McGreevey Loyalists Allege Menendez Affair

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The New York Sun

Rep. Robert Menendez, who until yesterday was calling for the immediate resignation of New Jersey’s governor, James McGreevey, because of a homosexual love affair, has had a long-term affair with a female staffer, Mc-Greevey loyalists charge.


The Democratic insiders identified the woman as Kay LiCausi, Mr. Menendez’s former chief of staff, who is a lobbyist and political consultant based in Hoboken.


The insiders said that like some Democrats who recently blasted the now lame-duck governor for hiring alleged gay lover Golan Cipel as his $110,000 a year terrorism tsar, Mr. Menendez’s intimate connections with Ms. LiCausi have resulted in thousands of dollars worth of consultancy and lobbying contracts for Ms. LiCausi’s company, KL Strategies, Inc.


A spokeswoman for Mr. Menendez, Desiree Ramos, would not confirm or deny that the 51-year-old congressman, who sources said left his wife, Jane, 51, and his home in his native Union City more than a year ago to live with Ms. LiCausi, 32, at the luxury Independence at the Shipyard apartment complex in Hoboken, had engaged in an extramarital affair.


Ms. Ramos also declined to comment on accusations that the congressman had acted favorably toward Ms. LiCausi’s clients.


Late yesterday, Mr. Menendez’s office released a vague statement in defense of the allegations attributed to district director Nicholas Chiaravolloti.


“Some people are under pressure and I think it’s a shame that the way they are dealing with this situation is by engaging in personal attacks,” the statement said. “Sadly, I don’t think this serves the interest of our state or our party.”


According to state lobbying records, Ms. LiCausi, who did not return phone calls left at her Hoboken office or residence at the Shipyard, represents clients such as the First Energy Corporation, a public utility company, and Goldman Sachs, the investment giant that built a 40-story office tower on the Jersey City waterfront, the tallest building in the Garden State.


Goldman Sachs did not return calls for comment.


The accusations of impropriety against Mr. Menendez come after a bitter week of party infighting and power jockeying for control of New Jersey’s political future.


Mr. Menendez was widely believed to have wanted to take over the Senate seat of Jon Corzine should Mr. Corzine run for governor in a special election.


Mr. Corzine has said he has declined to ask Mr. McGreevey to step down before his planned November 15 departure.


Mr. Menendez seemed to follow suit yesterday, saying in a morning statement, “Now I believe it is time to move forward.”


Meanwhile, Mr. Cipel denied frantic claims from a former New Jersey college professor that Mr. Cipel was his gay lover.


“I am a lone person struggling against a well-oiled and monstrous machine of lies and manipulations that is working systematically to destroy me,” Mr. Cipel wrote to the Associated Press in Israel. “I imagine that every few days another lie will surface, worse than the one before…all in order to threaten me and silence me.”


Dr. Michael David Miller, 47, of Livingston, N.J., told reporters on Wednesday that he had a homosexual affair with Mr. Cipel.


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