The State Attorney General’s Office is investigating Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone (D-Bayonne) for allegedly forging signatures of Assembly aides on paychecks and cashing them, according to a Jersey Journal report.
Chiappone told the newspaper that detectives interviewed one current and five former Assembly aides, showing them copies of canceled checks and asking them to verify their signatures. He said that he is going to the Attorney General’s office today without a lawyer to answer any questions they have.
In 2005, a former campaign worker for Chiappone, Michael Albanese, filed a police report accusing the Assemblyman of forging his signatures and depositing a $180 check. At the time, Chiappone said that the check was mixed up with his mail and accidentally deposited by his wife. Albanese later retracted his allegation and was charged with filing a false report, but worked for Chiappone’s 2007 reelection campaign.
Chiappone recently gave up his seat on the Bayonne City Council as part of a deal to keep the Hudson County Democratic Organization's (HCDO) support for his reelection to the assembly.
