What best describes the anxiety of late among Hudson County politicians can be found in the Buffalo Springfield lyrics of "For What It's worth":

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down .

Time is running out for the Hudson County Democratic Organization. The deadline for filing petitions for candidacy is approaching for one key election.

Let us pause to rejoice. Because Democrats in the Legislature are finally right where they belong -- standing against a wall with their feet spread while the FBI searches their pockets. They are in trouble now. And they deserve it.

The problem is that they got greedy. Every year at budget time, legislative leaders meet behind closed doors to divvy up millions of dollars for their pet projects.

New Jersey legislative officials were hit with a volley of federal subpoenas yesterday, in a rapidly expanding corruption investigation into the Statehouse by U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie.

The subpoenas were served on both the Democratic and Republican leadership in the Senate and the Assembly -- seeking information on how millions in public funds were handed out over the last three years.

It was the latest development in a federal probe that began last April with an investigation into state Sen. Wayne Bryant (D-Camden), who was accused by a federal monitor of using his position to steer funding to the state's medical university after he received a "no-work" job there. The matter has now expanded into an inquiry into how lawmakers divvy up public funds.

Gaze across the border to New York state, and see what it looks like when a governor is willing to draw blood in the fight for reform.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer is getting mean and personal these days. He's visiting legislative districts to attack his opponents by name. He's refusing to help them raise money. And he's promising only more blood and tears if they keep resisting him.

The twist is that his main targets so far are not his Republican opponents. They are members of his own Democratic Party.

If only Gov. Jon Corzine could catch that virus.

TRENTON — Lawyers for the U.S. Attorney's Office and [NJ] state Office of Legislative Services said nothing publicly Wednesday after a closed-door, 80-minute hearing before a federal judge about a subpoena that the OLS is reportedly blocking.

The two sides met before U.S. District Judge Mary Cooper concerning a subpoena related to a grand jury investigation of whether lawmakers used their positions to illegally steer state grants to entities for personal or political profit. The probe began as an examination of state Sen. Wayne Bryant, D-Camden, but could include others.

Three groups of lawyers representing different interests left the room seemingly bound by court order to keep the grand-jury proceeding sealed.

Federal prosecutors and attorneys for the state Legislature are due to square off today in an increasingly political fight over the confidentiality of legislative records being sought in a criminal corruption probe.

The closed-door hearing in U.S. District Court in Trenton comes after Gov. Jon Corzine reiterated his call yesterday for the release of documents being sought by U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie in an expanding investigation into lawmakers' possible conflicts of interest.

"I think we ought to comply with the law and respond to the subpoena," Corzine said. "We ought to be taking those steps that give the public the assurance that we're getting our house in order with regard to ethics."

Gov. Jon Corzine and ranking Republican legislators called yesterday for the immediate release of all records demanded by the U.S. attorney in a widening corruption probe of the New Jersey Legislature.

As Corzine added to the pressure on his own party's lawmakers, Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) called for an emergency public meeting of the Legislative Services Commission to investigate why top legislative officials have refused to comply with a grand jury subpoena obtained by U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie.

19680.2.1.2. Say c-o-l-l-u-s-i-o-n

by inthesoup, 2/13/07 12:47 ET
Re: Wayne Bryant is done.......... by provolone, 2/13/07

CHRISTIE (and Uncle Stu---IF we can find a blip on Stu's brainwaves) should look up the collusion laws.
Now.

It appears the subpoened parties ----including the NJ Legislature and perhaps the OLS are colluding in withholding documents.

Taxpayers demand immediate prosecutions on the several counts of collusion.

If legislative and OLS staff members know about, or aided and abetted collusion, they should come forward. If they do not report what they know to authorities, they may be subject to prosecution, as well.

However whistleblowers are protected under state and federal laws.

The facts are these: taxpayers have been coerced into underwriting the politicians' commission of crimes against the state without our knowledge or consent, which constitutes a crime of second degree coercion of Taxpayers. This must be prosecuted, at once.

The property tax cut: What's in it for you?

Average reduction would be $1,051 if adopted, but loose ends remain

02/12/07  (AP)
 
TRENTON — New Jersey is putting the finishing touches on its six-month bid to slice America's highest property taxes, but what does this all mean for you and your family?

Here's a rundown of where it goes from here:

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and state lawmakers are locked in a secret legal battle over his attempts to launch a wide-ranging investigation of the New Jersey Legislature.

The unusual showdown stems from a broad federal subpoena seeking internal memos, e-mails and other records that the Legislature generates each year when putting together the annual budget.

The documents are at the heart of an inquiry by Christie that is focused on potential legislative conflicts, and specifically whether some elected officials steered money to nonprofit organizations or institutions that would have benefited themselves, friends or family, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.