Eric Peterson, the frontman for Jersey Freedom, won’t say who hired him, if anybody, to run the shady independent expenditure group that backed a phantom State Senate candidate in South Jersey in 2023.
“The only thing I can say is you’re going to have to reach out to the lawyer,” Peterson told the New Jersey Globe after being reached on his cell phone. “I know what you’re asking, and I’m choosing to ask you to call the lawyer.”
The attorney for Jersey Freedom, Bill Tambussi, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Peterson was the person who opened up the Jersey Freedom account at a Citibank branch in New York. He presented his identification, signed the signature card, and, as treasurer, filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.
He opened the account with a $50 check from a single donor, Chris Bastardi. He is the business partner of Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky; their firm, BARO Strategies, is based in New York.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office has already launched a criminal investigation into Jersey Freedom after allegations that the independent expenditure committee violated state campaign finance laws. The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission has also begun a probe of the committee.
A 33-year-old Berkeley Heights native who now lives in Jamaica, Queens, Peterson does not appear to have been involved in political campaigns before. Until 2022, Peterson was an accounts payable manager for a Manhattan-based property management company; he had previously worked as a drag makeup artist for “Thank You For Being a Friend: The Golden Girls Musical.”
Still, it’s possible that Peterson was the architect of the tenebrous political group. He might have devised the idea of forming an independent expenditure group independently and then solicited financial support from Bastardi and Brighter Future Forward, a political committee tied to South Jersey Democrats that contributed $225,000. He might have coincidentally retained Tambussi, one of the top election lawyers in the state.
Peterson could be a lone Wolf who hired Blue Perigon, Creative Print Group, and LC Media, the same firms that work for other South Jersey Democratic campaign entities.
Potentially, Peterson could be a good-faith actor who identified Giuseppe Costanzo, the phantom independent Senate candidate in the 4th district last year, and Libertarian Shawn Peck, who challenged State Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township) in the 2nd district, as people he wanted to help elect to the New Jersey Legislature. Peterson might have procured an email list and sent a blast email criticizing Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s record on offshore wind.
Or, Peterson could have been hired by someone else. If so, the person who signed off on direct mail, digital ads, and cable TV commercials remains unknown. Someone else could have solicited the contribution from Bastardi and Brighter Future Forward. And it might be a different person who handled the Van Drew email.
Bastardi did not respond to phone calls, emails, or texts last week.
His attorney, Gerald Krovatin, said Bastardi had no role in the Van Drew email.
According to reports he filed with ELEC, he was paid $5,000 for his brief stint at Jersey Freedom, plus reimbursement of $216 for renting a post office box near his home in Queens.
Just days before the election, Superior Court Judge Michael Blee froze Jersey Freedom’s bank account. It remains frozen until Blee holds his next court hearing on February 1.
Blue Perigon did not respond to questions about who hired them.
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January 13, 2024 at 05:00AM
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Jersey Freedom frontman declines to say who hired him - New Jersey Globe | New Jersey Politics
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