Today’s Paul Mulshine article,

. . . The governor’s a real prince explains briefly the current Machiavelli story,

[McGreevy] was trying to talk his way out of the mess he had gotten into in his home county. It seems that one of his key fund-raisers had been indicted for being a bit too aggressive in seeking campaign contributions. The owner of the last farm in Piscataway had been persuaded to pony up $40,000 in cash and checks in return for getting a better buyout deal from the government.

According to the indictment, the go-between went between the farm owner and the governor last year in a meeting in a hallway in the East Brunswick Hilton. The farmer was allegedly told that any government official using the term “Machiavellian” was in on the deal. And sure enough, James E. McGreevey was secretly taped making a reference to Niccolo Machiavelli during the brief chat with farmer Mark Halper.

McGreevey is maintaining his use of the term “Machiavellian” in that conversation was entirely coincidental. “If someone described certain strategies or tactics to me, yes, I would use that word and I have used that word,” McGreevey told his radio. hosts.

Halper believes he could have sold his farm to developers for $10 million, but the goverment wanted to pay him just $4.3million.