NEWARK —

Joseph DiVincenzo appears to campaign on his stomach.

The Essex County executive does not face re-election until 2014, but in the past year he has used his campaign to cover the cost of $15,222 in meals at 30 different restaurants — all labeled as campaign meetings — according to reports filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission.

There was the $302.86 tab at the pricey Sea Grill in Rockefeller Center last March (along with a $47 parking fee at the West 48th Street Parking Garage). The $480 bill that the campaign covered for a February 2012 meeting at the exclusive Palm restaurant at the El San Juan Hotel & Casino in Carolina, Puerto Rico. And the 36 times he dined at McLoone’s Boathouse in West Orange last year, with his re-election campaign picking up the check each time.

DiVincenzo’s campaign spending came under focus last year, after disclosures that he had amassed about $250,000 in charges on his personal credit card from 2002 to 2011, paying the bills with his campaign account without revealing what the money went toward. More than $3,000 was spent on a political retreat in Puerto Rico during the Super Bowl. He also used his campaign fund to pay for dozens of rounds of golf.

When the questions were raised, attorneys for DiVincenzo said he reimbursed his account for a gym membership at a Florham Park fitness club for $194.50 and would amend his campaign finance reports to specifically disclose how he spent money donated to his campaigns over the past several years.

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Since then, however, no amended reports correcting the lack of disclosure have been filed in the past 12 months. He has, however, stopped using the campaign fund to finance his golf game.

A spokesman for the county executive said the campaign was still working on the issue.

"We continue to work directly with ELEC on this matter and will comply with the outcome, including the filing of amendments to relevant reports," said Anthony Puglisi.

ELEC officials would not comment on the still undisclosed expenses but a campaign official, Phil Alagia, who also serves as DiVincenzo’s chief of staff, confirmed that the commission has an inquiry under way.

DiVincenzo, who was uncontested in his last primary in 2010, has already raised $1.2 million for the 2014 primary — $942,399 of that transferred from his earlier campaign. And he’s so far spent $520,618 of it.

An examination of his campaign reports for the past year shows that about a third of the money spent went toward helping other candidates. Another large chunk, a quarter of the money spent, was earmarked toward legal fees. Meals at restaurants, though, represented 15 cents of every dollar spent by the campaign.

Records show that McLoone’s — where the pistachio encrusted halibut tops the menu at $32.95 — was one of DiVincenzo’s favorite places to dine. The Essex County Democrat used his campaign account to pay for $7,471.30 in meals there alone. The Joseph DiVincenzo for County Executive Committee separately hosted a $10,000 holiday party at McLoone’s this past December using campaign funds as well.

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He was also partial to the State Street Cafe, a popular diner in Bloomfield, where the menu is more moderately priced and the campaign spent $972 over 28 separate visits during the past year.



NO 'TAXPAYER MONEY'

In comparison, Brian Hughes, the Democratic Mercer County executive, did not spend any campaign money on food last year.

Republican Bergen County Executive Kathy Donovan spent $750 for a Bergen County Republican Dinner. Dennis Levinson, the GOP county executive in Atlantic County, reported spending $1,811 for a Levinson campaign breakfast.

And campaign finance reports filed by Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise show just $2,342 in meal purchases, including $110.10 spent on coffee and food for a Pearl Harbor Remembrance.

"Through Joe’s political career, he has worked diligently to control government spending and has never used taxpayer money to pay for these meals," Puglisi said in a statement. "All expenses are related to Joe’s campaigns and/or his general responsibility of holding office, which are in compliance with ELEC’s regulations."

Under ELEC rules, campaign funds cannot be spent for personal use. A candidate can meet a donor in the restaurant and expense the meal, but cannot buy groceries for home using election funds.

The law states campaign money can be used for the "ordinary and necessary expenses of holding public office." The definition of that is vague.

"There are no specific guidelines," explained ELEC deputy director Joseph Donohue.

The statute allows office holders to use campaign funds to pay for any expense that "reasonably promotes or carries out the responsibility of a person" holding public office.

"It’s up to the candidates to apply that test," he said. "They can always ask us for an advisory opinion, but they hardly ever ask about meals."

Last year, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) and Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-Monmouth) was introduced, requiring candidates to keep detailed records of how they spend campaign funds for the "ordinary and necessary expenses" of holding public office.

Handlin called it a campaign ethics bill, and said it should not be a hardship for lawmakers to document how they spend their campaign money.

So far, the proposed legislation has yet to move out of committee.