INVERSO CALLS FOR SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO PROBE SCC

Senator Peter Inverso, (R-14), announced that he will introduce legislation Monday, March 13 which would require the Governor to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate allegations of waste fraud and mismanagement at the Schools Construction Corporation (SCC). This bill is identical to A-2807 introduced in the General Assembly by Assemblyman Malone and Assemblyman Baroni.
Senator Peter Inverso, (R-14), announced that he will introduce legislation Monday, March 13 which would require the Governor to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate allegations of waste fraud and mismanagement at the Schools Construction Corporation (SCC). This bill is identical to A-2807 introduced in the General Assembly by Assemblyman Malone and Assemblyman Baroni.

“At the conclusion of her investigation last year, Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper indicated that certain SCC staff members and contractors may be referred to the Attorney General for criminal prosecution,� Inverso stated. “Since her investigation ended, new allegations of fraud and criminality concerning practices at the SCC have surfaced on a regular basis demonstrating the need for a full time Special Prosecutor to get to the bottom of the one of the largest examples of mismanagement in State history. In today’s papers alone there are reports of hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses being questioned by the state auditor and charges that the value of land purchased by the SCC to build a school in Union City was artificially inflated by the addition of a hastily constructed apartment building.�

The Inverso legislation would require the Governor to appoint an independent counsel who would be required to have the appropriate experience to investigate allegations of fraud, mismanagement and criminal misconduct by employees and contractors of the SCC.

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The independent counsel would have full power and independent authority to exercise all investigative and prosecutorial functions and powers of the Attorney General. The independent counsel could not be a person who holds any public office in this State.

The appointment of the independent counsel would terminate when: The independent counsel notifies the Attorney General that the investigation of all matters within the jurisdiction of the independent counsel and any resulting prosecutions have been completed or so substantially completed that it would be appropriate for the Department of Law and Public Safety to complete such investigations and prosecutions; and the independent counsel has filed a final report with the Legislature with regard to the investigation.

“With examples such as; a school that was to be built next to an adult themed theater, $629 million in questionable expenditures, contaminated fill being used at a school in Trenton, it is surprising and concerning that the SCC and State Department of Education want the taxpayers to fund $12.7 billion in additional projects without sanitizing the SCC. We need to appoint a special prosecutor to probe these issues and to ensure that any criminal conduct is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and that the taxpayers of this state get their money’s worth,� Inverso concluded.