Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone's easy re-election cited as reason for putting him back on state payroll
Friday, March 26, 2010
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Bayonne Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone is back on the state's payroll.

In September, former Assembly speaker Joseph Roberts suspended Chiappone's pay and booted him from committees after the state attorney general indicted him and his wife for allegedly channeling state money paid to legislative aides into their personal bank account and Chiappone's campaign coffers.

But the new speaker, Sheila Y. Oliver, D-Essex, reinstated Chiappone's $49,000 salary and benefits when the new legislative session convened in January.

"The speaker reinstated his pay because he was overwhelmingly re-elected by his constituents," Assembly Democratic spokesman Tom Hester Jr. said yesterday.

But Chiappone still won't be assigned to committees, said Hester, who said he'd check with Oliver to find out why, but didn't call back.

Chiappone said his understanding is that the Assembly leadership wants to wait until his case is heard before assigning him to committees.

He said he's waiting until a motion is heard in September to have the charges against him dismissed before he pursues back pay from the Legislature and a return to his committee work.

Chiappone easily won re-election in November and has even decided to run for mayor of Bayonne, where he is a former at-large councilman.

Chiappone and his wife, Diane, pleaded not guilty in December to charges they deposited more than $8,000 in paychecks issued to state legislative aides into their personal bank account and Chiappone's campaign fund.