Payola in New Jersey

Will this get as much media attention as Ohio's CoinGate?

Individuals close to the probe told The Philadelphia Inquirer for Sunday's editions that the FBI is examining investigative files removed from the state Division of Criminal Justice, including a file related to the 2000 congressional campaign of Susan Bass Levin. She recently left a state post to become the Corzine campaign's operations chief.

The FBI took the files earlier this month after U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced that his office was taking over a state investigation into JCA Associates Inc., amid accusations that New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey squelched the probe to protect prominent Democrats with ties to the Moorestown firm.

Harvey denies the claim.

Middletown engineering firm T&M Associates acquired JCA and its 80 employees early this year, turning JCA's former Moorestown headquarters into a regional office.

The state investigation focused on whether JCA had illegally reimbursed employees for donations to federal campaigns, including Levin's.

Don't hold your breath...Democrats are involved in this one...including Sen. Corzine...