Senator was working as a paid consultant. At the time, Hodes’ firm, Public Strategies/Impact, was the HUMC lobbyist. The hospital received over $1 million in state grants while Coniglio was on their payroll.

Missing from Friday’s Ledger and Record stories about the failure by the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards to reopen an investigation into Sen. Joseph Coniglio was any mention of earlier promises by leadership to independently review the Legislative Code of Ethics.

BTW, recommendations were promised by June . . . that’s June 2007.

Hey, it’s tough to meet deadlines when constantly being distracted by subpoenas and agents rifling through your files.

The examination has seemingly disappeared into a news Black Hole.

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli went on vacation to Italy with State Sen. Joe Coniglio, the target of a federal probeToday’s revelation that Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli traveled to Italy with State Sen. Joe Coniglio, the target of a federal criminal probe, only makes State Sen. Loretta Weinberg feel more uneasy about the prosecutors reappointment.

The Bergen Record’s Charles Stile revealed today that Coniglio and Molinelli were among nine people who traveled to Italy last month. Molinelli told Stile that Coniglio was added to the trip at the last minute, and that he reconsidered going, but decided to anyway.