PASSAIC, NJ  --  Carmen Pio Costa and Don Diorio, candidates for Assembly in the 36th district, reacted to today's arrests by drawing attention to the source of the bribe-takers' temptations: their control over massive amounts of state income-tax money given to a handful of cities and urban school districts. 

"Follow the money," said Pio Costa, a businessman from Nutley. "Contractors are willing to bribe elected officials because of the fat contracts they can deliver. Take away the money, take away the power. Without the power of the public purse, there's no reason to bribe the politicians. It's time we cut off the market for this corruption." 

The 11 public officials arrested by the FBI today were from Pleasantville, Orange, Newark, and Passaic, all cities in so-called "Abbott" school disctricts. All 11 have allegedly accepted bribery payments from companies that offered insurance brokerage or roofing services to school districts and municipalities. The 31 Abbott districts receive 55% of all the tax money the state redistributes to towns and schools as property tax relief. A full 70% of the state's money dedicated to school construction is spent in just those 31 districts, out of the 549 in the state. 

Don Diorio, a buisnessman from Carlstadt pointed out, "Billions of dollars in income tax and sales tax have been poured into the Abbott districts and yet the schools are still failing. The money has only enabled the politicians to more easily line their pockets. We need a new school-funding formula." 

Of the 25 highest spending K-12 districts, 17 are Abbott districts. The three highest spending K-12 districts in the State are Abbott districts. According to a June 2005 Star-Ledger report, the state spent an average of 45% more to build schools in the Abbott districts than did local boards of education throughout the rest of the state. 

Abbott school districts now spend 30% more per student than the state’s average. 

"Towns that are not in 'Abbott' districts are not all rich," said Pio Costa. "The towns surrounding Passaic and Garfield are not full of millionaires, but the citizens there are forced to bear the majority of their school costs while Abbott homeowners pay less than 10% of theirs. And then Abbott politicians run away with the cash, so no one wins.Trenton has helped cause this mess by not funding schools fairly. That's why the 36th district needs a new team in the Assembly." 

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