HE'S BAAAAAAAAACK!!!

Yesterday (Wednesday), Art Gallagher over at More Monmouth Musings wrote about Codey.org, a weBSite purported to support the drafting of former Gov. Dick Codey to replace the Bozo-coiffed Gov. Jonathan Stevens Corzine on the ballot. Art found that the site is linked to none other than Union County's own diminutive, goose-stepping, oompaloompaesque publisher, James J. Devine.
We decided to put the Honest Abe Research Foundation to work on this.
A look at the weBSite shows that it is "a project of the Central Jersey Democratic Leadership Committee", a PAC led by Devine, and that it is "Paid for by CJDLC". The CJDLC's main weBSite still advertises tickets for the PAC's "Inaugural Ball" to be held back in January at the Grand Marquis in Old Bridge Township.
A look at ELEC shows that the CJDLC has not filed a report since the third quarter of 2005. Before that, their reporting history was spotty at best.
Just as a little background, Devine and his PAC have marched to not only a different drummer, but a different tuba and glockenspiel player too.
Back in '05, Devine ran a blog supporting the woeful Democratic assembly candidates in the 13th District. That same year, he was responsible for a hate weBSite called HandlinThompson.org. As a part of his fundraising, Devine wrote on the site, "Donations will be deposited into the personal bank account of this website's owner/operator and will be used to defray expenses for research and reporting about the corrupt politicians to whom this site is dedicated. If funding reaches the level required for disclosure under New Jersey law, a political committee will be established specifically for that purpose. Until then, anyone who wishes to know the names of any or all contributors needs simply to ask."
His personal bank account? Gadzooks! Hold on campers, there's more.
They once claimed that the CJDLC was not subject to ELEC reporting as it was organized as a 527 fund, and by June of 2006, the PAC's treasurer, Charles Betancourt, was pleading not guilty to embezzling $53,238.00 from the CJDLC. Strangely, no Charles Betancourt appears in the state Judiciary's Promis/Gavel Public Access system. You would think that they would file ELEC reports after that bit of trouble, but noooooooo.
We know that they began 2005 with a balance of $2,500.54 in the bank, and that they raised $122,950.00 up to the end of the third quarter, and spent $102,628.34 during the same period, leaving a balance of $22,822.20 on September 30, 2005. Then, nothing. No reports for the fourth quarter of 2005 through the first quarter of 2009. Soooooo, we don't know what happened to the $22,822.20, where it went, or what they raised and spent during the past 3+ years. Did Betancourt get any of it, or was his embezzlement earlier than that? Is he still the treasurer?
We don't know how much they raised on the Inaugural event this past January, or what the overhead was. The Codey.org site is set up for fundraising, but that would show up on the second quarter '09 report, which is not due until June 15th, if they see fit to even bother to file it. The Codey.org weBSite, however, was actually created back in 2005, and updated this past February; any expenses incurred would presumably be reportable on a hypothetical first quarter report, if there was one.
The contributors reported back in 2005 are the typical Democratic cast of characters; a lot of developers, some lawyers, and the ever-present CME Associates principals. Recipients of the CJDLC's largese include several Democratic campaigns on the state and local level. We will list them in a subsequent post.
The Central Jersey Democratic Leadership Committee is notable for its weirdness. Devine is never far from controversy. Potential contributors would be wise to stay away from the whole gooey mess.