Did Torricelli Accept Gifts From David Chang?
Senate, Justice Department Continue Probe Of N.J. Senator
At a store in Englewood, N.J., there are records that show that a big screen television was purchased for $1,695.
Those records, which are now in the hands of the Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee, show that Asian fund-raiser David Chang paid for the television on Nov. 4, 1998 - and that expensive TV was delivered to the then-home of Sen. Robert Torricelli, the records show.
However, Torricelli insists he never took any gifts from Chang. In a statement, Torricelli said: "We have said from the beginning that when this concludes it will answer these questions and we remain confident that this is the case... We will not respond to unfounded and irresponsible leaks and rumors."
Chang, who is a convicted fund-raiser now in jail, claims he gave Torricelli thousands of dollars in cash and gifts, including an antique clock for $3,600. The senator denies it all.
So who should the investigators believe?
"Could Sen. Torricelli explain how he paid $3,600 in cash for an antique clock in Lambertville, N.J., with Mr. Chang present when Torricelli had not made a cash withdrawal from his own accounts totaling that amount for the last six months?" asks a Justice Department official who insisted on anonymity. "But Mr. Chang made that exact withdrawal that very Wednesday."
On Capitol Hill, the Senate Ethics Committee is reviewing Torricelli's sworn statements. Chang has asked to tell his story to the committee. But when asked if the committee would question witnesses other than Torricelli, the committee chairman, Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, then wondered "who would we interview?"
At the New Jersey stores where some of the gifts in question were bought, merchants said they have not heard from the ethics panel. One store owner said Chang bought a $450 diamond pendant at his shop. The owner said that he cooperated with the Federal Bureau of Investigations a couple of years ago, but he does not know if Chang's purchase wound up going to Torricelli or any of his girlfriends.
"It's definitely not something that you give a senator to bribe him or turn his opinion in your favor," the storeowner said.
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