Corzine Uses Private Eyes

Senate hopeful Jim Florio has lashed out at Democratic rival Jon Corzine for using private detectives in their primary campaign.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Florio called the move "deplorable and unacceptable" and said it typifies the arrogance of Corzine, a former Wall Street executive who might end up spending an unprecedented $33 million before the June 6 primary.

"His spending is obscene and what he's spending money on is despicable," Florio said. "He apparently will say anything, pay anything and now we find out do anything in order to get elected."

Florio, a former New Jersey governor, claimed operatives hired by Corzine's attorney called several of his staff members asking for personal information about him, his family and key advisers. Florio said the investigators were involved with the campaign against tobacco company informant Jeffrey Wigand.

"This is not the way we do things in this country," he said. "It sounds like the KGB."

Corzine said he was unaware his attorney had hired the investigators. Corzine hired the lawyer, Stanley S. Arkin, this year after people were photographing his home and calling his family, said Corzine campaign spokesman Steven Goldstein.

"Jon simply instructed his attorney to get to the bottom of this," Goldstein said. "Jon thinks his attorney overreached, but his attorney had to protect the interests of the Corzine family."

Arkin did not immediately return calls for comment.

Florio said hiring a private investigator is beyond the bounds of the normal opinion research done by political campaigns. Florio repeatedly denied using similar tactics and said he never investigated the private lives of opponents or their families.

Florio said he found out about the private investigators three weeks ago when he was contacted by a former employee. But Florio waited to address the issue until Tuesday, the day after The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Corzine's campaign paid for the investigators.

Rider University political science professor David Rebovich said the use of private investigators is not uncommon. Widely available handbooks tell campaign managers to hire them, he said.

What is unusual is the extent to which the Corzine campaign appears to have used them, Rebovich said.

"It's a matter of proportionality," he said. "It represents overkill."