Two new programs to fight public corruption in New Jersey were rolled out at the beginning of May.

They were supposed to end next week on August 1, but things have gone so well that they’ve both been extended until after Election Day, officials say.

The first program offers a reward of up to $25,000 for tips that lead to the conviction of a public official on corruption charges. The second initiative is a whistle-blower program that allows lower-level defendants in corruption cases to avoid prosecution if they reveal schemes to law enforcement, so that more culpable defendants can be prosecuted.

New Jersey Attorney General Chris Porrino said the response to both programs has been very encouraging.

“We’ve received dozens of calls and leads on potential corruption cases which we’re actively investigating now, and we’re very pleased with the response,” he said. “So pleased in fact, that we’ve decided to continue the reward program and the whistleblower program through until Nov. 15 of this year.”

He said when a public official is convicted of corruption based on information provided by a tipster, “each one of them will receive up to $25,000 in reward money. At present we have a number of corruption matters that are being actively investigated, based on the leads that were provided.”

He said criminal forfeiture money will be used to fund this program.

Porrino said “a number of investigations” are underway based on information received for the whistle-blower program, but he did not give a specific number.

He said when it comes to cracking down on all of the corruption going in Jersey, it’s certainly more effective “when our communities are involved, and we’re even more effective and successful, when our communities are incentivized to come forward and help us make cases.”

He stressed law enforcement is not able to uncover every corruption case without help, and so the public is being encouraged to get involved.

“If people want to get more information about either program they can call our Division of Criminal Justice hotline, at 866-TIPS-4-CJ, and they can speak with a corruption detective there, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

Individuals may reach out anonymously, either themselves or through attorneys, to see if they qualify for the whistleblower program before revealing their identity.

You can contact reporter David Matthau at David.Matthau@townsquaremedia.com

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