Cohen campaign gave staffer 18 bonuses over last 7 months

There is nothing out of the ordinary about legislative staffers drawing down paychecks from both the government and from campaign committees.  But the case of Gleisha Givens, who served as Chief of Staff to Assemblyman Neil Cohen, looks a little strange.

Over the last seven months, Givens has received eighteen separate payments totaling $23,400 from Cohen’s campaign while working full-time for his legislative district office.  All of these payments came after the 2007 election, where Cohen had just token opposition.  They are listed on Cohen’s Election Law Enforcement Commission reports as bonus payments, or payments for extra work.

Cohen resigned Sunday amid allegations that he had child pornography on a legislative office computer. 

Givens was also reimbursed at least $500 each month (sometimes as much as $700) for reimbursement for her cell phone – almost always in very round numbers.  And since the last election, she’s been reimbursed nearly $6,000 for postage stamps. 

PolitickerNJ.com contacted Givens on her cell phone with the hope that she might explain why she received so many extra payments.  She referred inquiries to the campaign treasurer, Rosemary McClave.  McClave, a Democratic activist from Hillside who is also the Chief Financial Officer for Teterboro, is on vacation.  She didn’t return messages left at her office and home.

Givens' annual salary in Cohen's legislative district office was $38,000.