(TRENTON) – Acting Governor Richard J. Codey today named attorney Mary Jane Cooper, an expert in complex fraud investigations, as New Jersey’s first Inspector General.
“Mary Jane has the experience to uncover fraud, the experience to root out mismanagement and the experience to make sure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely,” Codey said. “She is a professional, not a politician. She has unquestioned integrity and superior character and she is willing to ask tough questions and take investigations wherever they go.”
Codey made the announcement during a news conference in the Outer Office of the Statehouse. The appointment is part of a larger effort to restore confidence in the integrity of government.
“I am humbled and honored by the confidence Governor Codey has placed in me,” Cooper said. “I will use the experience and skills that I developed as a state prosecutor and in private practice to bring together a team that will work successfully to uncover waste, mismanagement and fraud.”
A single mom, Cooper raised two children while attending law school at Rutgers University.
Upon graduating in 1979, she began work as Deputy Attorney General at the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. Many of her prosecutions involved white-collar crimes, including insurance fraud, gender-related crimes and false construction claims. These cases involved pyramid schemes and complex document trails created by wrongdoers to conceal their activities, as well as sorting out conflicting witness statements. She was chief attorney of a litigation section and of a newly formed unit to investigate organized crime on the New Jersey waterfront.
In 1989, Cooper joined Stier Anderson, a corporate integrity law firm based in Skillman and headed by Ed Stier, former director of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice.
As a member of the firm, Ms. Cooper conducted numerous investigations into such areasas misuse of corporate assets, procurement fraud, falsification of engineering analyses, mismanagement of safety issues, conflict of interest, discrimination, and retaliation.
During these investigations, she worked closely with experts in nuclear engineering, internal auditors, regulators, members of management, Boards of Directors and Trustees, and public officials, as well as internal and outside counsel representing the client in related legal matters. When appropriate, she has made presentations to regulatory agencies concerning her investigations.
Recently, Cooper has also led the firm's efforts in conducting independent investigations of allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination. Outside counsel have recommended Cooper to more than 20 employers to investigate allegations against high-level managers, and have then used the firm's findings to resolve the matters without litigation. Among those for whom Cooper has conducted these investigations are publicly traded and privately held companies engaged in a variety of businesses as well as government entities.
Cooper, 63, lives in Titusville, Mercer County.
In addition to creating the Inspector General post, Codey in November established a Special Counsel for Ethics Reform, which will conduct a thorough audit of all ethics rules, statutes and codes that apply to executive branch and state authorities employees, and will develop a mandatory ethics- training program.
In December, Codey signed a bill freezing the limits for campaign contributions to state and county political organizations and to leadership political action committees at their current levels. Is co-sponsoring a bill to let municipalities, counties and school boards enact stronger pay-to-play bans. He is also working to codify into law an executive order banning contributions from vendors that do business with state agencies.
Last week, the Acting Governor in his State of the State speech also announced plans to restore the Office of the Public Advocate and proposed an overhaul of the Executive Commission on Ethics.
