Atlantic City favoritism costs $4 million

Excerpt from an article below addressing the failure of the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to enact adequate guidelines in the hasty process that was enacted, uncovered by the Press of Atlantic City:

CRDA loan rules to get stricter after a bad $4 million loan to a politically connected developer
By EMILY PREVITI Staff Writer pressofAtlanticCity.com

ATLANTIC CITY — State regulations on loans made by the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority likely will get stricter in November, nearly a year after the agency forgave a $4 million loan that benefited a politically connected developer.

The CRDA board’s decision to do that prompted a watchdog report in May by The Press of Atlantic City that brought to light irregularities in the way officials from the CRDA and state Department of Community Affairs negotiated the deal that ultimately helped Christiana Foglio, a longtime Democratic contributor and respected redeveloper, pay for the 357-unit Oakwood Plaza apartment complex in Elizabeth, Union County.

CRDA officials publicly introduced the rule-tightening loan guidelines in March, four months after the board voted to accept a $380,000 payment from the DCA and forgive the rest of the loan.

That decision prompted The Press to investigate the matter by requesting emails, contracts and other documents related to the deal. During that time, CRDA attorney Paul Weiss said, the CRDA’s legal staff was developing the rule to prevent such scenarios in the future.