TRENTON - In response to published reports that powerful political leaders in Trenton secretly channeled $2.25 million in special grants to Rutgers University’s football and athletics program over the past four years, Assemblyman Richard Merkt today said the revelation merely underscores the ongoing problem with lack of fiscal accountability in the state’s capital.

“If you will recall, the Governor publicly declared government accountability the cornerstone of his administration, yet the last several years have witnessed nothing but a sickening series of insider deals and policy schemes cooked up in the backroom,” said Merkt, a member of the Assembly Higher Education and Appropriations Committees.

Merkt cited, by way of examples, the Governor’s original secret proposal to raise state highway tolls 800 percent, his belated revelation that he has no alternate plan to fund transportation, save relying on the Turnpike Authority to hike tolls, and his court battles to keep hidden emails he exchanged with embattled union leader Carla Katz in the midst of contract negotiations with the union.“As each day passes, New Jersey becomes more unaffordable for our residents,” commented Merkt, R-Morris.

“The Governor, Senate President Codey, and Assembly Speaker Roberts all claim they feel the taxpayers’ pain, but then we discover they secretly funneled millions of dollars to the football program at Rutgers. Where, for heaven’s sake, are their priorities? And is there really any doubt why New Jersey is in such serious financial straits?”

Noting that the academic budget at Rutgers has been slashed, causing higher tuition, staff lay-offs, canceled courses and elimination of minor sports programs, Merkt exclaimed, “This is a classic Trenton political insider deal – absolutely ‘business as usual!’ After all the grand promises to make state government ‘accountable,’ nothing at all has really changed, nor will it ever change while this crew remains at the controls.”

The Star Ledger reported Sunday that “unidentified” lawmakers tacked $500,000 onto the State budget each year for the past fours years without public input or scrutiny. The funds were included in budgets signed by then-Governor Richard Codey, D-Essex, and Governor Corzine. In the article, Codey claimed he not only knew about the budget earmarks, but also fully supported them.

He is quoted as saying, “As long as the football team does well, it’s a great investment....”Noting that Rutgers’s football team is off to a disappointing 0-3 start, Merkt described Codey’s remarks as both ‘cavalier and distressing,’ particularly after an audit earlier this year already showed Rutgers’s athletic department had dabbled in ‘off-the books’ spending practices.“In the midst of New Jersey’s chronic budget crisis, it is hard to fathom how anyone could justify secretly giving millions of state dollars to a Rutgers athletic program already awash in growing revenues,” declared Merkt.

“No wonder the guys running Trenton sought to hide these little hand-outs. They knew the grants couldn’t possibly have withstood the light of day, so they took the easy way out and did them in the dark. So much for ‘Hold me accountable!’”