November 2004

Spare us the tributes for fallen crooks

Jersey Journal Editorial

Hudson County residents should be more numb than usual, with the ever growing numbers of politicians and buddies who have broken the law, corrupted government and cheated their constituents. The public's degree of distrust of public officials is so high that it seems that elected officials must declare in Nixonian fashion that they are not crooks.

Latest of Hudson's rascals is Assemblyman Anthony Impreveduto, D-Secaucus, who on Friday admitted in state court, as part of a plea agreement, that much of the campaign money he collected he just pocketed. Impreveduto, former chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards, said that since 1999, he used up to $50,000 in campaign monies to pay for overseas trips, clothing, eyeglasses and furniture. With outrageous chutzpah, he even used $2,000 of the campaign war chest to pay his federal taxes.

The Secaucus Democrat used $120,000 of $247,800 in campaign funds to pay off "a collection of" American Express cards for "undefined" expenses, which implies he personally benefited. Impreveduto's relatives also benefited by a total of $70,000 from his district office's operating accounts.

There is even what could be construed as a money-laundering operation. Records show Impreveduto paid a son-in-law $30,000 in campaign funds for "consulting" fees and the son-in-law now lives in a duplex that generates rent for the assemblyman and his family. Two other relatives with a similar living arrangement were paid $3,000 in campaign funds.

Impreveduto's actions were so greedy that advocates for state reform in campaign finance said his case shows that recent ethics laws did not go far enough and that it supports the argument for public financing of election campaigns.

The amazing thing was how Impreveduto's fellow legislators lamented how he was a good lawmaker during his 17 years in Trenton. It would be more admirable if just once legislators at least frowned on what the bad guy did wrong rather than lamenting his loss. It would at least be refreshing.