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BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
UPDATED
Two Democratic Assembly members Wednesday called on the New Jersey U.S. attorney and the state attorney general to examine an effort by a top political adviser to Republican gubernatorial challenger Chris Christie to get Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Morris) to quit the party's gubernatorial primary race in return for a job in a Christie administration.
It is at least the second call by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer) and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) for an examination of the action by John Inglesino, a major fundraiser for Christie, and, as the legislators are quick to point out, a beneficiary of a no-bid contract from the candidate when he was New Jersey U.S. attorney.
Gusciora and Huttle renewed their call in the wake of a state appeals court ruling earlier in the week increased the prison sentence of former Carneys Point mayor, John Lake, who was convicted of bribery for offering a job to a political opponent in exchange for him dropping out of a 2006 committee race. While Lake had initially been sentenced to three years in prison for attempted bribery, a court panel increased his sentence to five years.
"The allegations against Christie adviser Mr. Inglesino by a fellow Republican are quite serious and demand investigation, especially in light of recent events," Gusciora said. "A South Jersey mayor is now facing five years in prison for the same type of conduct that Christie's adviser allegedly engaged in. The public deserves to know - especially in this time of heightened awareness of public corruption - whether or not there was an attempt to affect the governor's race through bribery."In May, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported that Merkt was offered "a role in Christie's campaign or administration if he decided not to run" by John Inglesino, a former Morris County freeholder. Inglesino was previously in the spotlight for contributing the maximum allowed campaign contributions and co-sponsoring a fundraiser for Christie along with Morris County Republican Chairman John Sette.
"Given the close and long-standing ties between Christie and John Inglesino, it is only proper for the U.S. Attorney's office and the Attorney General's office to look into these very serious allegations," Vainieri Huttle said. "With public trust in elected officials tested by the recent corruption scandal, law enforcement should investigate and see if the law has been broken."
Kevin Roberts, a spokesman for the state Republican Party, responded to the Assembly members call instead of the Christie campaign.
"Attempts by Corzine partisans to use the recent corruption sweep as a pretext for political attacks is disappointing and the type of campaigning New Jerseyans are clearly rejecting from the Corzine campaign,'' he said.
