Sources say that Dunlap was involved in the Gordon reassignment, and that Gordon did not want to leave her old post. Another source said that Gordon made a personal appeal to Corzine to save her job, but was told it was out of his hands. Dunlap is an attorney and one of Corzine's closest personal friends, but she has no formal role in state government.
In the Star-Ledger's Auditor column last week, Corzine spokeswoman Lilo Stainton suggested that there is not much to the Gordon story.
"We have even helped her pursuing a number of opportunities," Stainton told the newspaper. "The timing is ironic. There's no cause-and-effect here."