Pete Sheridan until recently was Chris Christie’s last state-paid aide. He continued to work for the former governor after he left office in January. | AP Photo Pro-Hugin super PAC has ties to Christie

A super PAC with ties to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie plans to spend big to unseat Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez in November.

Integrity NJ, a super PAC that formed in February, had been quiet about its intentions until Monday, when it announced it had raised $2 million to boost the election effort of Republican Senate nominee Bob Hugin, who’s already put $15.5 million of his own money into his campaign against Menendez.


Integrity NJ’s entire fundraising haul came from just eight donors, according to campaign filing reports with the Federal Election Commission.

The PAC‘s existence was first reported in New Jersey Playbook in March. Its ties to Hugin were revealed in April.

“New Jerseyans deserve a Senator who will fight for their interests in Washington, DC, not jet-setting on private planes all over the globe or fighting corruption charges in federal courtrooms,” said the PAC’s executive director, Pete Sheridan, in a press release. “Integrity NJ plans to shine a bright light on shamelessly corrupt Bob Menendez. New Jersey deserves better."

Sheridan was referring to Menendez’s six-week corruption trial that ended in a hung jury last year. The federal government alleged Menendez did political favors for his friend and co-defendant, Salomon Melgen, a wealthy eye doctor since convicted for Medicare fraud, in exchange for private jet flights, lavish vacations and hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.

A jury in November deadlocked on a verdict, though one member of the panel told reporters that 10 of the 12 jurors favored acquittal on most counts.

Sheridan until recently was Christie’s last state-paid aide. He continued to work for the governor after he left office in January; New Jersey allows governors $250,000 in expenses for six months after they’ve left office.

During Christie’s tenure, Sheridan worked as a director in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and served as executive director of the Republican State Committee, which at the time was under the de facto control of Christie.

Integrity NJ‘s chairman and senior adviser is Phil Cox, who was executive director of the Republican Governors Association from 2011-2014, which included period when Christie led it. Cox later established the super PAC America Leads, which was formed in 2015 to help Christie’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Sheridan did not respond to a question about whether Christie had any role in setting up the super PAC. The former governor is not among its donors.

Nearly half of Integrity NJ’s money came from one donor: William P. Scully, a Florida resident who gave $1 million. Scully is a major shareholder in Celgene — the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company Hugin led until just before he launched his Senate campaign.

Another $500,000 came from a woman named Mary Moriarty, who is listed under a Chatham address. A $100,000 donation was made by Nicholas F. Brady, who briefly served as a Republican senator from New Jersey after being appointed by former Gov. Tom Kean to replace Harrison WIlliams, who was convicted in the Abscam corruption case.

Menendez was the first New Jersey senator since Williams to face corruption charges.

Menendez, New Jersey’s senior senator, is getting his own help from a super PAC called Patients for Affordable Drugs Action, which plans to spend $1.5 million to highlight Hugin’s role leading Celgene, during which time it increased the price of a cancer drug.

The Democrat on Friday announced he had $6.4 million in his campaign account as of the beginning of the month. Normally a prolific fundraiser, Menendez’s campaign fundraising had slowed over the last couple of years as he focused on raising money for his legal defense fund.