'Politics as usual' in NJ

Chicago and New Orleans contend for the title of Most Corrupt Democrat-Run City in America, but in terms of state-level Democratic corruption, no one can compete with New Jersey:

Federal prosecutors on Monday began laying out their case to jurors that former state Sen. Wayne Bryant took a bribe when he received a no-work job at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
His defense lawyer challenged that assertion in his opening statement in a corruption trial that is expected to last six to eight weeks, saying Bryant did nothing nefarious, he was just conducting politics as usual in the Garden State. . . .
Bryant, 60, faces 12 charges in all and could face several years in prison if he is convicted. . . .
The central claim of the government's case is that UMDNJ created a job for Bryant that involved practically no work, but paid him $35,000 per year and increased his state pension. In return, Bryant would use his position as chairman of the important Senate budget committee to get more money for the school.

No-show jobs for well-connected Democrats? "Politics as usual in the Garden State"!