NJ WATCHDOG: Christie has no receipts for quarter-million dollars in expenses

Our governor had at work with your tax dollars!

Details of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s $82,000 spending spree at NFL games remain a mystery – despite a release of expense account receipts by the governor’s office.

Receipts for Christie's purchases at New York Giants and Jets home games during the 2010 and 2011 seasons are missing from 597 pages of receipts New Jersey Watchdog obtained through an Open Public Records Act request.

The governor’s office does not have documentation for more than $247,000 in expenses – two-thirds of the $360,000 Christie has spent from his state expense allowance since he took office in 2010, according to a New Jersey Watchdog analysis.

“We have produced to you all of the receipts/invoices/bills that we located,” stated Heather Taylor, the governor’s records custodian and chief ethics officer. “We are not withholding any records based on an OPRA exemption.”

“Every dollar of expenses associated with the discretionary fund has been tracked and accounted for in full,” added Kevin Roberts, Christie’s press secretary, in a prepared statement.

As New Jersey Watchdog previously revealed, Christie’s debit card was used 58 times during the 2010 and 2011 seasons to charge $82,594 to Delaware North Sportservice, operator of the food and beverage concessions at MetLife Stadium. The expenses did not include his free use of luxury boxes, traditionally available to governors at the state-owned venue.

To avoid embarrassment, Christie turned to the New Jersey Republican Committee. The committee reimbursed the state in early 2012 for Christie’s bills at MetLife, plus additional charges the governor racked up at Izod Center. Since then, he has refrained from using his expense account at sporting venues.

The full report – with links to copies of the receipts released by the governor’s office – is online at http://watchdog.org/222152/christie-no-expense-receipts/.