DeCROCE AND KEAN: HERE WE GO AGAIN

ANOTHER ELECTED OFFICIAL ON THE HOT SEAT, THIS TIME STATE SENATOR WAYNE BRYANT FOR TAKING A NO-SHOW JOB AT UMDNJSeptember 18, 2006
Republican Leader Alex DeCroce/973-984-0922
Assemblyman Sean Kean/732-974-0400

DeCROCE AND KEAN: HERE WE GO AGAIN

ANOTHER ELECTED OFFICIAL ON THE HOT SEAT, THIS TIME STATE SENATOR WAYNE BRYANT FOR TAKING A NO-SHOW JOB AT UMDNJ

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce and Assemblyman Sean Kean today pointed to reports that a federal monitor has determined that State Senator Wayne Bryant’s position at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey was a no-show job as more evidence that New Jersey has a long way to go in stamping out the culture of corruption.

"It is evident that our current ethics laws are doing little to dissuade public officials from engaging in unethical and illegal behavior at the taxpayer's expense," said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. "These almost daily corruption scandals won't stop until the Democrats admit we need tougher ethics laws and join us in ending the culture of corruption in New Jersey."

The Star-Ledger Sunday reported a federal monitor has found that Bryant pressured UMDNJ officials to create a no-show job allowing him to "lobby himself" for taxpayer funds. Bryant allegedly only showed up for work at the $38,220 job about three hours a week during which he primarily read the newspaper.

"How many more scandals will we have to endure before we decide to get tough on corruption?" Kean, R-Monmouth, asked. "Law enforcement is doing a good job of pursuing corrupt officials, but we in the Legislature need to give them the tools to crack down on a wider range of ethical abuses."

On Friday, former State Sen. John Lynch, a long-time power broker in the Democrat Party entered a guilty plea to federal corruption charges ending an 18-month investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Last week it was reported that federal investigators have subpoenaed records of a rental deal between United States Senator Bob Menendez and a nonprofit agency in Union City.

This followed the guilty pleas just two weeks ago by the president of the city council in Atlantic City and a former Camden city councilman, as well as the recent resignation of Zulima Farber as Attorney General.

In the past four years alone more than 80 public officials, employees and contractors have been charged or found guilty in public corruption investigations according to news reports.

DeCroce and Kean called for the Legislature to hold a special session devoted entirely to passing comprehensive ethics reform legislation.

"The public needs to know that we are not just content to catch officials after they have misused taxpayer dollars," DeCroce said. "We must take a proactive approach that sends a message that corruption won’t be tolerated in New Jersey."

DeCroce had sent letters to legislative leaders and the Governor last week asking that they convene a special session of the Legislature to enact comprehensive ethics and pay-to-play reforms.

"By passing laws such as comprehensive pay-to-play reform and tougher ethical guidelines for elected officials we can have a tremendous impact on discouraging conflicts of interest and corrupt behavior," Kean said.

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