NJ Watchdog: Corruption case undermines Christe claims as prosecutor

On the presidential campaign trail, Chris Christie boasts that he was a no-nonsense prosecutor above politics.

“The fact is that this Justice Department under this president has been a political Justice Department,” said Christie during last month’s debate on CNBC. If elected, he promised to nominate “an attorney general who will enforce the law and make justice more than just a word.”

But back in New Jersey, the Christie administration appears to be burying a corruption case involving Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, his second-in-command. An alleged $245,000 pension fraud occurred when Guadagno was Monmouth County sheriff in 2008, the year before she first ran for lieutenant governor as Christie’s running mate.

On Thursday, a New Jersey appeals court ruled the state attorney general’s Division of Criminal Justice must release two confidential documents to New Jersey Watchdog. Justices George S. Leone and Carol E. Higbee rejected a lower court’s decision to block release of the records as an “abuse of discretion.”

“We cannot agree that the fact the investigation concerned possible sensitive issues of public corruption weighs against disclosure,” the ruling stated. “In cases involving allegations of public corruption, transparency and the public’s right to know are particularly important.”

Guadagno made false and conflicting statements that enabled her sheriff’s chief officer, Michael Donovan, to improperly collect an $85,000 a year pension in addition to his $87,500 salary, as first reported by New Jersey Watchdog in 2010.

In 2011, DCJ began an investigation at the request of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System board of trustees. From the start, the probe was riddled with conflicts of interest.

Guadagno is a former deputy director of DCJ who had supervised or worked with many of its investigators. Yet Christie did not use his authority to appoint a special prosecutor or independent investigator under the State Constitution.

What happened to that investigation is a mystery slowly being revealed through years of public records battles between New Jersey Watchdog and the Christie administration.

The complete story is online at http://watchdog.org/246981/nj-corruption-undermines-christie/.

NJ Watchdog: Appeals court orders release of corruption probe records

A New Jersey appeals court has ruled the state must release two confidential state records from a corruption probe involving Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno to New Jersey Watchdog.

The opinion released Thursday by the Appellate Division reverses a trial court decision by Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobson last year not to release those records from a state Division of Criminal Justice investigation of alleged pension fraud.

In a 14-page opinion, Justices George S. Leone and Carol E. Higbee rejected Jacobson’s reasons for blocking release of the documents to the investigative news site as an “abuse of discretion.”

“We cannot agree that the fact the investigation concerned possible sensitive issues of public corruption weighs against disclosure,” the ruling stated. “In cases involving allegations of public corruption, transparency and the public’s right to know are particularly important.”

As New Jersey’s second-in-command, Guadagno frequently serves as acting governor when Chris Christie travels outside the state on presidential campaign trips. She is mentioned as a likely Republican candidate for governor in 2017 – and could take the reins earlier if Christie steps down before his term expires.

The alleged $245,000 fraud occurred when Guadagno was Monmouth County sheriff in 2008, the year before she first ran for lieutenant governor as Christie’s running mate.

Guadagno made false and conflicting statements that enabled her chief officer, Michael Donovan, to improperly collect an $85,000 a year pension in addition to his $87,500 salary, as first reported by New Jersey Watchdog in 2010. The story included links to smoking-gun documents, including an internal memo initialed by Guadagno.

In 2011, DCJ began an investigation at the request of a state pension board. But the probe was riddled by a major conflict of interest since Guadagno is a former DCJ deputy director. Christie did not use his constitutional power to appoint a special investigator or independent prosecutor.

The story is online at http://watchdog.org/246882/nj-corruption-probe-records/.

NJ Watchdog: GOP loses four Assembly seats as Christie watches

Four GOP incumbents lose NJ Assembly seats as Christie watches

Four incumbent Republicans lost their seats Tuesday as the Democrats gained their biggest majority in the New Jersey Assembly since 1979.

With almost all ballots counted, unofficial election results give Democrats a commanding 52 to 28 advantage in the Assembly – but still two short of the supermajority needed to override Gov. Chris Christie’s vetoes.

Christie's political coattails were virtually non-existent. The governor, busy running for president, did not make any public campaign appearances on behalf of GOP Assembly candidates.

Republicans lost both of their seats in the 11th District that covers northern Monmouth County. In a tight race, incumbents Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande were edged out by Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey. Angelini lost by 165 votes, less than one-third of one percent of the votes cast.

The margin of victory was even narrower in Central Jersey’s 16th District, where Democratic challenger Andrew Zwicker squeaked by Assemb. Donna Simon with only 29 votes to spare. The result could be altered by uncounted absentee votes or a recount.

In South Jersey’s 1st District, Assemb. Sam Fiocchi lost to challenger Bruce Land by three percentage points.

All of the incumbent Democrats running for re-election won their contests.

The story is online at http://watchdog.org/245625/gop-incumbents-lose-christie/.

NJ Watchdog: Tuesday's election won't solve state's fiscal woes

New Jersey’s statewide election on Tuesday is unlikely to break the governmental gridlock that threatens the state’s fiscal future.

On ballots, voters won’t find contests for any of the 40 seats in the Senate, where Democrats enjoy a 24 to 16 majority. Also not up for grabs is the governorship as Chris Christie hangs onto that office while pursuing the Republican presidential nomination.

Instead this odd-year election features races for the 80 spots in the Assembly, where there is a 47 to 31 Democratic advantage with two seats vacant.

In each chamber, the Democrats have enough of an edge to control all legislation, but they lack the two-thirds supermajority needed to override Christie’s vetoes without Republican help.

“I’ve vetoed 400 bills from a crazy liberal Democratic legislature,” boasted Christie during the September GOP debate on CNN.

As the two sides feud, the clock continues to tick toward an alarming catastrophe.

The debt for public employee pension and health benefits has reached a whopping $194.5 billion, according to a New Jersey Watchdog analysis of State Treasury records.

Meanwhile, the results of Tuesday’s election may be akin to rearranging deck furniture on the Titanic. A few seats may switch in the Assembly, but voters won’t get a chance for a full change – Senate, Assembly and Office of the Governor – until November 2017.

By then, it may be too late. At its current rate of growth, the debt for benefits would exceed $225 billion.

The full story is online at http://watchdog.org/245101/nj-election-fiscal-woes/.

NJ Watchdog: Christie seeks comeback

It’s time for a reality check as Chris Christie prepares for the third GOP presidential debate on Wednesday.

The New Jersey governor’s dream of winning the White House looks more like a delusion. He is low on campaign cash, far behind in the polls and struggling for a way to flip his fortunes.

Once upon a time – two years ago next month, to be precise – Christie was riding on top of the Republican world. He was re-elected governor with 60 percent of the vote in a heavily Democratic state. In a CNN poll, he was the leading choice for president with 24 percent of GOP voters, nine points ahead of his nearest rival.

Now, Christie is scraping the bottom. He has dropped to 9th place in the polls with an average of 2.4 percent – one-tenth of the support he once enjoyed.

The story is online at http://watchdog.org/243998/christie-seeks-comeback/

NJ Watchdog: Assembly incumbents run from $194 B debt

With an election for New Jersey Assembly two weeks away, the numbers don’t look good for the fiscal reform desperately needed in Trenton.

The staggering $194 billion debt for public employee pension and health benefits is seldom debated in campaigns for the 80 Assembly seats up for grabs on Nov. 3.

The status quo is a 47 to 32 advantage for Democrats over Republicans with one seat vacant – a balance not likely to change much. The incumbents have outspent challengers $10 million to $2.2 million – according to a report by a New Jersey election commission.

Even more lopsided, the incumbents enjoyed a 10-to-1 cash-on-hand advantage – $5.2 million to $496,000 – over their opponents, as of Oct. 2.

That big edge in campaign finances helps them run for re-election while running away from their failure to solve New Jersey’s deep debt dilemma. The Assembly has been in recess since June – a spell approaching four months.

None of the New Jersey Senate’s 40 seats are on the Nov. 3 ballot. The next statewide election will be in 2017, when Christie's second and final term expires.

The complete story is online at http://watchdog.org/243078/nj-lawmakers-run-from-debt/.

NJ Watchdog: Court examines state's role in public record requests

Friend or foe? Court examines state's role in public record requests

Gov. Chris Christie and New Jersey Watchdog will battle in appeals court Thursday in a case that could change how the state cooperates with citizens who ask for public records.

Under Christie, the state Open Public Records Act often resembles a shell game. The governor’s office can reject requests without really explaining why. Requestors must choose whether to walk away or bet on an appeals process that’s often lengthy and potentially costly.

In its appeal, New Jersey Watchdog is asking a higher court to hold government officials to a higher standard.

“The government is not allowed to be sneaky,” argued its attorney, Donald M. Doherty Jr. “It must be above board in all of its dealings. In dealing with the public, the government must ‘turn square corners.’”

The story is online at http://watchdog.org/242038/nj-public-records/

Exposed! NJ Watchdog reveals Gov. Christie's 'valuable asset'

For nine months, Chris Christie fought hard to keep a public record secret – even though it contained no real secrets, confidential information or anything likely to endanger anyone. It’s a “valuable asset,” the New Jersey governor’s lawyers claimed – one that would “cause irreparable harm to the state” if released.

Judge for yourself! New Jersey Watchdog is publishing Christie's prized media list, obtained under court order. The until-now-secret record and underlying story of how the governor uses his office to further his ambitions are online at http://watchdog.org/241975/watchdog-reveals-christie-asset/.

NJ Watchdog: Christie shoots from hip but wounds credibility

Chris Christie has never been one to mince words. The New Jersey governor says what he thinks, but it’s not clear if he thought about what he said.

Last week, Christie interrupted his run for the White House long enough to criticize legislators for not paying enough attention to state business. Last month, he warned Hillary Clinton that he plans to grill her about emails in a debate, overlooking his own legal issues. Finally, the portly governor ordered the leader of the New Jersey National Guard to lose weight.

Let’s take it from the top. Christie last week blasted the New Jersey Assembly for not focusing on legislative matters.

“The fact is they don’t want to interrupt their precious campaign time for a minute,” he told a breakfast meeting of business leaders in Hanover.

Later that morning, the governor boarded a plane to Iowa in pursuit of his presidential ambitions. So far this year, Christie has traveled out-of-state on at least 145 days. Yet to hear him tell it, he’s the only one minding the Statehouse.

“I’m the Maytag repairman,” said Christie. “Sit in my office in Trenton, all alone.”

The New Jersey governor likes to shoot from the hip – but those shots often ricochet back to wound his credibility.

While most of the Assembly’s 80 members seek re-election in November, they can generally be found in their legislative districts. Meanwhile, Christie is fixated on New Hampshire, where he plans to hold 100 town meetings before the February primary.

To add injury to insult, New Jersey taxpayers have spent more than $1.3 million for the travel costs of the state police troopers who accompany Christie on his trips away from the Garden State.

The complete story is online at http://watchdog.org/240912/christie-credibility/.

NJ Watchdog: Christie's transparency disappears

Chris Christie and the case of a public record that mysteriously shrunk in half are returning to Superior Court.

Last month, the court ordered the governor’s office to release its “secret” directory of media contacts and VIPs, assembled at taxpayers’ expense.

But what Christie’s staff gave New Jersey Watchdog last week contained only half of the information described in court papers. Instead of 2,500 names, the list has only 1,229 entries.

Judge Mary C. Jacobson will hear arguments next week on whether or not the record was altered before its release, a possible violation of the court’s order.

It is another chapter in the governor’s contentious battle to keep confidential a key cog in a publicity machine that turned Christie into a national figure and set the stage for his White House run.

The list was created by the Christie’s communications staff of 16 full-time state employees paid $1.36 million in salaries last year, New Jersey Watchdog found. It helped the governor score countless national television appearances, plus 8,761,511 views on YouTube, 176,955 likes on Facebook and 6,810 tweets to 489,000 followers on Twitter during his first five years in office.

At the center of the latest dispute is a certification by Matt Katz of WNYC. Katz was allowed to review but not copy the list at the governor’s office last year, as part of a settlement in a public records lawsuit by New York Public Radio.

Katz reported the list contained roughly 2,500 names. In viewing the record released to New Jersey Watchdog, he found “substantial differences” between it and what the governor’s staff had allowed him to inspect. In his statement to the court, Katz gave specific examples of information conspicuously missing from the list.

The complete story is online at http://watchdog.org/240489/christie-transparency-disappears/.

NJ Watchdog: Phantom of New Jersey? Christie attends first state event in 51 days

Mark your calendars! Gov. Chris Christie made his first New Jersey public appearance in 51 days on Tuesday.

The governor has been a virtual phantom in the Garden State, especially since he officially announced his run for the White House in June. Since then, he has focused primarily on the town hall circuit in New Hampshire and other campaign activities.

Christie made a brief stop at a Paterson hospital to talk about drug addiction treatment. The governor “was in a big hurry, as he did not answer any questions in and out of the event,” according to NJTV.

In 2015, he has traveled outside New Jersey for all or part of 141 days — more than half of the ongoing year. The governor’s day-to-day activities are recorded by Matt Katz’s “The Christie Tracker” blog for WYNC radio.

In answering critics, Christie has claimed he can govern the state by telephone, email and Internet during his road trips. Yet New Jersey is further than ever from solving some of its most pressing problems.

The deficit in state pension and health benefit plans for public workers has reached $194 billion, a New Jersey Watchdog analysis revealed last week. Of that total, the state is responsible for $145 billion of that sum; local governments bear the brunt of the balance.

A separate report found New Jersey ranks worst in that nation for debt burden per taxpayer.

A Truth in Accounting report, updated with research by New Jersey Watchdog, pegged the state government’s total debt at $170 billion, or more than $55,000 for each taxpayer. That figure includes what the state owes for pensions, employee health coverage, bonds and other liabilities — but not the debts of the state's 21 counties, 565 municipalities and 610 school districts.

A gaffe by Christie during last week’s GOP presidential debate on CNN underscored the governor’s lack of presence, both physical and mental. During a discussion of climate change, he referred to himself as governor in the past tense.

“When I was governor, I pulled out of the regional cap and trade deal, the only state in the Northeast that did that. And we still reached our goals,” said Christie.

The faux pas was highlighted in a column by The Star-Ledger’s Paul Mulshine.

NJ Watchdog: Worse news - state debt hits $170 billion

For New Jersey taxpayers, the bad news is even worse than a report showing their state government is $160 billion in debt.

The deficit is actually $10 billion higher than that – a whopping $170 billion – according to State Treasury records obtained by New Jersey Watchdog.

In a national study released Monday, Truth in Accounting, a non-profit advocate of governmental transparency, calculated that state governments have racked up $1.3 trillion in debt.

The report ranked New Jersey dead last among states with a burden of $52,300 per taxpayer, the highest in the country.

But it didn’t count a new valuation that found the state’s responsibility for unfunded retiree and employee health benefits has increased to $65 billion. That hikes the Garden State’s deficit per taxpayer to $55,550 – a figure that also includes pensions, bonds and other liabilities.

“I urge Gov. Chris Christie and his administration to acknowledge their state’s true debt and address this situation immediately before New Jersey sinks further into debt,” said Sheila Weinberg, CEO of Truth in Accounting.

The complete story is online at http://watchdog.org/239085/new-jersey-debt-170b/.

NJ Watchdog: State debt hits $52,300 per taxpayer

Dead last: NJ debt hits $52,300 per taxpayer, study shows

New Jersey ranks worst in the country for state debt, according to a new nationwide study.

Each state taxpayer would need to pay $52,300 to erase New Jersey’s existing bills – including public pensions and retiree health benefits – reports Truth in Accounting, a think tank in Chicago.

Among “sinkhole states,” New Jersey was followed by Connecticut, $48,600 debt burden per taxpayer; Illinois, $45,000; Kentucky, $32,600; and Massachusetts, $27,400.

In the past year, the debt per taxpayer in New Jersey increased by $16,300, or 45 percent, according to the non-profit group.

The findings are consistent with a New Jersey Watchdog analysis of State Treasury records that found the Garden State’s pension and health benefit deficit for public workers is nearing $200 billion.

Earlier this week, New Jersey Watchdog reported:

• New Jersey’s public pensions are underfunded by $113.1 billion. The state bears $80.5 billion of that burden. Local governments are responsible for the remaining $32.6 billion.
• State and local governments are also on the hook for $81.4 billion in unfunded health benefits for retired and active workers. The state owes $65 billion; the local share is $16.4 billion.
• The total shortfall is $194.5 billion – more than $60,000 per household. The figure is nearly six times higher than New Jersey’s total annual budget, currently $33.8 billion.

At the present pace, those unfunded liabilities will exceed $210 billion next year.

The full story is online at http://watchdog.org/238675/nj-debt-taxpayer/.

NJ Watchdog: Christie hopes CNN debate begins comeback

On the ropes, Christie hopes CNN debate begins his comeback

With his White House run on the ropes, Chris Christie came out swinging Wednesday night at the prime-time Republican presidential debate on CNN.

Instead of duking it out with the other 10 GOP hopefuls on the stage, the New Jersey governor aimed his blows at opponents who weren't present -- President Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton and the Democratic-controlled legislature in his home state.

“In seven short years, this president has stripped away their trust and faith and belief that the next generation will have a better life,” Christie declared in his opening statement. “He’s stolen that from us, and when I’m president, I’m going to take it back.”

He also urged the other Republican candidates to unite against Clinton for her support of Planned Parenthood.

“We shouldn’t be fighting with each other,” he said. “She’s the real opponent.”

And Christie identified himself as an “outsider” – like Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Firorina – explaining that he is a Republican in a blue state.

“I’ve vetoed 400 bills from a crazy liberal Democratic legislature,” he said.

While Christie tried to play nice with his GOP opponents, there were numerous skirmishes between other contenders. Front-runner Trump exchanged sharp barbs with Fiorina, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Rand Paul.

But when Trump and Fiorina started criticizing each other’s track records in business, Christie interrupted with a crowd-pleasing line.

“You’re both successful people – congratulations,” he scolded. “You know who’s not successful in this country? The middle class who’s getting plowed over by Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Let’s start talking about those issues tonight and stop this childish back and forth between the two of you.”

The question is whether Christie landed punches enough to keep his campaign off the canvas. Positioned on the far end of the stage, a half-hour passed between questions posed to him by moderators at one point.

The governor entered the debate needing to score points with viewers to revive a campaign that’s taken a beating in public opinion polls.

Earlier this week, Christie fell to 11th place with only 1 percent support among GOP voters in both the ABC News/Washington Post and CBS News/New York Times polls.

The story is online at http://watchdog.org/238568/christie-cnn-debate/.

NJ Watchdog: NJ debt nears $200 billion for benefits

By Mark Lagerkvist | New Jersey Watchdog

Guard your wallets, New Jersey taxpayers! The deficit in state pension and health benefit plans for public employees is fast approaching $200 billion.

The unfunded liabilities have reached a staggering $194.5 billion, according to a New Jersey Watchdog analysis of State Treasury records. The shortfall has increased by $19 billion – or roughly 10 percent – in the past year.

Here’s a breakdown of bad news that seems certain to result in higher taxes, decreased retiree benefits or both:

• New Jersey’s public pensions are underfunded by $113.1 billion. The state bears $80.5 billion of that burden. Local governments are responsible for the remaining $32.6 billion.
• State and local governments are also on the hook for $81.4 billion in unfunded health benefits for retired and active workers. The state owes $65 billion; the local share is $16.4 billion.
• The total shortfall is $194.5 billion – more than $60,000 per household. The figure is nearly six times higher than New Jersey’s total annual budget, currently $33.8 billion.
• At the present pace, those unfunded liabilities will exceed $210 billion next year.

“The situation is not only getting worse, but is fast approaching a point at which it will be beyond remedy,” warned the governor’s bi-partisan, blue-ribbon Pension and Health Benefit Study Commission in a report released in February.

The complete story is online at http://watchdog.org/237832/nj-benefit-debt-200b/.

NJ Watchdog: Judge orders Christie to release 'valuable asset'

Gov. Chris Christie lost another court battle in his attempt to keep secret a key cog in his taxpayer-funded publicity machine.

Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobson denied the New Jersey governor’s plea for a stay pending a possible appeal of her order to release a copy of a strategic list of 2,500 media contacts to New Jersey Watchdog.

In an eight-page decision, Jacobson concluded it is “unlikely (the governor’s office) will succeed on the merits of the case.”

As a result, Christie has until Sept. 16 – coincidentally, the date of the Republican presidential debate on CNN – to convince a state appellate court to grant emergent relief on the premise that release of the record would cause “irreparable harm” to the state.

The list was created by the governor’s communications staff, which consists of 16 full-time state employees paid $1.36 million in salaries last year, New Jersey Watchdog found. It helped the governor score countless national television appearances, not to mention 8,761,511 views on YouTube, 176,955 likes on Facebook and 6,810 tweets to 489,000 followers on Twitter during his first five years in office.

It was an integral part of a media campaign to turn Christie into a national figure and set the stage for his White House run. The governor’s office has refused comment on whether it shared the list with Christie’s presidential campaign.

Probably more revealing than the list is how far a governor, who once championed transparency in government, has gone to avoid disclosure of a public record that his press secretary, Kevin Roberts, calls a “valuable asset.”

The complete story is online at http://watchdog.org/237176/christie-overruled/.

NJ Watchdog: Three-fourths of NJ sheriffs double-dip

For the past quarter century, Armando Fontoura has been looting a New Jersey state pension fund. But it won’t do any good to call the cops.

Fontoura is sheriff of Essex County. A dean among double-dippers, he draws $207,289 a year from public coffers – $144,896 in salary plus $62,393 from pension as a retiree of his own office.

Today is the 25th anniversary of Fontoura’s faux retirement. So far, he has collected $1.35 million in retirement cash without ever giving up his full-time county paycheck.

On Friday, Aug. 31, 1990, Fontoura retired as county undersheriff at age 47. The following Monday, he returned to work at Essex County with the same salary and duties, but a different title – sheriff’s officer chief. One year later, he took charge as sheriff, a post he’s held ever since.

"Does it look bad? Yes," admitted Fontoura. "No question about it, it looks bad. Was it legal? Yes."
Worse for taxpayers, three-fourths of New Jersey’s county sheriffs – plus hundreds of other public officials – are taking advantage of pension loopholes to collect dual incomes.

A New Jersey Watchdog investigation found the sheriffs in 16 of the state’s 21 counties are double-dippers. In addition, the sheriffs also employ 37 undersheriffs who returned to work after retiring as local, county or state law enforcement officials at relatively young ages.

In total, the 53 officers collect nearly $10 million a year from public coffers – $5.7 million in salaries plus $4.1 million in retirement pay – according to payroll and pension records.

The complete story – along with New Jersey Watchdog’s list of double-dipping sheriffs and undersheriffs – is online at http://watchdog.org/235267/sheriffs-double-dip/.

NJ Watchdog: Criminal probe secrets center on Christie's second-in-command

The public’s right to know the outcome of a criminal probe of an alleged $245,000 pension fraud involving New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno will be debated next week in state appellate court.

New Jersey Watchdog is appealing a lower court’s decision not to release the findings of an investigation by the state attorney general’s Division of Criminal Justice. Oral arguments are scheduled to be heard next Wednesday at Rutgers Law School in Camden.

Guadagno frequently serves as acting governor when Chris Christie travels outside the state on presidential campaign trips. She is mentioned as a likely Republican candidate for governor in 2017 – and could take the reins even earlier if Christie steps down before his term expires.

The alleged fraud occurred when Guadagno was Monmouth County sheriff in 2008, the year before she first ran for lieutenant governor as Christie’s running mate.

Guadagno made false and conflicting statements that enabled her chief officer, Michael Donovan, to improperly collect an $85,000 a year pension in addition to his $87,500 salary, as first reported by New Jersey Watchdog in 2010. The story included links to several smoking-gun documents, including an internal memo initialed by Guadagno.

In May 2011, DCJ began a criminal investigation at the request of a state pension board. But the probe was riddled by a major conflict of interest because Guadagno is a former DCJ deputy director. Christie did not use his constitutional power to appoint a special investigator or independent prosecutor.

Stonewalled by DCJ and the governor’s office for nearly two years, New Jersey Watchdog sued the state in 2013 for records of the investigation.

The investigative news site won a partial victory in the trial court last year when Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobson ordered DCJ to reveal some of the documents it sought.

However, Jacobson also ruled DCJ was allowed to keep the findings of the investigation secret. After reviewing the documents in private, the judge determined the state’s interest in keeping the records confidential outweighed the public’s right to know.

In September 2014, New Jersey Watchdog appealed Jacobson’s decision to the State Appellate Division.

Lawyers for the state contend disclosure would undermine DCJ’s future ability to conduct corruption investigations. The investigative news site is arguing that the public has an overriding interest in knowing whether or not the probe itself may have been corrupted.

Appellate Division Judges George S. Leone and Carol E. Higbee will preside at the hearing. Judge Michael A. Guadagno, the lieutenant governor’s husband, is not assigned to the case.

The story is online at http://watchdog.org/235567/christie-criminal-probe-secrets/.

NJ Watchdog: Citizen groups sue Christie over campaign security costs

Three citizen groups are suing Chris Christie in an effort to stop the New Jersey governor from using state funds to pay for the cost of security travel during out-of-state campaign trips as he runs for the White House.

New Jersey Working Families, BlueWaveNJ, New Jersey Citizen Action and six individual plaintiffs filed the suit Friday in Mercer County Superior Court. The complaint alleges Christie violated his fiduciary duty by failing to reimburse the State Treasury for the bills incurred by the state police Executive Protection Unit during his frequent political trips.

Christie press secretary Kevin Roberts did not respond Friday afternoon to a request for comment.

EPU travel costs have soared with Christie’s political ambitions, totaling $1.3 million since he took office in 2010, according to New Jersey Watchdog’s analysis of documents obtained through the Open Public Records Act.

Overall, more than $1.1 million in travel costs were charged to American Express cards issued to the governor’s office. But Christie refused to release the Amex statements or other accounts of the expenditures.

Earlier this month, a court decided Christie can hide those records from the public. Based on secret evidence, Judge Mary C. Jacobson ruled that details of past expenses for food, lodging and transportation requested by New Jersey Watchdog could create a potential security risk for the governor in the future.

The full story is online at http://watchdog.org/234983/christie-campaign-security-costs/.

NJ Watchdog: Court orders Christie to release his ‘valuable asset’ media list

A New Jersey court is standing by its order to force Gov. Chris Christie to reveal a key cog in his taxpayer-funded publicity machine – a multi-tiered, high-tech list of 2,500 media contacts.

Judge Mary C. Jacobson denied Christie’s motion for reconsideration during a hearing Friday in Mercer County Superior Court. She ordered the governor’s office to release the record by Aug. 17 and pay for New Jersey Watchdog’s legal fees.

“The media strategy of the governor seems to me to be something that is of general public interest,” said Jacobson, rejecting the state’s reasons why the list be should be kept secret.

In response to a direct question, press secretary Kevin Roberts would not confirm or deny whether the governor's office has shared the supposedly confidential list with Christie's PAC, the state Republican Party or other political entities.

“Given that this issue is still the subject of pending litigation, we cannot comment," said Roberts in a prepared statement that hints Christie may appeal Jacobson's ruling. Technically, unless there is an appeal, the case is over.

The media list was created by the governor’s communications staff, which consists of 16 full-time state employees paid $1.36 million in salaries last year, New Jersey Watchdog found.

It helped the governor score countless national television appearances, not to mention 8,761,511 views on YouTube, 176,955 likes on Facebook and 6,810 tweets to 489,000 followers on Twitter during his first five years in office. The media campaign helped turn Christie into a national figure and set the stage for run for the White House.

The full story is online at http://watchdog.org/233312/christie-media-list/.