Posted on 04/21/2007 2:33:49 PM PDT by jdm
State Police are investigating whether a trooper was communicating with a girlfriend's estranged husband while driving Gov. Jon S. Corzine on the night of a crash that left the governor seriously injured, according to a published report.Davy Jones, president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association, told The Star-Ledger of Newark that investigators want to know if trooper Robert Rasinski was communicating with the man, either on his phone or with mobile e-mail, while he was driving Corzine, or just before.
State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes confirmed in a statement to The Star-Ledger that the department was "in receipt of an allegation made against Trooper Robert Rasinski and will look further into the matter."
The inquiry will determine whether the accusation plays a role in the accident investigation, or if it should be handled as an internal affairs investigation, Fuentes said.
Efforts by the Associated Press to contact Jones and Rasinski on Saturday were unsuccessful. And Lt. Gerald Lewis, a state police spokesman, would not comment further on the matter.
Corzine broke 11 ribs, his sternum, a leg, collarbone, and a vertebra in the April 12 crash. The governor remained in intensive care at Cooper University Hospital in Camden on Saturday, but has started talking with family members and doctors and is even drinking some clear liquids.
Rasinski suffered minor injuries in the crash and stayed overnight at the hospital. He has been on medical leave since. The trooper has been under scrutiny for allowing the governor to ride without a seat belt, a violation of state law, and for dashing with emergency lights flashing at 91 mph in a 65 mph zone.
Fuentes has previously said a state police review board would decide Rasinski's responsibility, if any, for both his driving speed and Corzine's failure to wear a seat belt.
According to Jones, the head of the troopers union, the new accusation against Rasinski involves an e-mail the girlfriend's estranged husband sent Rasinski about the same time as the crash. Jones, though, insisted that Rasinski couldn't have seen the message.
"I can tell you, they don't get BlackBerrys. Only the supervisors get BlackBerrys," Jones said.
Rasinski has waived privacy rights in the case, and has expressed a willingness for investigators to review his e-mails and phone calls to exonerate himself, Jones said.
Rasinski has been dating a woman whose husband, whom Jones described as a police officer from Union County. The man is bitter about getting divorced and "wants his pound of flesh," Jones said.
"Understandably, it's being investigated," Jones said.
Sounds like someone may be trying to set this guy up to take a harder fall.
Corzine should have worn seatbelt...case closed.
What about the guy that hit him ?
In addition I doubt the police officer was doing 90+ mph absent prodding from the ‘Gov.
Ex-husband. Sounds like Alec Baldwin.
Or was this perhaps; a more common occurence. . .
The Governor knew how fast they were going if he was sitting in the front seat and he knew he didnt have a seatbelt on.
If the trooper who was driving is messing with the wife of another police officer, they can settle that later.
I read earlier this week...that the red truck guy that they said hit him, was really trying to get over when he saw the lights of the car that Corzine was in blinking behind him.
They think that when he went to get over, Corzine’s car either clipped IT...or they lost control when going around the red car.
IOW...the red truck guy didn’t hit him.
Yeah -- as Howie Carr put it, if the trooper had insisted on keeping to the speed limit (never mind "making" Corzine wear a seatbelt), he'd soon find himself patrolling the men's rooms at highway rest areas.
Lots of wholes in the official story. The girl in the back walks away while the Governor had on no seat belt.
In the meantime, the NJ pension scandal simmers...
To quote Winston Churchill:"It makes no differences whether it was the monkey or the organ grinder. They were both on the corner at the time." (then referring to political intrigue within his own party)
And what was that EMERGENCY they were going to?
Methinks the seat belt wasn’t the only thing that Corzine had unbuckled.
The trooper may get his pension if he's lucky and a black mark on his record.
I heard there was a woman in the back seat..but that is all I heard.
The “emergency” was Corzine’s hosting of the meeting between Imus and the Rutger’s girl’s basketball team at the Governor’s mansion.
Is Rasinski his mamma??
Maybe he also should have made sure that Corzine was strapped into a child safety seat?
Who was she? Picture?
I haven’t even heard definitively that there WAS a woman, let alone seen a picture.
Methinks there is going to be more and more “leak” out on this.
You’re right. This Cop is going to get a royal screwing—whether he deserves it or not.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.