Christie: Voters must
put end to corruption
By ED JOHNSON •
GANNETT NEW JERSEY • May 3, 2008
A cynical and complacent public has
coupled with a fragmented system of local government to make New Jersey the
nation's third-most corrupt state, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said
Friday.
Christie spoke to participants in a Leadership and Public Ethics seminar at
Monmouth University as law officers and public officials gathered to learn
better ways of dealing with the state's culture of graft. Only Illinois and
Louisiana are ahead of the Garden State in the prosecution of public officials,
Christie said.
The good news is that his office has garnered 126 convictions of corrupt
officials in the last six years, he said. The bad news is that the problem
persists.
Christie did not give specifics of ongoing investigations, but said, "I have 15
people assigned to my public corruption unit, and they're all busy."
But he said residents should not rely on the federal government to solve the
state's corruption problems.
"If you're waiting for us to solve this problem, you will be waiting forever,"
he said.
Residents have to drop what has become a cynical acceptance of elected and
appointed officials who say one thing and do another, he added.
"Once we put these folks into office, we re-elect them again and again and again
without scrutiny," he said. "The only thing a politician understands is losing.
Otherwise they think they are no longer accountable."
The best corruption fighter is a ballot, he said.
Christie painted a picture of corruption that ranged from Newark, the state's
largest city, to Guttenberg, a tiny Hudson County community that he said is its
smallest.
In the last two weeks, both municipalities were slammed by federal prosecutions
as former Newark Mayor Sharpe James was convicted of violating federal law in a
shady land deal he orchestrated with a former mistress. In Guttenberg, Mayor
David DelleDonna and his wife, Anna, were convicted of extorting bribes to
influence official actions.
Christie said corruption exists on both sides of the political aisle.
"It's not a Republican or Democratic problem," he said. "It's not just an urban
problem. It's not exclusive to any one area of our state. It is a problem of
power and the use of power or rather the abuse of power," he said.
Convicting corrupt officials is important because it stops the erosion of trust
and confidence in government and clears the path for new, more honest officials,
Christie said.
Christie downplayed the role prosecutors can play in fighting corruption.
"We can shine a bright light on it," he said. "But ethics and honesty in
government will only happen when we demand it."
Christie did not rule out a race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in
2009.
"I have this job until the president asks me to leave," he said. "When President
Bush leaves, I may be out of a job. Running for governor is certainly one of the
options I would consider."
Christie also addressed the buzzsaw of criticism he received after he was
reported to have said that people in the country illegally had not committed a
crime.
Christie said he was answering a specific question about whether someone's
status as being in the country illegally was a crime, not talking about illegal
border crossers.
He said that under federal law someone who evades a border agent, lies to get
into the country or illegally crosses the border has committed a crime. Someone
who overstays a visa has not, because that person entered the United States
legally.
"The act of being in the country without appropriate documents is not a crime,"
Christie said. Then he took a swipe at the CNN host who rails against illegal
immigration. "As much as it may upset Lou Dobbs, the answer is no."
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