One of New Jersey's most unethical lawmakers has proposed a bill that would require any complaint filed with the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards to be in writing and signed by the complainant with a notarized certificate of acknowledgement.
In addition the legislation, Assembly Bill 2713 sponsored by notoriously unethical Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, would bar the committee from accepting a complaint that is submitted by fax.
Cryan, who has been the subject of numerous ethical allegations, reportedly accepted a $2,000 cash contribution that never turned up on his campaign finance reports.
Cryan also has another government job as a top deputy to Union County Sheriff Ralph Froehlich, who is constitutionally prohibited from holding a seat in the General Assembly.
Besides holding two apparently conflicting jobs at taxpayer expense, Cryan is chairman of two Democratic Party committees, each serving a distinct level of jurisdiction.
As state party chair, Cryan is the chief apologist for the ethically-slow Gov. Jon Corzine, while Cryan hand picks members of the Union Township Committee as that municipality's political boss.
The Union Township Committee awarded two charitable organization taxpayer-funded no-bid grants, one for $17,000 and another of $26,000, on Sept. 13, 2005 -- just weeks after each of the groups made illegal political contributions to Cryan's election fund.
The Center for Hope Hospice made its donation to Cryan on Aug 8, 2005 and the Boys & Girls Clubs delivered a check for the political committee on Aug. 1, 2005.
In another apparently corrupt political deal, Union Township's governing body granted a developer rights to build housing on a parcel of land owned by somebody else, just days after he hosted a $75,000 fundraiser for Cryan.
By making it more onerous to file charges with the ethics committee, Cryan clearly hopes to create opportunities for the panel to dismiss accusations on technical grounds instead of holding lawmakers to account for their actions.
The ethics panel was recently the subject of reform because, as it was previously constituted, the committee overlooked such acts as those for which former Sen. Wayne Bryant is serving federal jail time.
The most recent ethics complaint against Cryan, filed on Jan. 9, alleges that the politician abused his office by having a legislative aide perform work related to the assemblyman's role as state party chairman.
"There is no less an ethical conflict to employ legislative staff at taxpayer expense in performing political tasks related to Mr. Cryan's role as chairman of a partisan organization, than it would be for a mayor to have a city public works crew repair his home driveway," said James J. Devine, a Democratic strategist and author who has been a frequent critic of corrupt politicians.
Froehlich appointed Cryan , although he has no law enforcement experience, to the $97,138 a year job as undersheriff just weeks after Cryan lost his job at a Metuchen bar owned by his father. Cryan's Sheriff's Office salary has since increased by more than $15,000 a year.
To see the legislation, please visit the official State of New Jersey website at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/A3000/2713_I1.PDF
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