Whelan and Tyner for State Assembly

Blee and Conover Should Return Tainted Gormley Money...BLEE/CONOVER SHOULD RETURN TAINTED MONEY THEY RECEIVED FROM SEAN GORMLEY
Blee/Conover/Gormley/Forrester Are Examples of Pay-To-Play At Its Worst

(Egg Harbor Township) – Second District Assembly candidates Jim Whelan and Damon Tyner said Frank Blee and Kirk Conover should return $5,000 they received from Sean Gormley – a GOP official whose unethical pay-to-play ties to Doug Forrester were highlighted in a Philadelphia Inquirer article on Monday.

“Sean Gormley is a financial backer of Blee and Conover for Assembly and has donated considerably to their campaign account,� said Whelan. “Yesterday’s Philadelphia Inquirer article raises some serious questions about Gormley, Forrester, Blee and Conover and the unethical pay-to-play practices they utilize to fatten their pockets. Gormley was doling out contracts that were not in the public interest in terms of price or quality.�

“Jim and I support banning pay-to-play on all levels of government,� said Tyner. “Blee and Conover should do the same. They should return the money Sean Gormley has donated to their campaign. That money is tainted money and has no business in Atlantic County. Gormley is the broker who brokers what’s good for GOP bosses and millionaire drug company middlemen. If Blee and Conover stand on the side of seniors and the rest of us, they’ll return the cash.�

The Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday reported that Sean Gormley – the son of Sen. Bill Gormley – brokered a deal for a Burlington County agency that resulted in $3.4 million in business for Doug Forrester’s Benecard Services Inc.

According to the Inquirer, Forrester's company, BeneCard Services Inc., was chosen by the Burlington County Special Services School District to manage its prescription-benefits program in 2004 and again in 2005. Since 2003, Forrester has contributed nearly $60,000 to county Republican coffers.

The school district selected BeneCard even though other companies offered lower costs for each year, and it renewed the contract this summer despite a 37 percent price increase by BeneCard.

The Burlington school contracts were brokered by Sean Gormley, whose father, William Gormley of Atlantic County, is one of New Jersey's most influential Republicans. Sean Gormley receives a 5 percent commission from the transaction, according to district records.

The district's school board is controlled by the Burlington County GOP, whose longtime leader, Glenn Paulsen, is among the small group of Republican powers influential in choosing statewide candidates. That group includes Gormley.

Paulsen and Gormley played key roles in helping Forrester become the party's candidate for governor.

According to county records, Forrester's company began negotiations for the school district's contract in April 2004 in a series of correspondence with Sean Gormley, the district's designated "health benefits broker." Gormley is president of Innovative Risk Solutions of Egg Harbor Township.

BeneCard was awarded a one-year contract on July 1, 2004. Its proposal came in at $57,237 more than one submitted by Oxford Health Plans Inc., county records show.

BeneCard's contract, again with Gormley acting as the broker, was renewed July 1 of this year. Three companies submitted lower-price proposals. Garden State Pharmaceutical, for one, came in at $74,397 less than BeneCard; Catalyst's proposal was $66,703 lower, according to those records.

In addition, BeneCard was chosen a second time despite proposing a 37 percent price increase, according to correspondence from a BeneCard director to Sean Gormley.

At the time the contracts were negotiated, Forrester was courting William Gormley in his bid to become the Republican nominee for governor. He was among a small group of key GOP officials who could have blocked - or seriously undermined - Forrester's nomination in June.

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