TOMS RIVER, NJ – As Republicans push back on student loan debt forgiveness, one prominent attorney and New Jersey Republican Assemblyman is keeping quiet, at least publicly.
New Jersey Assemblyman Republican Greg McGuckin, a partner in the firm Dasti, Murphy and McGuckin reported a total of $1.6 million government contracts in 2020 and $1.7 million in 2021, but during the pandemic, McGuckin’s firm applied for a $196,174 payment protection loan for his business.
That loan was forgiven by the federal government. That loan went to pay for employees at the business who make an average of $39,000 annually and split among 24 different jobs.
It’s no wonder why you don’t hear McGuckin crying foul when it comes to a $10,000 student loan debt forgiveness program in Washington. It could also be that a few years earlier, McGuckin was levied nearly $200,000 in tax liens by the IRS. Those liens forced him to withdraw from a campaign where he was running for council in Toms River.
During the pandemic, the firm maintained business as usual more than most New Jerseyans as government meetings were held and McGuckin continued to bill his municipal government clients. He was even given a huge job during the pandemic by the township of Toms River, who hired his as the director of public law.
After being hired by Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill, McGuckin’s annual take from the township increased from just under $50,000 per year to over $142,000 according to records on file with the state of New Jersey.
Lately, McGuckin was found to have used funds from the Ocean County GOP to spy on his boss, councilman Justin Lamb. McGuckin funnelled $8,000 through Toms River lawyer Kevin Riordan, with the approval of Toms River Council President Kevin Geohegan to spy on Lamb and his wife Ashely, a Toms River School Board member.
Don’t get too mad at McGuckin, he’s not the only politician in New Jersey to get hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal loans washed away. We’ll be covering each case of which New Jersey elected officials took PPP loans and had them forgiven, but are now clamoring against student loan debt forgiveness.
