The New York Times-20080124-Ex-Senator Can-t Use Campaign Fund in Legal Case

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Ex-Senator Can't Use Campaign Fund in Legal Case

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A former state senator in New Jersey who is facing federal fraud and corruption charges cannot use money in his campaign account to pay for his criminal defense, a state commission said on Wednesday in a ruling that could establish a precedent for public officials and candidates facing criminal charges.

The former senator, Wayne R. Bryant, a veteran Democratic lawmaker from Camden who decided not to seek another term after he was indicted in March, had asked the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission if he could use some of the more than $640,000 in his campaign fund to pay his mounting legal bills.

In a 3-to-0 ruling, the commission rejected Mr. Bryant's argument that legal precedent was on his side and said that paying for a criminal defense is not a legitimate use of campaign donations.

Although Mr. Bryant's case was the only one before the commission, the ruling would appear to block several other former state legislators who are facing criminal charges from using their campaign reserves to defend themselves.

Another former state senator, Sharpe James of Newark, and two former state assemblymen, Alfred E. Steele of Paterson and Mims Hackett Jr. of Orange, have been accused of criminal wrongdoing. A third former state senator, Joseph Coniglio of Bergen County, has been told he is the target of a federal investigation.

State campaign finance records show that of the former lawmakers who have criminal cases hanging over them, only Mr. Coniglio has used his campaign war chest to pay lawyers. In August and September, he paid $90,000 to Krovatin & Associates, a Newark firm that specializes in racketeering and corruption cases. He did not seek an opinion from the commission before making the payments.

The executive director of the commission, Frederick M. Herrmann, said on Wednesday that he could not comment on whether Mr. Coniglio's use of campaign funds was being investigated. We will not confirm or deny whether we are doing an investigation, Mr. Herrmann said, citing a policy not to comment on investigations unless they result in action by the commission.

The use of campaign funds in a criminal defense is not specifically mentioned in New Jersey election law, and until Wednesday the commission had never ruled on the matter.

Mr. Bryant's lawyer, Richard K. Weinroth, argued that a provision of the law that allows campaign funds to be used for ordinary and necessary expenses of holding public office applied in his client's case since the indictment directly arose from Mr. Bryant's position as an elected official. The commission rejected that claim.

Mr. Weinroth also cited the case of former United States Representative Randy Cunningham, a Republican from California, who pleaded guilty in 2005 to bribery and used campaign funds to defray his legal costs with the blessing of the Federal Election Commission.

The chairwoman of the New Jersey commission, Jerry Fitzgerald English, said on Wednesday that while federal law was a good guide in most cases, the state was not bound to follow it in every instance.

Federal prosecutors have said that Mr. Bryant, 60, arranged a $37,000-a-year job for himself at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey -- in addition to his $49,000 salary as a state senator -- in exchange for steering millions of dollars in grants to the school.

As a member of the State Senate's Democratic leadership and onetime chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, Mr. Bryant was paid by the university to lobby himself, prosecutors have said. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

As he left the commission hearing on Wednesday, Mr. Weinroth said he would not comment on whether Mr. Bryant would appeal the decision until the commission issues its official written opinion.

[Illustration]PHOTO: Wayne R. Bryant at a session of the New Jersey State Senate earlier this month. He is facing fraud and corruption charges. (PHOTOGRAPH BY SYLWIA KAPUSCINSKI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)