State Senate Candidate Clara Nibot is calling on Assemblywoman Valarie Huttle to explain her apparent conflicts of interest rising from her lobbying for public money for the Bergen Performing Arts Centerand the PACs association with her husband and her long-time freeholder and Assembly aide, Rocco Mazza Nibot is also demanding that Huttle shed some light on the U.S. Attorney subpoenas issued in March to Violet Cherry, a long- time supporter of Huttle’s and the director of the Englewood Health Department.  The federal subpoenas included requests for information on Bergen PAC.

Huttle has been the chief architect behind plans to pour millions of taxpayer dollars into the failed John Harms Theatre, renamed the Bergen PAC in 2004.  As a Bergen County Freeholder in 2003, Huttle pushed for and voted on a measure to give $1.9 million in taxpayers’ money to the Harms Center/Bergen PAC and its new president – her husband Frank Huttle.

Additionally since Huttle became an Assemblywoman in 2005, she has lobbied for money from the state to support Bergen PAC – which received $166,000 for FY07-08.  In addition Gov. Corzine issued a line item “Christmas Tree” grant of $75,000 in the same fiscal year, while the governor was cutting $1.3 million in art grants throughout the

Nibot said Huttle needs to explain how the taxpayers’ money is going to assist her husband’s pet project and what appears to be the employment of her aide, Mazza. According to Bergen PAC Board of Trustee minutes from June 30, 2005 Huttle’s husband was paid $19,607. For his work for the organization. Her husband’s law firm DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick, Cole and Weisler received an addition sum of $2,892. Mazza -- Huttle’s freeholder aide and now Assembly aide -- is quoted in a July 24, 2005 Record newspaper article on Bergen PAC’s finances as a “marketing consultant to the organization.  Nibot said that an October 17, 2005 copy of the minutes of a Bergen PAC trustees meeting lists $119,120 for marketing expenses, but lists only one name, David Grossman as the $65,000 assistant marketing director, the minutes lists four $7,280 salaried positions to unnamed community marketing representatives.

Nibot said those unnamed representatives should be identified immediately to determine if one of them is Mazza.

“It appears that Freeholder Huttle used her public offices to steer taxpayer money to the Bergen PAC and that part of that money was used to pay her husband and her aide,” said Nibot.  “This is an obvious conflict of interest that Mrs. Huttle needs to explain immediately,” said Nibot.  “If that’s not the case, she should clarify the record. “

Nibot also said that Huttle has yet to explain why the U.S. Attorney has subpoenaed documents relating to Bergen PAC. 

“Obviously, the U.S. Attorney is looking at the significant amount of public money going into this pet project of the Huttle’s,” said Nibot.  “If there are criminal conflicts of interests involving Assemblywoman Huttle and the Harms - as may exist with Sen. Joseph Coniglio in District 38 – the voters need to know about that now.”