Posted on 09/06/2008 5:06:54 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. – A former New Jersey lawmaker with a national reputation for pushing welfare reform is facing charges of using his political clout to land no-work government jobs as a way to boost his income and increase his pension benefits — from $28,000 a year to $81,000.
... The Democrat could face several years in prison if convicted on all counts.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I’d like to say this is a case of New Jersey cleaning house but this is a federal case.
Welcome to NJ.
Did he start out as a community organizer?
I wonder if he was at Bon Jovi’s house yesterday.
Culture of ObamaRuption
Probably ... in the same way that “Paulie Walnuts” was considered a community “organizer”.
Notice the democrats aren’t making an issue of corruption this election cycle, for a change. Wonder why...
NYT has a few pieces on his dilemna
Your search for BRYANT, WAYNE R in Ethics returned 24 articles
Once again it’s the federal prosecutor that is pursuing the case while the NJ state AG sits on his hands.
Former Sen. Wayne Bryant has $642,500 in the bank, but he won't be able to use a penny to pay his legal bills.
The Camden County Democrat, who left office earlier this month after 25 years in office, wanted to use the cash leftover in his campaign fund to help cover his attorney's bills when he faces trial on federal corruption charges this spring.
After all, Bryant's attorney argued, the state Election Law Enforcement Commission allowed politicians to dip into their leftover campaign money to defend themselves against defamation lawsuits and civil campaign spending violation charges. Why shouldn't Bryant get to use the donations he raised for his campaign to defend himself against charges related to his time in office?
But ELEC officials voted 3-0 yesterday to turn down Bryant's first-of-its-kind request, saying they had to "draw the line" somewhere.
Bloggers had been having fun with Bryant's request for weeks. Most bashed the former state Senator, who pleaded not guilty to charges he steered state money to colleges that allegedly gave him no-show jobs.
Bryant's request prompted a larger question: What should happen to the thousands of dollars left over in the campaign war chests of the growing number of New Jersey politicians leaving office in disgrace?
From Dan Damon, blogging at Plainfield Today:
This is the ultimate in pay-to-play: Recycling the cash back to the 'vendors' even after indicted for corruption. I have a modest proposal for the Legislature and ELEC.When a sitting legislator is indicted for a crime, his or her campaign funds should be frozen until they are found either guilty or innocent.
If the indicted pol is convicted, the campaign funds should be seized and turned over to the state's Clean Election program. If found innocent, the freeze is unblocked.
Now, who can we find to sponsor such a bill?
Read “The Soprano State” - New Jersey politics is LOADED with crooks - most of them Dems and most of them doing quite well - OUT of jail.
Bryant just got extra-greedy.
What?
A New Jersey politician accused of illegality?
Shocked I tell ya, I’m shocked.
In other news the sun came up in the east.
How long into the article before they mention is party affiliation?
When Mayor Kwame of Detroit resigned, the Detroit papers neglected to mention his party.
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