HOBOKEN—A state official at the center of Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s 2013 allegations against the administration of Gov. Chris Christie will step down at the end of the week, Christie’s office announced in a press release on Monday. After three years, Richard Constable III will leave his post as commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs for an unspecified job in the private sector.
Along with Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, Constable was one of the high-ranking administration officials Zimmer accused of linking increased Sandy relief aid to her support of a development project in northern Hoboken.
Constable denied Zimmer’s claims, and a Christie-commissioned investigative report by the law firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher found the claims to be “demonstrably false.”
Zimmer presented journal entries she said were written after her conversation with Constable, and she was interviewed by representatives of the U.S. Attorney’s office in January 2014.
Since then, Zimmer has declined to answer questions about the U.S. Attorney’s investigation, which has yet to produce any indictments.
This past January, the Hoboken City Council approved a one year extension to the city’s contract with Gerald Krovatin, the lawyer appointed to represent city officials in the U.S. Attorney’s investigation. Zimmer explained that the move was a mere housekeeping measure in case additional services were required of Krovatin.
Constable also serves as chairman of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA), the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority (NJRA) and the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).
“Rich has served me extraordinarily well for more than a decade and I appreciate his service to this state and the country,” said Christie. “I thank him for his service and his friendship and wish him well in his new endeavors.”
DCA Deputy Commissioner Charles A. Richman will step in as acting DCA commissioner in Constable’s absence.