FBI searches office of former [NJ]Sen. Lynch [McGeevey Mentor Probed]

May 15, 2003

MCGREEVEY SUPPORTS FED INQUIRY INTO EX-AIDES' BILLBOARD DEALS

BY JOSH MARGOLIN

Gov. James E. McGreevey said yesterday a federal investigation into the billboard business of his former top aides is "clearly appropriate."

The comments came one day after U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie confirmed, in a letter to state Senate leaders, that his office is conducting a criminal investigation. Christie asked the senators to hold off on Republican plans for hearings into the billboard deals.

"Mr. Christie has an excellent reputation and it is clearly appropriate that he has a thorough, exhaustive investigation to discern all of the facts," the governor said during a Statehouse news conference.

McGreevey said he has "respect" for former chief of staff Gary Taffet and former chief counsel Paul Levinsohn, but repeated his previous criticism of some of the business deals the pair cut while they ran his transition in the weeks before his January 2002 inauguration.

"During the transition period, they ought to have limited the entirety of their actions to the business of government," McGreevey said.

Taffet and Levinsohn declined to comment yesterday but have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The former aides secured rights for at least 14 highway signs around New Jersey -- including five on public property -- while working on McGreevey's 2001 gubernatorial campaign. During the transition, they struck a series of deals for advertising contracts that boosted the value of the billboards, then sold the business, earning $2.2 million each.

The companies that signed up for ads on the billboards included big contributors to McGreevey and state Democratic campaign funds, as well as businesses that could be affected by state government actions. Some of the deals called for the cost of the ads to be reimbursed to the advertisers.

In recent weeks lawmakers have raised questions about Taffet and Levinsohn's past involvement in the billboard business and the McGreevey administration's move last year to kill a no-bid contract between the Delaware River Port Authority and another billboard company. That company, run by a former competitor of Taffet and Levinsohn, had secured the rights to build 14 billboards on property owned by the authority.

In a statement yesterday, the lawmakers leading the charge for a Senate probe said they would not pursue an investigation based on Christie's request.

"The tone and tenor of the United States attorney's letter clearly illustrates the Justice Department's commitment to ensuring that all facts surrounding this troubling episode are brought to light," said Sens. Robert Martin (R-Morris) and Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon).

The federal probe began last fall after questions were raised about a billboard erected on state land in Washington Township, Gloucester County.

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