new jersey lawmakers get tough:
Believe it or not, this may be one of the first legislative efforts to make corruption itself a punishable offense. Most officials get nailed on tax evasion, or lying to a grand jury. if they are considering a bill, it would have to have a definition of corruption. stay tuned.
APP.COM - N.J. lawmakers to get tough on corruption | Asbury Park Press Online: "TRENTON � New Jersey legislators are trying to demonstrate that they are serious about combating corruption among public officials and employees, in a state with a reputation stained by numerous high-profile scandals over the years.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing today on six bills that would raise the penalties for public officials and employees guilty of corruption.
The committee was also expected to vote on three bills today that would impose a minimum mandatory prison term and require the forfeiture of pensions and other retirement benefits for any public official or employee convicted of public corruption.
The committee is also slated to consider bills that would establish the crime, 'corruption of public resources,' would increase the statute of limitations from five to seven years for certain crimes involving political corruption, and would establish a 'Public Corruption Profiteering Penalty Act' to increase fines by as much as three times the value of any property involved.
The state that has had some high-profile corruption cases in recent years:"