Last January, North Bergen resident Zulima Farber earned the distinction of being the first Hispanic to hold the prestigious post of New Jersey attorney general.
Now, nearly eight months later, she holds another distinction – the first New Jersey attorney general to resign from office.
The 61-year-old Farber stepped down Tuesday, effective at the end of August, amid the controversy caused when she went to the aid of her long-time boyfriend, who was stopped for traffic infractions in Fairview during Memorial Day weekend.
Some accused her of working to have the summonses he received expunged before he had to appear in court. Farber’s decision to resign came hours after an independent counsel ruled that Farber had violated the state ethics code by:
* Using her position to receive unwarranted privileges
* Engaging in conduct that caused suspicion of wrongdoing
* Allowing a personal relationship to influence her official duties
Richard Williams, a retired judge from Atlantic County who also had served as the Atlantic County prosecutor for a time, was appointed by Gov. Jon Corzine to head the investigation into Farber’s actions. He probed whether Farber asked for any special treatment from Fairview police. Her live-in boyfriend, attorney Hamlet Goore, was initially pulled over for not wearing his seat belt on the Friday morning of Memorial Day weekend.
This past Tuesday morning, Williams released his 43-page report, citing Farber’s ethics code violations.
“It’s clear to me that things occurred after her arrival that clearly suggested something other than business as usual with the local police,” Williams said in a press conference Tuesday morning. “Her conduct does raise significant ethical questions that must be addressed.”
Click it or ticket
After Goore was pulled over, apparently first for not wearing a seatbelt – ironically, Farber had pushed for the “Click It or Ticket” campaign for seatbelt safety – Fairview police realized that Goore was operating an unregistered van with a suspended driver’s license.
Fairview police told Goore that the vehicle would have to be impounded and that he was going to be issued summonses for the three violations.
However, because Zulima Farber went to the scene, driven by a State Police lieutenant from Newark to Fairview with flashing police lights, the Fairview police allegedly attempted to void the tickets.
Goore was allowed to drive the vehicle home to North Bergen because he was escorted by Farber. That procedure was a violation of the state motor vehicle laws.
“It is self evident that an ordinary citizen, confronted with the same charges as Mr. Goore, would not have the benefit of a State Police and attorney general escort to avoid impoundment of his car,” Williams wrote in the report. “The attorney general did not fulfill her duty to ensure that the laws were faithfully and fairly enforced. The conclusion is inescapable that her personal relationship with Hamlet Goore caused her to act in a partial manner.”
However, while Williams did admit that Farber broke ethics codes, he didn’t think that she deserved to be hit with any criminal charges.
“I do not believe that conduct warrants criminal prosecution,” Williams wrote.
Just helping her boyfriend
For the longest time, Farber insisted she didn’t do anything wrong in rushing to the scene, stating that she was only going there “to go to the aid of a loved one.”
However, in her only public appearance concerning the incident, on the New Jersey Network interview show “On the Record,” hosted by Michael Aron, which aired July 27, Farber was more contrite.
“As I see this episode taking on a life of its own, it occurred to me, because it has been pointed out, that my mere presence was inappropriate and I accept responsibility for that,” Farber told Aron in the NJN interview. “I asked for no favors. I wanted no favors. All I was doing was going to the aid of the man with whom I share my life.”
After word of Williams’ findings were made official early Tuesday, Corzine went to Farber’s office in Newark to discuss her future.
While Corzine and Farber both denied it, high-ranking Democratic officials stated that Corzine asked for Farber’s resignation at the meeting.
The two appeared at a televised press conference later Tuesday night at the State House in Trenton.
“After thoughtful and truly painful consideration, the attorney general has decided to resign,” Corzine said. “Her decision today reflects her commitment to the best interest of the state and the high responsibility of her office above personal consideration. It is with great sadness and good wishes that I accept her resignation, effective Aug. 31. I wish her term could have been longer. Her decision to resign has been painful for many, including the attorney general.”
Didn’t do it
Farber was still defiant to the very end.
“I did not fix any tickets and didn’t ask anyone to fix any tickets,” Farber said. “After having read the report, I am steadfast to my convictions that Judge Williams’ findings do not compel my resignation. No one asked for it. But I resign out of respect for the governor and the goals we share for this administration. Anyone who knows me knows that I relish a good fight. However, in this case, there is too much to be done and the fight would be a tremendous distraction from the very agenda the governor and I laid out for the Department of Law and Public Safety.”
Williams’ report also recommended that Farber’s State Trooper driver, Lt. George Justin, and the two Fairview police officers involved in the incident should be suspended from their jobs for 14 days without pay.
Williams said that all of the officers involved have agreed to the punishment that he recommended.
Spotty driving record
Corzine drew some heat in nominating Farber as Attorney General last November. She has had a checkered driving record, getting cited for 13 driving violations, mostly all speeding tickets and driving while on the revoked list. She had three license suspensions and four bench warrants for her arrest for failure to pay tickets or appearing in court.
Before that, Farber had been nominated to become a member of the New Jersey State Supreme Court in 2003 by then Gov. Jim McGreevey. But McGreevey backed off when African-American lawmakers wanted a black candidate, not a Hispanic (Farber is of Cuban descent).
McGreevey then cited Farber’s driving record as the reason that he withdrew her nomination. But Corzine stated that Farber’s driving record “was not a substantive issue,” and decided to have Farber first chair his transition team’s ethics advisory group. Farber has long been an active member of the Democratic party in the state.
Menendez speaks about friend
By the time Williams’ report was made official, many influential Republicans were calling for Farber’s resignation. Even some of Farber’s closest allies, like local Democrat Sen. Robert Menendez, realized that her time had come. Farber and Menendez have been very close for decades.
“The special prosecutor’s report concludes that while the attorney general did not break the law, she did violate the state’s code of ethics,” Menendez said in a statement. “The public has a right to expect that government officials uphold the highest standards of integrity, and these offenses are serious.”
Added Menendez, “She has been a tenacious and effective attorney general, and I am not surprised that in response to the special prosecutor’s report, she put service above self. She should be commended for acting quickly and sparing the state from protracted proceedings and petty partisan posturing. As a former public advocate, counsel to a governor, and a prosecutor, Zulima Farber has been a faithful public servant for many years, and I wish her well.”
What’s next?
When Farber leaves office at the end of the month, First Assistant Anne Milgram will become acting attorney general and instantly becomes a candidate to become the permanent replacement for Farber.
Farber didn’t want to speculate what she will now do with her life. Prior to her appointment as attorney general, she was a partner at Lowenstein Sandler, one of the biggest law firms in New Jersey.
Farber also has experience as the former state public advocate, public defender and assistant prosecutor in Bergen County.
“I can’t lead my life trying to figure out what would have been,” Farber said Tuesday. “That’s the way life is.”