The Culture of Corruption Lives in NJ

Jon Corzine promised to end the "culture of corruption" in New Jersey; well, he did. He actually made it worse. You may remember he pushed hard to get Zulima Farber confirmed as state Attorney General despite her past run-ins with the police. She was confirmed and has been a disaster ever since, much like Corzines entire administration.

Now she's in hot water for using influence in helping out her boyfriend:

TRENTON - Before she became New Jersey's attorney general, Zulima Farber's fitness for the job was questioned because of her long list of driving violations.

Just six months later, Republicans are calling for Farber's resignation amid speculation that she helped her boyfriend out of a driving-related mess of his own. And even many of her fellow Democrats are privately predicting she won't survive this latest round of criticism.

Gov. Corzine, meanwhile, has been thrust into the awkward position of addressing allegations of impropriety against the woman he picked to be a central figure in his campaign to clean up government.

Farber showed up at the scene of an incident in which her live-in boyfriend was pulled over driving a minivan without registration and on a suspended license. She arrived in a car that had flashing sirens and was driven by a taxpayer-funded driver.

Within minutes he was allowed to drive home and his tickets were rescinded (although the police could not get that by a court).

Now if this happened to you or I we would have been screwed and the police would've taken us in. Not so in this case.

The state motor vehicle division is closing ranks as you can see by this bullshit excuse:

Those citations magically disappeared after Goore told the cop his girlfriend was the attorney general and not long after she showed up at the scene with emergency lights flashing in an unmarked SUV driven by a state trooper.

About an hour after the tickets were written, according to published reports, a state Motor Vehicle Commission employee restored Goore's driving privileges after a mere phone call to the MVC and a check of state court system files. (They usually make everyone else produce a court receipt in person at a MVC office.)

"It is not unprecedented for agency employees to correct inaccuracies in motorists' driving records over the phone," spokeswoman Sandy Grossman said. Next time you want your license restored quickly and without hassle, call Grossman and remind her she said that.

This action was chalked up to new, improved service at the MVC. Administrator Sharon Harrington thinks she's a comedian. This Farber investigation should include the MVC. You can bet what's left of your last dollar after Corzine gets through squeezing the life out of it that low-level employees did not act without orders from above.

Farber's convenient excuse is she rushed to the scene because there were sensitive state documents in that unregistered, privately owned car, which Goore purchased with a loan from Farber. You buy that?

It's the same old same old in NJ. Cronyism and corruption at the highest levels.

We've always been a laughingstock, Gov. Corzine. Thanks for perpetuating that.