Wayne Bryant

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).

In what could be one of the top political scandals of the year, the Senate Democratic budget staff testified in federal court today that at least two former legislators, Wayne Bryant and Bernard Kenny, each had $4 million in discretionary spending.  The Star-Ledger, reporting from Bryant's corruption trial, says that "masked by an obscure state budget account dedicated to property tax relief, key state lawmakers were given millions of taxpayer dollars to hand out to their constituents as they pleased, testimony in the corruption trial of former Senate Budget Committee Chairman Wayne Bryant revealed today.  The $40 million Property Tax Assistance and Community Development grants program lawmakers added to the state budgets in 2004 and 2005, was parceled out directly to individual lawmakers for them to spend on pet projects, George LeBlanc, Democratic budget officer, testified."

"To my knowledge, individual legislators were the deciders," LeBlanc told jurors, according to the Star-Ledger. "They were the ones who designated which entities would receive amounts of money from the accounts."

A witness at former State Sen. Wayne Bryant’s corruption trial gave what could amount to blockbuster testimony today, detailing a little-known practice that the legislature engaged in during 2004 and 2005.   

George LeBlanc, a Democratic budget aide, testified that a program ostensibly dedicated to property tax relief was used to hand out millions of dollars to key legislators to spend on pet projects hand out to their constituents, reports the Star-Ledger. 

According to the testimony, Bryant was allotted $4 million from the Property Tax Assistance and Community Development grants program.  The only other legislator named in the report is former State Sen. Bernard Kenny, who also was given $4 million. 

“The testimony contrasts with claims by lawmakers that individual grant recipients had to apply to the state Treasurer for funding from the $40 million pool, and that grants were awarded competitively,” reported Dunstan McNichol. 

By most measures, Gloucester County should be a politically competitive place.

Its towns are mostly rural and suburban, it has a large blue collar population, and it only went for John Kerry over George W. Bush by about 6,000 votes in the last presidential election.

But over the last decade, Democrats – aided in part by George Norcross’ powerful political machine in neighboring Camden County, the political prowess of native son Stephen Sweeney and plenty of Republicans willing to switch parties – have had little trouble holding on to full control of the county’s government and taking over the majority of most towns’ elected offices.

Maybe they say it every year, but Republicans feel that this time they may be able to pry at least one county-wide seat out of the Democrats’ grasp: the one that belongs to Freeholder Warren Wallace, whose re-election comes about just as his one-time political ally – former State Sen. Wayne Bryant – faces a corruption trial over a job he held at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), where Wallace worked as associate dean for academic and student affairs for School of Osteopathic Medicine before being dismissed over accusations of unethical behavior. In 2006, he was accused of shredding documents while the school was being investigated.

In May, Wallace filed a lawsuit against the school, charging racial discrimination over his firing.  But he may be called to testify at Bryant’s trial as a “person of interest” – further associating him with the former state Senator.

“We absolutely have a real shot at it,” said political consultant Steve Kush, who this year is running the Republican freeholder candidates’ communications shop.  “The proof is in the pudding.”

Republicans Phyllis Scapellato, Larry Wallace and Dan Roberts are running against Democratic incumbents Wallace, Sweeney (the state Senate Majority Leader who reconsidered his decision not to run for freeholder again) and Frank DiMarco.  Roberts replaced Frank Stellaccio, who dropped out in June.

The pudding, according to Kush: a letter Democratic counsel Timothy Chell sent to Gloucester County Republicans, warning candidates not to use several claims about Wallace recently outlined in a Philadelphia Inquirer article.  He thinks its proof that the Democrats are running scared.

“Any use of the factual inaccuracies published in the Inquirer will be considered actionable by the Gloucester County Democratic Party and Dr. Warren S. Wallace personally,” wrote Chell.

No double standards this time Mr. Sweeney

Congratulations to Newark City Councilwoman Dana Rone, who has emerged as the early front runner for the 2008 Zulima Farber Award. She seems to be running ahead of Annette Lartigue, a City Councilwoman from Trenton, and former Jersey City Municipal Court Judge Wanda Molina.

And newly-elected Orange Mayor Eldridge Hawkins, Jr. is now a candidate for the 2008 Oink! Oink! Wayne Bryant Award – a category that always has considerable competition in New Jersey.

Gloucester County Freeholder Warren Wallace refused to discuss legal action he has taken against UMDNJ, despite Republican Freeholder candidates Phyllis Scapellato and Larry Wallace questioning his timing in filing a lawsuit against his former employer.

In his May 28 lawsuit, Wallace claims he was a victim of racial discrimination when UMDNJ fired him two years ago as a dean at the school’s Stratford campus.

The Republicans say Wallace’s relations with disgraced former state Sen. Wayne Bryant (D-Camden) have more to do with the Democratic incumbent’s UMDNJ troubles.

"Simply amazing," Scapellato said. "He waits until he’s up for re-election to file a bogus lawsuit to take the attention away from his wrongdoings. Warren Wallace filed this suit as an election year stunt to hide from his connections to Wayne Bryant."

The conviction of former Newark Mayor/State Sen. Sharpe James is another victory for U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, the front runner for the 2009 Republican nomination for Governor.  Since becoming federal prosecutor in 2002, Christie has won a conviction or plea agreement against every public official indicted by a federal grand jury.

PolitickerNJ.com, since February 1, 2000