New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie nominated his former deputy in the state’s U.S. Attorney’s office to be the next chief attorney for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, The Star-Ledger reported today.
Ralph Marra (Getty Images)
Ex-First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra — who became acting U.S. Attorney in December 2008 when Christie resigned to run for governor — would be paid $195,000 for the job. The post does not require state Senate confirmation and only needs approval from the authority board, according to the newspaper.
Under Marra, the U.S. Attorney’s Office was criticized by former Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine’s campaign last year for dragging its feet on Freedom of Information Act requests about Christie’s tenure. The Justice Department also launched an ethics probe of Marra for remarks he made at a news conference about a major public corruption sweep that Democrats said were intended to boost Christie politically.
“People who have real problems won’t be in the administration,” Christie told The Star-Ledger shortly after he defeated Corzine in the November 2009 election. “People who have problems that are contrived for attempted political advantage won’t be hurt by that.”
Christie has now tapped 10 former colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s office for state posts.
Marra told the newspaper that he is “really excited” about the nomination to the independent authority, which oversees major state sporting and conventions centers.
“The Sports Authority is facing a lot of challenges and I’m eager to jump in there and help out,” Marra told The Star-Ledger.
