A Superior Court judge today froze the bank account of a tenebrous dark money independent expenditure group backing a phantom candidate in the 4th district State Senate race.
Judge Michael Blee said that Jersey Freedom may make no further expenditures in New Jersey, but acknowledged that with Election Day just five days away, his decision might be too late to matter.
“There’s a strong possibility that the media outlets have already been paid,” Blee said.
The shadowy group has sent attack mailers and is running cable TV ads on Fox News to redirect Republican voters from the GOP Senate nominee in the 4th district, Christopher Del Borrello, to Giuseppe Costanzo, a ghost candidate running as an independent conservative.
“There’s allegations here of essentially a violation of the election laws,” Blee said. “That is not something the monetary damages could remedy. Moreover, it is important for all of us to protect the integrity and sanctity of all public elections.”
Jason Sena, an attorney representing the Republican State Committee and Del Borrello, filed a lawsuit yesterday to stop Jersey Freedom from allegedly committing more violations of New Jersey Election law.
“We have potential bad actors involved in the political sphere, making what I believe to be large expenditures in connection with a legislative race, that we have no clue how much they’re spending. We have no clue who the donors are,” Sena said. “We really have no clue who the people are at this time behind this, these communications.”
Blee said the court “cannot control those entities that have already been paid for these advertisements, and this order cannot be used to try to prevent them from running them.”
“I can only control the parties that are before me, and clearly believe that Jersey Freedom and Eric Peterson should be barred from any future political communications or electioneering communications,” the judge stated.
Sena says he plans to issue subpoenas to gain further insights into the identities of people involved with Jersey Freedom. He also told the court that the issue could be grounds to contest the election outcome.
The group was incorporated in Delaware in Augusta and filed as a 527 political organization with the Internal Revenue Service on September 11. They are based out of a post office box in Jamaica, Queens. Individuals affiliated with the group have fake addresses, and Sena said he could not effectuate legal service.
Sena said Jersey freedom “have placed roadblocks in the path of anyone who seeks to make direct contact with them.”
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco called the court ruling “a victory for election integrity and for voters who deserve to know that their ballots counted.”
“Democrats have been caught using dirty tactics and dark money to try to trick voters into supporting phantom candidates for office,” Bucco said. “It’s egregious that Democrats continue to engage in this despicable behavior that undermines our democratic process. The fact that they are willing to cheat to win shows how desperate Trenton Democrats are to maintain their failing grip on power in New Jersey.”
Jersey Freedom has reported no donors and $35,226 of debt. They spent $15,190 on independent expenditures in support of Costanzo and $20,036 to help Libertarian Senate candidate Shawn Peck in the 2nd district. Peck’s outage over the Jersey Freedom mailer led him to drop out of the race and endorse State Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township) for re-election. Not included in the 11-day pre-election report are cable TV ads that began running on Fox News in support of Costanzo on Saturday.
The ad was placed by the same media firm that is also handling anti-Del Borrello attack ads for another independent expenditure group, Brighter Future Forward, that is directly tied to the South Jersey Democratic machine.
Costanzo, a 62-year-old restaurant account manager from Clementon, has been a mythical figure on the campaign trail. He has raised no money, opened no social media accounts, and has practically no digital footprint. He has made no case for his own candidacy and no longer answers his cell phone. Until earlier this year, he wasn’t even a registered voter.
His conservative running mate, Maureen Dukes-Penrose, a Democrat, told the New Jersey Globe that retiring State Sen. Fred Madden (D-Washington), a former Gloucester County Democratic Chairman, encouraged her to run as an independent. Madden said that wasn’t true.
One of the circulators of nominating petitions for Costanzo and Dukes-Penrose as an independent conservative has close ties to South Jersey Democrats.
Angela McGeehan, a 36-year-old administrative employee at Washington Township High School, collected more than one-third of the petition signatures for Costanzo and Dukes-Penrose.
She is the daughter of Frank J. Cianci, the longtime Washington Township Democratic municipal chairman before stepping down earlier this year, and ardent supporter of the Democratic nominee for State Senate in the 4th district, Paul Moriarty (D-Washington Township).
McGeehan also spent six years working in the Gloucester County Clerk’s office.
She remains unwilling to discuss her role in the phantom campaigns.
“We are pleased that the Court has recognized the Democrats’ egregious violation of the public trust in enjoining future spending. We will keep pursuing this until New Jersey voters get the full transparency that they deserve,” said Alex Wilkes, a spokesperson for the Republican State Committee. “In the meantime, we urge voters to not be fooled by slick ads on Fox News or messages in mailboxes about fake conservatives. They are liberal plants intended to ensure that Democrats stay in office.“
New Jersey Working Families Acting Executive Director Antoinette Miles applauded the decision
“The voters of New Jersey deserve fair elections where they can make a decision based on the issues and not be manipulated or deceived into supporting phantom candidates by a dark money group. Jersey Freedom should stop their electoral trickery,” Miles stated. “This whole incident reinforces the urgent need for true campaign finance reform to ensure that shadowy interests cannot continue these types of shenanigans in the future.”
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