Senators Get Donor $8 Million Earmark

In yet another example of lawmakers unscrupulously funneling tax dollars to their political supporters, New Jersey’s two U.S. Senators steered a multi million-dollar earmark to enhance a campaign donor’s luxury condominium development.

Democrats Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez allocated $8 million for a public walkway and park space adjacent to upscale, waterfront condos built by a developer whose executives have donated generously to their political campaigns. The veteran legislators have received about $100,000 in contributions from the developer, according to federal election records cited in a news report this week.

Additionally, the developer’s Washington D.C. lobbyist was a longtime senior aide to Menendez, who served more than a decade in the U.S. House before getting appointed to the Senate in 2005 by New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine who vacated the seat when he got elected governor. Menendez subsequently got elected to serve a full six-year term and has risen quickly through the ranks, serving on several important committees.

His rich developer pals had already agreed to pay for the walkway and park when Menendez and Lautenberg scored the public funds for the project. After all, they went all out by putting a rooftop pool and hot tub, theater screening room and entertainment lounge in the luxury condos overlooking the New York City skyline.

As the newspaper that broke the story points out: “…an unlikely spot in need of a multimillion-dollar federal giveaway.”