Lynch - Ledger - Cash took same route as building interests

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Cash took same route as building interests
Lynch denies influence of campaign donations

Star-Ledger
Posted: Monday, June 12, 2006; Ran in print edition, Sunday, June 11, 2006

BY SULEMAN DIN
Star-Ledger Staff

When former state Sen. John Lynch created New Directions Through Responsible Leadership in 2000, he said its purpose was to "identify, encourage and support potential candidates who demonstrate outstanding qualities of leadership and sound fiscal polices at the municipal, county, state and federal level."

The well-funded political action committee then donated more than $1.3 million in the next six years to Democratic candidates and committees, according to records filed with the state.

But a closer inspection of the committee's contributions shows money often flowed to candidates and committees in towns and counties where Lynch's business partner, Piscataway developer Jack Morris, was seeking approval for controversial projects from local officials.

In all, the now defunct New Directions contributed at least $366,000 in such situations, according to a Star-Ledger analysis of records from the state Election Law Enforcement Commis sion. Morris and his companies also supported New Directions, contributing at least $72,000 to the committee during the same six years.

In an interview, Lynch said any suggestion the money was being used to open doors for Morris' projects was simply a coincidence.

"Nobody asked me or New Directions to donate 10 cents anywhere," Lynch said. "Jack Morris has never asked me for any assistance from New Directions to contribute 10 cents to any campaign. He's got projects in 50 towns, a lot of them where we work."

But Ingrid Reed, director of the New Jersey Project at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University said, "Anyone can say it is a coincidence. But if so, why is there support in places ... when developments occurred? Lynch can say he didn't have anything to do with the developments. But it's how the facts bear out the mission of (his) organization."

David Rebovich, director of the Rider Institute for New Jersey Politics, said Lynch's argu ment ignored the pay-to-play concerns surrounding the influence New Directions' funds.

"These are the kinds of coincidences that get citizens upset," Rebovich said. "It's a front for the very fundamental purpose of making money. Put the right people in office, who will look at your application for development differently."

Lynch's role in a controversial West Long Branch drugstore proposed by Morris illustrates how New Directions funds turned up at critical moments.

A former West Long Branch councilman was indicted in April on federal charges of accepting cash and campaign contributions in exchange for supporting a project that borough records show was built by Morris' company, Edgewood Properties.

State election reports show the alleged campaign contributions to Joseph DeLisa came from Edgewood and consulting companies tied to Lynch and a Monmouth County developer. The records also show New Directions contributed to the councilman's campaign at the same time.

Besides West Long Branch, New Directions' funds also ended up in Brick, Franklin, Hamilton and Monroe townships while Morris was pushing to build in those towns.

Lynch's business dealings have been at the center of a wide- ranging and widely reported federal investigation by the U.S. At torney's Office. Seven months ago, federal agents raided the Tinton Falls offices of Alma Ltd. and Executive Continental, two consulting companies connected to Lynch and another partner, Monmouth County developer Jack Westlake.

New Directions shares an office with the two consulting companies, according to records filed with the state. But it is unclear if agents also seized records from the committee. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment about the specifics of the investigation.

Neither Lynch, Morris nor Westlake has been charged with any crime in connection with the investigation.

Lynch and Morris are partners in a shopping mall development, share country club membership as well as some office space and the former state Sen. does some legal work for the developer.

Lynch stressed that he does not give Morris special treatment. "He is one of hundreds of people who take my advice," Lynch said.

CONNECTION DENIED

DeLisa was indicted in April on charges of accepting payments to support a controversial Walgreens drugstore.

The indictment alleges DeLisa and another unnamed official received over $15,000 in cash and campaign contributions in return for supporting the drugstore. State records show the contributions came from Alma and Executive Continental -- the two consultan cies tied to Lynch and Westlake.

The largest direct campaign contribution to DeLisa was $3,000, on Oct. 4, 2000 from Executive Continental, in which Lynch is a partner.

But The Star-Ledger found another $6,000 given to DeLisa through New Directions. West Long Branch Democrats later received another $2,000 from the committee.

Lynch said there was no connection between New Directions' contributions and those listed in the indictment. "That's absolute nonsense," he said.

SUSPECT APPROVAL

Lynch also said contributions New Directions gave to Democrats in Brick Township in 2003 were not connected to a development partnership he entered into with Morris there the same year.

After Lynch joined Morris to develop a retail center off Route 70, New Directions gave $15,700 to Brick Pride, the township Democrats' fund. It was the first time the political action committee had given money in Brick.

Brick Pride also received $5,000 from New Directions on April 26, 2004, two days before the project received initial approval from the planning board.

"There was no quid pro quo," Lynch said. "I had nothing to do with the project's approval."

Morris also won a controversial transit village development in Hamilton, and New Directions' first contributions to Mayor Glen Gilmore and Mercer County Democrats coincide with the developer's entry into the township.

In August 2002, New Directions sent a $7,200 check to the election fund of Hamilton Mayor Glen Gilmore. Two months later, New Directions sent Hamilton Democrats $5,000.

Lynch said the donations were not spurred by the project.

"I've been working with Glen long before I knew Jack Morris," Lynch said.

'(I'M) NOT A BOSS'

Such coincidences are hard for Franklin Mayor Brian Levine, a Republican, to ignore.

In the days before the election in 2003, the Somerset County Democratic Organization spent nearly $124,000 in an effort to elect the Democratic mayoral and council candidates.

Levine later discovered on a single day that October, Morris and business partner, Clifton-based developer Joseph Marino, gave $64,000 to the Somerset County Democratic organization. Also that month, Lynch's New Directions gave $25,500 and the Middlesex County Democratic Organization he controlled gave another $10,500 to the group.

Levine was a key opponent to a controversial development Marino and Morris were proposing in Franklin: a Home Depot and an ac tive adult community in an area off Route 27, which they wanted the council to declare a 134-acre site a redevelopment zone.

Levine managed to keep his seat, and the project was defeated. But the development was approved in February after the Democratic-controlled council included it as part of the township's affordable housing plan.

In Monroe, where Morris is proposing a major commercial and residential development, New Directions contributed about $13,000 to the local Democratic party. But the donations were dwarfed by its regular payments to Mayor Richard Pucci, whose home-based consulting company, PMC, received $165,000 in four years.

Morris wants to build upscale condominiums and high-end retail shops as well as a ballpark along the stretch of Route 33. In order for the project to be built, Monroe must change the zoning.

After Pucci's consulting work for New Directions became known, Lynch announced he was withdrawing from the public spotlight to save his friends and associates from being maligned because of their relationship with him.

"I am and have been a leader of my political party," Lynch said when he announced he was resigning from the committee. "The actions I have taken over the years are those of a leader, not a boss. I am and have been an advocate of new and emerging leaders."

Suleman Din covers Middlesex County. He may be reached at (732) 404-8084 or sdin@starledger.com

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