Pressures continue to mount for Governor Chris Christie's administration as bad news comes in for his Lt. Governor, Kim Guadagno, who is under investigation for making "false and conflicting statements" with regard to the pension of an employee when she was the Monmouth County Sheriff.
NJ.com reports that Judge Linda Kassakert has instructed NJ to release pension records of Guadagno's hire. The allegation is that by falsifying the job title Guadagno enabled her employee to "double dip" getting a pension in addition to the job salary. The next year, this same employee, "campaigned for Guadagno and Christie as Monmouth County chairman of the “Law Enforcement for Christie-Guadagno."
In September 2008, Guadagno — then-sheriff of Monmouth County — hired Michael Donovan as her chief officer in charge of law enforcement, according to her signed memo and her organization chart. Donovan had retired as an investigator for the county Prosecutor's Office in 2005.
Under pension rules, Donovan would lose his pension pay if the state found out he returned to work as the sheriff's chief officer. So Guadagno informed other county officials Donovan was chief warrant officer, a similar sounding, but different position, according to previous reports.
The alleged false statements enabled Donovan to collect $218,000 in pension checks and avoid paying $27,000 he should have contributed to the pension fund.
In a separate article, Reporter Paul Mulshine, also at NJ.com, and who has been dogging the Christie administration on a daily basis reports: (isn't dogging a wonderful verb? And, watchdog is a great noun, too.)
Even more troubling is the pension scandal involving Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno – Christie’s second-in-command – now the subject of a criminal investigation. The story was first revealed by a New Jersey Watchdog investigative report in 2010. ...
There was an obstacle: Donovan had retired as a county investigator three years earlier. As a sheriff’s chief officer — a position specifically covered by the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System — Donovan would be required to stop receiving pension checks and resume contributions to the state retirement fund.
To help Donovan double-dip, Guadagno fudged the job title. In county payroll records, the oath of office and a news release, Donovan was called the sheriff’s “chief warrant officer,” a low-ranking position exempt from the pension system.
Mulshine then notices that this is the same Donovan who "campaigned for Guadagno and Christie as Monmouth County chairman of the “Law Enforcement for Christie-Guadagno” in the next governor's election. Isn't it great to have friends -- at the expense of New Jersey state pension fund?
The state has until next Tuesday to appeal.
Thank goodness for all these watchdogs dogging these alleged perpetrators. What would we do in a world without dogs? And, who else is beginning to suspect that something is not right down there in New Jersey?
11:54 AM PT: Thanks to majcmb1 for reminding me of the lede:
So If It's A Question Of Mayor Zimmer's Credibility vs. Lt. Gov. Guadagno's, who will any/every jury believe?
Christie surrounded himself with corrupt and brutish people for a reason. Birds of a feather and all that.
by majcmb1