Dennis Robinson, head of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) state regulatory agency, has come under fire for taking an all expenses paid trip to the Super Bowl last year in Phoenix.
Travel documents show Robinson charged the NJSEA close to $5,000 for the trip, not including airfare. That price tag does, however, include a $900 ticket to the game and a $405 a night hotel room he stayed at for six days. The NJSEA, which receives millions of dollars of state funds from taxpayers, pays Robinson $250,000 a year.
Critics are calling the trip public waste.
?They?re not the owner of the team ? they?re the landlord of the team,? says Sen. Marcia Karrow (R). ?The Giants pay rent there ? I think it?s outrageous that they should take advantage of the situation.?
Robinson has fired back at his critics for labeling his division ?landlords? and says he was at the mega-event on business. According to Robinson, it would have been insulting to have not gone.
?We're a lot more than a landlord,? says Robinson. ?We're the operator. We're a marketing partner. This isn't anything but carrying out our mission and our core function.?
The NJSEA is also catching flack for reimbursing executives for alcohol, a possible violation of state rules. Robinson argues his agency is unlike any other. He says it?s the cost of enticing horse owners to race in New Jersey.
?It would be very difficult to say we'll pick up your lunch but we won't pay for your beer,? he says.Karrow still says that sort of policy is unheard of.
?All I can tell you is I have never heard of the government allowing or paying for alcohol,? she says.