The bank account for a shadowy political group that backed a conservative phantom candidate in a South Jersey Senate race, Jersey Freedom, was opened last year with a $50 check written by Chris Bastardi, a New York public relations consultant whose business partner is veteran Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office has already launched a criminal investigation into Jersey Freedom after allegations that the independent expenditure committee violated state campaign finance laws. The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission has also opened a probe of the committee.
But Bastardi’s involvement with Jersey Freedom now points to possibly illegal coordination between an independent political committee he helped form and a campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Since June, BARO Strategies, the firm Bastardi runs with Roginsky, has been paid $10,000 per month to provide strategic consulting services to Joe Salerno, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 2nd district, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission in November.
Jersey Freedom sent a mass email in September slamming Salerno’s opponent, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), for supporting offshore wind turbines while serving in the New Jersey State Senate but opposing it as a congressman.
There is no indication that Salerno knew about the possible coordination. He declined to comment last night. Bastardi did not respond to an email, text message, and voicemail on Thursday and another voicemail on Friday.
Brighter Future Forward, an independent expenditure group directly tied to South Jersey Democrats, was Jersey Freedom’s funding source; they contributed $225,000 to the group – the only donor besides Bastardi.
Records show that the frontman for Jersey Freedom is Eric Peterson, a 33-year-old Berkeley Heights native with no apparent political experience. Until 2022, Peterson was an accounts payable manager for a Manhattan-based property management company; he had previously worked as a drag makeup artist for “Thank You For Being a Friend: The Golden Girls Musical.”
Peterson was paid $5,000 for his brief stint at Jersey Freedom, plus reimbursement of $216 for the rental of a post office box near his home in Jamaica, Queens. As treasurer, Peterson signed campaign finance reports filed with ELEC.
Jersey Freedom spent $187,065 on independent expenditures seeking to influence Senate races in the 2nd district, where they backed the Libertarian candidate, and in the 4th district, where they supported Giuseppe Costanzo, an illusionary candidate who wasn’t a registered voter until last year and refused to advocate for his own candidacy.
The group’s intent seems to have been to convince Republicans that Costanzo, whose ballot slogan was “Conservatives South Jersey,” was a better pick. They targeted GOP voters with mailers, digital ads, and a cable TV ad that aired on Fox News.
Jersey Freedom’s digital message featured photos of Costanzo and former President Donald Trump: “Giuseppe Costanzo will protect 2nd Amendment rights, end woke brainwashing of our kids, and stop tax & spend Democrats from wasting our money. Trump Conservatives vote Costanzo!” Other ads touted Costanzo’s pro-life and pro-police stances, although the candidate never stated any positions on issues beyond his ballot slogan.
The digital ads were produced by Blue Perigon Digital, a Washington-based firm led by Nat Wood, a former 1993 Florio for Governor campaign staffer. The firm also produced digital ads for American Democratic Majority, a super PAC tied to South Jersey Democrats, the Camden City Democratic Committee, and Gloucester County Surrogate Joe Chila.
Days before the election, Superior Court Judge Michael Blee froze Jersey Freedom’s bank account. It remains frozen until Blee holds his next court hearing on February 1.
Costanzo’s campaign remains a mystery. Angela McGeehan, a 36-year-old administrative employee at Washington Township High School, collected over one-third of the petition signatures for Costanzo and his running mate, Maureen Dukes-Penrose. She is the daughter of Frank J. Cianci, the longtime Washington Township Democratic municipal chairman who stepped down last year.
Records show that BARO Strategies was incorporated in New York on March 23, 2023. While documents tie Jersey Freedom directly to Bastardi, Roginsky’s name is not mentioned.
Editor’s note: Nine hours after the publication of this story, Gerald Krovatin, an attorney representing BARO, Bastardi and Roginsky, denied any coordination between Jersey Freedom and the Salerno campaign. “Neither BARO, Bastardi, nor Roginsky drafted, knew about, published or had anything to do with the Jersey Freedom email in question.” Krovatin did not dispute that Bastrardi was involved with Jersey Freedom.