NJ WATCHDOG: Christie, Corruption Probe & Conflicts of Interest

For Immediate Release:

GUADAGNO PENSION PROBE: DOES PUBLIC HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW?
OR WILL NJ AUTHORITIES KEEP LT. GOV'S SECRETS FOREVER?

Should New Jersey officials be allowed to keep forever secret a criminal investigation on alleged corruption involving a prominent elected official?

Or does the public have a right to know what the state found – and how authorities handled a probe rife with conflicts of interest?

Those questions are at the heart of a court battle between state Division of Criminal Justice and a New Jersey Watchdog reporter. At stake is the release of records likely to implicate Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in a scheme that cost a public pension fund nearly a quarter-million dollars.

A Mercer County Superior Court judge ruled on Oct 3 that DCJ's criminal investigatory files are exempt from disclosure under the Open Public Records Act. But the justice rejected the state's request to dismiss the reporter's common-law claim for the documents.

To prevail under common law, a requestor must show that the public interest in release of the records outweighs the state's interest in keeping the information confidential.

"The public has an indisputable and overriding interest in knowing about the integrity of government and the conduct of elected officials in their governance," stated the reporter in court documents filed last week. "The public's interest in this matter far outweighs the private interests of a few public pensioners or elected officials."

The story – and the reporter's full statement, subject to penalties for perjury – are now online at http://newjersey.watchdog.org.

The direct link to the story is http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2013/10/21/9182/. The direct link to the reporter's statement to the court is http://newjersey.watchdog.org/files/2013/10/ML-10-14-13-cert.pdf. For media inquiries, contact Mark Lagerkvist at mark@lagerkvist.net.