Federal authorities join state in probe of state senator
09/05/2006  AP
 
Legal scrutiny of state Sen. Wayne Bryant's mixing of business and politics is broadening with new state and federal subpoenas issued this week, according to published reports.

Bryant, a Democrat, resigned his post as chairman of the state Senate's powerful budget committee after a federal monitor's report earlier in the month found that he had held a no-work, $38,000-a-year job for the University of Medicine and Dentistry.

That job is not the only thing that appears to be under investigation.

There have been at least three subpoenas issued relating to Bryant, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Courier-Post of Cherry Hill reported in Thursday's newspapers.

The state Attorney General's office made similar demands last week, Primas said.

Spokesman for the state Attorney General's office and the U.S. Attorney's office said they would not comment. Bryant did not return a call from The Associated Press on Thursday.

The Inquirer was the first to report Thursday that the U.S. Attorney's office has been seeking information about Bryant.

Federal prosecutors sent FBI agents to Camden on Wednesday to serve a subpoena on the Camden Redevelopment Agency to demand records related to its contracts with Bryant's law firm, Zeller & Bryant, city Chief Operating Officer Randy Primas said.

Both probes are seeking documents related to $1.2 billion plan to redevelop a city neighborhood and $1 million in state money that Bryant steered to an account under Primas' control earlier in the year.

Citing an unnamed source within the agency, the Courier-Post reported that the Gloucester County Board of Social Services on Tuesday received a subpoena for information relating to Bryant's work for the agency.

He has worked there part-time for 10 years and has a a $58,700 salary.

Agency officials have said that junior members of his law firm sometimes make appearances in court instead of Bryant.