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Hypocrisy Revisited
Editor's Note: Republican legislators have demanded an
investigation and an audit of New Jersey Department of Human Services
expenses for travel and conventions and conferences by employees of
the department.
Assembly
Republicans' review shows Democrat appointees Deputy Commissioner
Theresa Wilson and her Assistant, Yolanda Mancari, spent $13,000 in
three years to attend conferences and seminars.
Republicans Want To Find Out What's Really Going On
According
to the Asbury Park Press, the demand was made by the Republicans to
"get someone in there to do an objective review of what's really going
on."
We agree;
but we are also forced to make the inevitable comparison between the
$13,000 spent by the Human Services Democrats, and a far more
extensive misuse of taxpayers money several years ago by former state
lottery director Virginia Haines.
Haines Spent More Than $103,000 ON Travel Junkets
Haines and
a deputy spent $103,000 on useless travel junkets, including a trip to
Scotland by Haines, costing taxpayers $6500.
Haines Was Part Of The DMUA $400,000
Double-Dip Health Benefits Scam
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Double Dippin' Debbie Clement |
Yes, this
is the same Virginia Haines that participated in the $400,000 double
dip health benefits scam at the Dover MUA, when she and seven other
commissioners including Deborah "Double Dippin' Debbie" Clement, all
helping themselves from the public treasury somewhere else, helped
themselves to a second set of expensive health benefits at the DMUA,
compliments of the taxpayers of Dover Township.
So for
about ten years, there were several DMUA commissioners every year,
always including Haines and Clement, who were getting two free sets of
health benefits from taxpayers who couldn't afford even one set of
benefits for themselves. What a rip-off.
Haines Ran DMUA Finances Into A Huge Deficit
And this
is the same Virginia Haines who, as DMUA Chairman, ran the authority's
finances from a surplus to a huge deficit that will lead to a big rate
increase for the residents of Dover Township.
Assembly Republicans Never Said A
Word About Haines Travel Junket Scam
Oh, by the
way, the "assembly Republicans" who are now whining about the $13,000
Human Services travel scam, never said a word about the $103,000
Virginia Haines State Lottery Department travel scam. Hypocrisy has
now been added to their list of virtues.
The following article originally appeared on October 18, 2002
This is
another Press Release you never saw from the NJ Lottery
“Public Information” operation, but all data is absolutely
accurate:
For
Data Confirmation, Contact: Jaimee Gilmartin, Public Information
Officer: Office: 609-599-5875 • Fax: 609-599-5829
Release
which should have been made
to keep the public informed:
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Virginia Haines |
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Carole Hedinger |
Haines And Hedinger Went First Class; Paid Exorbitant Prices;
Taxpayers Took Seats In The Back Of The Bus
One
Haines Trip To Glasgow, Scotland Cost $5600
Dozens Of Vacation Junkets, Some With International Destinations, Took
Lottery Queens Out Of NJ For Hundreds Of Days - Taxpayers Paid The
Bills, Got No Benefits
Lawrenceville:
Former Lottery Department Director Virginia Haines and her neighbor
and crony Carole Hedinger, lottery deputy director, both of whom have
made careers ripping off Dover Township taxpayers, used the lottery
department as their own private travel agency,
Haines
and Hedinger, political appointees of former Governor Christie
Whitman, were hired at inflated salaries to fill figurehead jobs in
the lottery department.
Used
Taxpayers Money For Dozens Of Vacation
Junkets Costing More Than $100,000
The two
political drones used more than $100,000 in taxpayers money to finance
dozens of thinly disguised vacation junkets for destinations all over
the country - and on several occasions, for international junkets as
well.
Lottery Public “Information” Office
Never Made Out-Of-State Trips Public
OceanCountyPolitics•Com
has learned that these vacation junkets took Haines and Hedinger out
of the state for hundreds of days total - but the lottery information
office never even issued a press release announcing the trips, which
ostensibly had some vague connection with lottery “business”.
Domestic Destinations included Las Vegas,
Colorado Springs And Fort Lauderdale
Domestic
destinations included New Orleans, Cleveland, Atlanta, Newport, St.
Louis, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Louisville, Bal Harbour, Florida;
Prussia, Atlantic City, Detroit, Phoenix, Austin, Providence, Saratoga
Springs, Miami, Rapid City, S.D.; Las Vegas, Boca Raton, Albuquerque,
Washington D.C., Minneapolis and Colorado Springs.
International Destinations Featured
Haines’ $5600 Trip To Glasgow
International destinations included Vancouver, Canada; Halifax, Nova
Scotia and Glasgow, Scotland.
Some of
these destinations were visited repeatedly by Haines and Hedinger, but
the taxpayers got no visible benefits from more than 100 junkets,
according to the lottery public information department.
The
exception to this, of course, was that Haines and Hedinger allowed the
taxpayers to pick up the all expenses paid tab for every single one of
the vacation junket trips.
As if to
add insult to injury, Haines and Hedinger paid exorbitant prices for
their round trip plane tickets in many instances. Actual per
person round trip fares from State Treasury Records:
• They paid
$735
for a Richmond, Va. ticket that should have cost about $178 per
person round trip.
• They paid
$799
for a Minneapolis ticket that should have cost about $228 per
person round trip.
• They paid
$1037
for a Chicago ticket that should have cost about $177 per
person round trip.
• They paid
$1191
for a St. Louis ticket that should have cost about $198 per
person round trip.
• They paid $1356
for a ticket to Glasgow, Scotland that should have cost about $366 per
person round trip.
• They paid $1368 for a Chicago ticket that should have cost
about $177 per
person round trip.
• They paid $1118 for a St. Louis ticket that should have cost
about $198 per
person round trip.
• They paid $695 for a Atlanta ticket that should have cost
about $218 per
person round trip.
Haines
and Hedinger went first class on dozens of junkets that should have
never happened in the first place - while the taxpayers who paid their
travel bills went to the back of the bus.
And this
was only the tip of the iceberg: stay tuned at OceanCountyPolitics•Com
for more exclusive coverage of the Haines-Hedinger travelogue, salary
inflation and pension scam program at the Whitman Administration
Political Flunkie Career Enrichment Institute.
Click Here For Story On
Hedinger’s $2011 Newport Junket Gouge |
