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| Ex-Sen. Bryant's fight goes to N.J. high court |
| By philly.com |
| Published: 11/10/2009 |
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Former State Sen. Wayne Bryant's fight to use his campaign account to pay for his criminal defense went to the New Jersey Supreme Court yesterday. Bryant, convicted last year on corruption charges, should be allowed to use his political war chest to pay lawyers who have defended him, said Angelo Genova, his attorney at yesterday's hearing. Genova said the state's Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) previously let another senator use campaign cash to defend himself against ethics complaints brought to a legislative panel. He said the commission, which governs the use of campaign money, used a "tortured" reading of the law to prevent Bryant from using his account to pay for his defense in the federal criminal trial. The case against Bryant centered on charges that he boosted his pension with "no-show" public jobs, and that he landed work at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in exchange for his influence as chair of the Senate budget committee. "There was a desired outcome here, and ELEC wanted to find a way to get to that desired outcome," Genova said. The commission ruled that defending against a criminal indictment is not an "ordinary and necessary" expense of being a public official. Campaign funds are supposed to be limited to such uses. An appellate court upheld the commission's ruling. Read More. |
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