Why Did Corzine Give Katz More Than $6 million?

According to a report in the New York Times, Jon Corzine gave Carla Katz a financial settlement that exceeded $6 million.

They have repeatedly declined to disclose the total amount or specific contours of the financial agreement their lawyers negotiated upon their breakup in 2004, but lawyers familiar with the settlement and union officials who conferred with Ms. Katz during the negotiations — all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of political retribution — disclosed for the first time that it exceeded $6 million.

That August, when Gov. James E. McGreevey announced his resignation, Mr. Corzine instantly became the favorite to succeed him. The couple was in the midst of breaking up, one former confidante and colleague said, and Ms. Katz threatened to stage a news conference designed to embarrass Mr. Corzine, but soon calmed down.

After several months of detailed discussion by their lawyers, the parties agreed on the financial package in November 2004. It remains unclear what, if anything, Ms. Katz provided in exchange.

He is alternately viewed as afraid of what she might say about him, or simply as a rich and generous man who considered the relationship significant enough to warrant helping her maintain the lifestyle they had shared.

Rich and generous does not require negotiations though lawyers. Afraid of what Katz has on Corzine and buying her silence does. And ask yourself, why is this information coming out now and whose camp is the most likely source of these new revelations? Clearly, there’s no advantage for Corzine’s camp to divulge this information.

Update: Red Generation has more here