Believe it or not, we now live in an age when New Jersey politics is less corrupt than New York politics. A new report by the Center for Public Integrity—created with Global Integrity and Public Radio International—found that NJ is now the closest thing America has to a shining beacon on accountability and corruption. As for us? It seems our public offices are packed to the brim with liars, cheaters, users and abusers. And we can't just blame Pedro Espada Jr. for that.
Each state was graded based on a "data-driven assessment on transparency, accountability, and anti-corruption mechanisms." Citing a February report released by the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs, NY had a grand total of 2,522 federal public corruption convictions from 1976 to 2010, the most in the country. Between that, the lack of campaign finance oversight, and Governor Andrew Cuomo stacking the Joint Commission on Public Ethics with political allies, a lack of budget transparency, NY was graded D (eight states failed overall). And yes: the report literally name-checked Espada.
On the other hand, it seems that NJ's high-profile corruption cases of the past have actually benefited them now, giving them the highest rating of B+, which even the report acknowledges is "a seemingly stunning ranking." “Legislators will react to a corruption scandal, and work to get political cover by enacting reform,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, vice president for state operations at the nonprofit advocacy group Common Cause. Now, NJ has extensive financial disclosure requirements for the governor, a transparently-run pension fund, and an aggressive ethics enforcement agency.
"It may seem counterintuitive that the land of the Sopranos topped our survey," said Randy Barrett, part of one of the three collaborators in the State Integrity Investigation. New Jersey residents are still wrapping their head around this one: "You’re kidding," Marc Mappen, author of the book "There’s More to New Jersey Than The Sopranos" and a longtime chronicler of Garden State corruption, told the Star-Ledger. "It’s nice to know we’re not as corrupt as people think. New Jersey has some spectacular examples of corruption in its history, but studies have painted a better picture."
