COLLETTI FOR SENATE

38th District – Bergen County

COLLETTI SAYS GORDON KNEW OF CONGILIO’S JOB AT HOSPITAL WHEN HE SIGNED OFF ON GRANT

GORDON VOTED TO STOP  ETHICS COMMITTEE PROBE  INTO CONIGLIO 

ELMWOOD PARK - Assemblyman Robert Gordon knew that Sen. Joseph Coniglio was helping funnel money to his employer at Hackensack Hospital, aided the senator as he rewarded the hospital with state grants and then voted to terminate an investigation into Coniglio, charged state Senate candidate Robert Colletti.

Colletti said Gordon must have known that Coniglio was being employed at the hospital when Gordon co-signed a letter with Coniglio to the state’s Department of Human Services endorsing grants to the Hackensack University Medical Center.  The September 23, 2004 letter was also signed by Assemblywoman Joan Voss. 

“Mr. Gordon must have known that Coniglio was employed by the hospital long before the federal investigation began,” said Colletti. “It does not seem plausible that Gordon and Coniglio signed a letter to a state department without discussing Sen. Coniglio’s job at the hospital. The hospital is not even in their district; wasn’t Mr. Gordon even a little bit curious why he was being asked to sign off on a grant to the hospital?” 

“The evidence suggests that Bob Gordon was helping his colleague reward his employer with taxpayer money and then tried to stop an ethics investigation into Sen. Coniglio,” said Colletti.  

STOPPING THE INVESTIGATION  

In 2006 Coniglio was being investigated by the joint legislative ethics committee that Gordon sits on. In December 2006 Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-36) made a motion to end the panel’s inquiry into Coniglio, even thought the committee had not completed its investigation. Gordon voted to terminate the ethic panel’s inquiry into Coniglio. 

Two months later (February 2007) the U.S. Attorney’s office in Newark sent subpoenas to the state legislative leadership requesting information about state grants. On March 26, 2007 the FBI subpoenaed Coniglio’s office for records relating to the hospital grants, 

Shortly thereafter both Gordon and Sarlo were subpoenaed by the federal government as part of the grant probe. When the state ethics committee was asked to reopen its case against Coniglio last week, the Democrat-dominated committee refused and Gordon failed to vote to have the committee continue its probe of Coniglio.          

WHAT DOES GORDON KNOW? 

Colletti says Gordon knows more about Coniglio’s role in helping obtain state grants for the hospital – grants that included  money to a for-profit biotechnology center in the hospital.  

“Mr. Gordon must have known that Coniglio was employed by the hospital long before the federal investigation began,” said Colletti. “It does not seem plausible that Gordon and Coniglio signed a letter to the Department of Human Services without discussing Sen. Coniglio’s job at the hospital. The hospital is not even in their district; wasn’t Mr. Gordon even a little bit curious why he was being asked to sign off on a grant to the hospital?” 

“We have never heard Assemblyman Gordon deny he knew Coniglio was employed by hospital at the time the grants were issued. In fact, Mr. Gordon has said almost nothing about this corruption probe. I think it’s time he told us what he knows.” 

Colletti said one of the links to the hospital shared by both Gordon and Coniglio is that of Bergen County Democratic Party Chairman, Joseph Ferriero, whose law firm works for the hospital. 

“It doesn’t take genius to draw the political connections that led to the federal investigation,” said Colletti. “Both Gordon and Coniglio are beholden to Joe Ferriero for their political positions. Is it possible Ferriero persuaded both Coniglio and Gordon to push for grants for the hospital? Of course it is.” 

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