Cleaning up NJ politics

From the Asbury Park Press:

Panel to consider anti-corruption legislation

State senators today will consider creating new anti-corruption laws to help taxpayers recover money lost through impropriety.

The Senate budget committee is slated to consider bills that would make it illegal for non-elected recipients of government money and property to knowingly misuse it, and to seek fines against those corrupt officials to reimburse taxpayers.

“For too long, the abuse of power in New Jersey has been a factor in skyrocketing property taxes,” said Sen. John Adler, D-Camden, who is sponsoring the bills with Sen. Ellen Karcher, D-Monmouth.

“The message we’re sending is that if you abuse the public trust and misuse resources, be prepared to face stiff penalties,” Karcher said.

In recent weeks, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has subpoenaed budget documents from the governor’s office, state departments, legislative leaders and various places where the former Senate budget chairman, Wayne Bryant, has worked.

Adler said the bill regarding public money and property is meant to combat situations where public money is entrusted to a nonprofit, for instance, and misused.

“In those cases, the penalties available for corruption are minimal at best and nonexistent at worst,” he said.

Karcher said the other is meant to help residents paying the nation’s highest property taxes. It would allow a “public corruption profiteering penalty,” for any official found guilty of several crimes. The fine would be paid to the public entity defrauded by the corruption.