Jersey Freedom, the shadowy super PAC that spent money supporting phantom candidate Giuseppe Costanzo in a competitive South Jersey State Senate race last year, will be under the purview of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.
Superior Court Judge Michael Blee today granted ELEC’s request for jurisdiction over an investigation into the tenebrous group and its treasurer, Eric Peterson, authorizing them to “interpret and decide all remaining issues in the case.”
Blee dismissed the matter without making a finding on the merits of a lawsuit filed by the New Jersey Republican State Committee.
The Republicans argued that the courts should handle their complaint that monies were raised and spent without being properly reported – and not dismissed — but ELEC, the government agency that serves as the state’s campaign finance watchdog, maintains they have exclusive jurisdiction over the matter. Bill Tambussi, a lawyer representing Jersey Freedom and its alleged frontman treasurer, Peterson, wanted the court to refer it to ELEC or dismiss the lawsuit entirely.
Blee agreed in February to unfreeze Jersey Freedom’s bank account; he ordered them to halt spending days before the election. Tambussi has said the group is preparing to shut down.
It wasn’t until after the election that Jersey Freedom’s funding source was Brighter Future Forward, an independent expenditure committee directly tied to the South Jersey Democratic machine. And it wasn’t until two weeks ago that the founding donor of Jersey Freedom, Christopher Bastardi, became publicly identified. Bastardi is the business partner of Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky, who also has ties to South Jersey Democrats.
Peterson has no apparent ties to politics and declined to say who hired him. His previous job experience included a stint as a drag makeup artist for “Thank You For Being a Friend: The Golden Girls Musical.”
Formed last summer, Jersey Freedom spent money supporting a phantom State Senate candidate in South Jersey’s 4th legislative district. They sent out mailers and ran digital ads and cable TV ads on Fox News, trying to get Republicans to abandon their candidate and go with a conservative alternative, the mythical Costanzo.
They did the same thing in the 2nd district, asking Republicans to vote for a legitimate candidate, Libertarian Shawn Peck, instead of the GOP incumbent, State Sen. Vincent Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township).