NJ Nuttiness

In New Jersey, they want to ban anonymous posting and comments on blogs. It's an attempt to restore civility to political discourse.

Imagine not being able to take some cheap anonymous shots at this guy...

Corzine bails out suspected stalker
Lobbyist charged with breaking into Democratic chairman's car
Gov. Jon Corzine paid $5,000 to bail a Trenton lobbyist out of jail last month after she was arrested and charged with stalking the chairman of the Democratic State Committee, Corzine's office confirmed yesterday.

Karen Golding, manager of government relations at Prudential Financial, had been accused of stalking and breaking into the car of Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D- Union), according to investigators.

Golding, who worked on Corzine's 2000 Senate campaign, contacted the governor for help after the arrest, said Anthony Coley, the governor's spokesman.

"The governor was asked for help by a former Senate campaign staffer who had nowhere else to turn," Coley said yesterday. "After ensuring that she was not a danger to the community, he (Corzine) agreed to offer assistance in the form of a loan. At the time, he was unaware that Assemblyman Cryan was the target of any stalking."

Coley declined to say what the governor would have done if he knew Cryan was the alleged victim. He declined to say how Golding contacted Corzine, how the money was sent to her or when the loan would be repaid. Investigators said they did not know why Golding allegedly stalked Cryan. Cryan declined to comment. Golding did not return calls seeking comment, and her attorney, Christopher Patella, would not comment.

In a brief interview yesterday, Corzine said only that the incident has no bearing on Cryan's ability to lead the state's Democrats.

"It's immensely disappointing that this kind of difficult situation occurs between any two people," Corzine said. "I don't know the facts of this, so I can't comment on it. ... The information I get tells me that it's not going to interfere with his position."

Corzine is a multimillionaire whose net worth hovers between $125 million and $175 million, and his generosity has drawn attention before. During last year's race for governor, it was disclosed Corzine forgave a $470,000 loan to his former girlfriend, Carla Katz, who heads the biggest state workers union.