N.J. Senator: Murphy “seriously mistaken” if he thinks commissioned report will end Alvarez probe

Kristin Corrado

TRENTON, N.J. —  The Murphy Administration’s commissioned report on the Alvarez hiring scandal and related personnel issues is out, Save Jerseyans, but no one outside of the Democrat’s administration seemed impressed by its conclusions.

That includes state Senator Kristin Corrado (R-40), a close ally of the Sweeney Democrat faction that is currently at war with Governor Phil Murphy.

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“The report commissioned by Governor Murphy doesn’t get us any further in understanding who was responsible for hiring someone with serious allegations into a high level position in the Governor’s administration,” said Corrado who serves as vice-chair of the New Jersey Legislative Select Oversight Committee investigating what’s become known as the Katie Brennan scandal. “Neither the Governor nor his staff will give us a clear and definitive answer to the important question of who hired Al Alvarez, and nobody has been held accountable for a string of failures that continued for nearly a year after the allegations were first raised to senior officials. There are numerous inconsistencies in the stories of Murphy Administration officials that must be resolved. While the report claims it was the system that failed Katie Brennan, it was in fact the Governor and senior officials in his transition office and administration who failed her.”

The 75-page report (click here to read it) was authored by former state Supreme Court Justice Peter Verniero.

Murphy preceded the report’s release by issuing changes to the New Jersey Administrative Code in the hours leading up the President’s State of the Union Address, a move which caused adversaries and critics to question the timing.

“Governor Murphy is seriously mistaken if he thinks he can sweep this matter under the rug with a superficial report and a few administrative rule changes,” said Corrado. “The report raises new concerns as it adds to the list of discrepancies related to sworn testimony provided to our legislative oversight committee by top staff in the Governor’s inner circle. It’s concerning that Alvarez, a close confidant of Governor Murphy, apparently was treated as the person who needed to be protected, not his accuser or others who worked around him.”

“Numerous administration officials testified that — apart from the Governor himself — only three men had the authority to make a decision on the hiring of Al Alvarez:  Pete Cammarano, Matt Platkin, and Jose Lozano,” added Corrado. “All three have now testified under oath that they played no role in the hiring. Basic common sense and a simple process of elimination suggest that it’s time for the Governor himself to visit our Committee to explain his role in the hiring process.”

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