1. The
truth
about
Joe
Simunovich
Joe
Simunovich
Wins.
Cleared
of
false
ethics
charges.
During
Mr.
Simunovich’s
tenure
as
Commissioner
of
the
New
Jersey
Turnpike
Authority
(NJTA),
the
state’s
Ethics
Commission
conducted
an
investigation
on
the
approval
of
nine
contracts
or
change
orders
for
a
contractor
to
the
NJTA.
Mr.
Simunovich
had
a
longstanding
personal
relationship
with
the
vendor.
All
nine
votes
for
work
to
be
performed
by
the
contractor
were
unanimous
by
the
Board
of
Trustees
for
the
New
Jersey
Turnpike
Authority.
No
ethics
charges
were
ever
lodged
against
Mr.
Simunovich
and
it
was
the
New
Jersey’s
Ethics
Commission’s
position
that
Mr.
Simunovich’s
participation
in
the
votes
was
not
influenced
by
his
relationship
with
the
contractor.
The
Ethics
Commission
did,
however,
say
Mr.
Simunovich
should
have
recused
himself
from
voting
on
the
contracts.
Mr.
Simunovich
and
the
Ethics
Commission
entered
into
a
complete
and
final
resolution
of
the
matter
raised
by
the
investigation.
The
consent
order/settlement
was
not
intended
to
constitute
a
finding
or
admission
of
guilt
or
liability
on
the
part
of
Mr.
Simunovich.