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Former assemblyman and Perth Amboy mayor Joseph Vas as he enters the Federal Courthouse in Newark for sentencing in April 2011.

(Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger)

TRENTON — State Assemblyman John Wisniewski, (D-Middlesex) who's thinking about introducing a bill to renew and even expand New Jersey's red light camera system, may want to go looking for some new co-sponsors.

Back in 2007, Wisniewski's bill to authorize the pilot program — which will expire in December — had just four sponsors.

Of those, two — former Assemblyman Joseph Vas (D-Middlesex) and former state Sen. Joe Coniglio (D-Bergen) — wound up in prison for corruption.

Vas, the former mayor of Perth Amboy, is currently serving a prison sentence for federal and state convictions involving illegal campaign contributions, official misconduct, theft and money laundering.

Coniglio has finished a federal prison sentence for using his role as a member of the Senate budget committee to steer at least $1 million in grants to Hackensack University Medical Center in exchange for more than $100,000 in consulting fees.



The Auditor found this noteworthy because one of New Jersey's two red light camera operators, Redflex, is engulfed in its own corruption scandal. Its former CEO was indicted this month for allegedly paying off Chicago officials for contracts. A whistleblower in the company stated that it bribed municipal officials in 13 states, including New Jersey. The whistleblower did not say the corruption was tied to the bill creating the red light traffic camera program.



Vas' and Coniglio's convictions were not related to the red light camera legislation, Wisniewski pointed out. "I don't see any connection," he said.

Former Senator Joseph Coniglio (D-Bergen) after the indictment outside the Federal Courthouse in Newark in Feb. 2008.

To introduce the bill, Wisniewski wouldn’t need co-sponsors – though they can be a helpful show of support. The only remaining co-sponsor from the 2007 bill is state Sen. Brian Stack (D-Hudson).

But Wisniewski said he hasn’t gotten that far yet.

“It really first is about whether it is possible to have an honest informed debate about traffic safety without getting sidetracked into the charged rhetoric,” Wisniewski said. “We’ll have to wait and see. I know that there are members who believe that this program is worthwhile because it does promote traffic safety. That being said, I’m not aware of anyone who’s yet come forward and said let me sponsor the bill.”

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