COLLETTI FOR SENATE

38th District – Bergen County             ]

STATE  STATE SPENDS ANOTHER $800 MILLION ON SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION WITHOUT ASKING WHERE THE OTHER $8.6 BILLION WENT

Assemblyman Gordon Fails to Demand Prosecution  

Elmwood Park NJ -- The State of New Jersey recently compounded its enormous debt  by borrowing $800 million to continue the scandal plagued school construction program started under Gov. Jim McGreevey, yet the state has failed o prosecute anyone who took  part in the  $8.6 billion School Construction Corp. debacle that saw hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars wasted, said state Senate candidate Robert Colletti. The $800 million loan was recently approved by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority without comment from a single legislator, said Colletti.  

“It is unfathomable how a state agency can squander a big chunk of an $8 billion school construction plan and no one in Trenton demands accountability,” said Colletti, owner of a construction company. “Instead of finding out what happened to the money that was misappropriated, this state just goes out and borrows almost $1 billion more.”  

Colletti said his opponent in the 38th District state Senate race, Assemblyman Robert Gordon (D-Fair Lawn), has demonstrated a “see no evil attitude about the SCC.” 

“Hundreds of millions of dollars disappeared -- money that was meant to help school children, and Mr. Gordon hasn’t even demanded that the Attorney General prosecute the crooks,” said Colletti. “Mr. Gordon is part of the problem in Trenton; part of the problem with corruption and a big part of the problem with the state’s  ridiculously high taxes.”  

Colletti noted that the $800 million will worsen the state’s already notorious $34 billion debt; the fourth highest in the nation.  

“Why is it that liberal Democrats like Mr. Gordon complain regularly about the national debt, but say nothing of the billions they have rung up in New Jersey,” asked Colletti.     

Media reports and an investigation by the State Inspector General found many problems with the now defunct SCC. The Star Ledger reported that: 

•  The SCC spent more than a half-billion dollars due to cost overruns and change orders on renovations and emergency repairs of aging schools and on new construction. Those expenses were 20 percent of all construction costs.
•  Construction costs for six SCC schools averaged $184 per scquare foot, compared with $145 per square foot on the 19 jobs managed by local school districts. ·  Architects on SCC projects were paid almost double the industry standard. ·  Construction project managers on SCC projects were paid more than three times what some local school districts paid.
• Jack Kocsis, who set SCC policy and evaluated construction payments as chairman of the corporation, also served as executive director and chief fund-raiser for a statewide contractor's organization. Members of that organization have been awarded $1 billion in SCC work.  

 “Given the monumental waste of money in the SCC projects I think it would be imperative that the cheats be prosecuted and made an example of, so this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” said Colletti. “But instead the governor’s office and the legislative leaders are acting like nothing happened. “It’s mind boggling,” added Colletti, “that in New Jersey you get a ticket for not wearing a seat belt or talking on a cell phone while driving,  but if you steal a few million dollars from a state program, you can get away with it and no one cares.”