The Star Ledger had an eye opening reminder of the connections between Herb Stern and Chris Christie dating back to Christie initially getting the job and leading up to the conclusion of his tenure with his actions just before leaving office. Let's recap and look at who supported Christie when he first got the US Attorney job while many did not:
Herbert Stern was one of the few prominent lawyers who initially supported Christie as he came under widespread fire for his lack of law-enforcement experience when he became U.S. attorney in 2002.
In 2005, former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie gave Herbert Stern and his law firm, Stern & Kilcullen, a $3 million no-bid contract to monitor the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Dec. 2005 as part of a deferred prosecution agreement after the institution admitted to committing Medicare fraud. Christie considers Stern a "mentor," according to the New York Times.
Before leaving the U.S. Attorney's office, Christie hired Samuel Stern, the son of Herbert Stern, to work as a federal prosecutor.
During his Republican primary campaign for governor, Chris Christie accepted $23,800 in campaign contributions from the principals and spouses of Stern & Kilcullen, the firm to which Christie had given a $3 million contract to monitor UMDNJ.
Herbert Stern and his wife each gave $3,400 to Chris Christie's gubernatorial campaign, as did John Inglesino and his wife. Inglesino, a lawyer at Stern & Kilcullen, had served as Stern's chief counsel in the UMDNJ case.
Now questions were raised about the hiring and these contributions in the primary, but Christie shrugged them off as just politics. There has also been plenty of talk about Inglesino's role and actions.
As time goes by however, we find out more details of the lengths Christie went to make sure Stern's son was hired:
Typically, candidates are subject to several rounds of interviews, meeting first with three rank-and-file prosecutors. If that goes well, they meet with three division supervisors. The final interview is typically with the U.S. attorney or a top deputy.
In Stern's case, he performed poorly in his first round, and none of the rank-and-file assistants who interviewed him recommended that he be hired, the officials said. He was given the unusual opportunity for a second chance with three different rank-and-file assistants, but again received negative reviews, the officials said.
Then on Friday, Nov. 14 - after Stern had met with just two supervisors - Christie offered him the job, the officials said. The following Monday, Christie announced his own resignation.
Just how poorly did the younger Stern do in the interview:
Christie hired Samuel Stern over objections from nearly every assistant U.S. attorney who interviewed him, according to three federal law enforcement officials with knowledge of the hiring process.
They contended Stern, who at the time was two years out of law school, lacked the experience to become a federal prosecutor, the officials said. And before hiring him, Christie took the unusual step of changing the interview process after receiving negative reviews, according to the officials who spoke to The Star-Ledger on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter.
This looks like a parting shot for Christie right before he left office. And he changed the rules to make sure it happens. Now it can be one set of rules for himself, another for everyone else, unless he wants to change them to the rules he wants. Maybe that was the cherry on top of the sundae?
