Christie Tied to Troubled Company

Community Education Centers, a large New Jersey company that plays a major role in the state’s corrections system, was plagued by financial woes so severe over the past four years that it nearly filed for bankruptcy in 2010, new documents reveal—and it was a cause championed by the famously tight-fisted governor, Chris Christie. The halfway-house operator, which runs facilities as large as prisons in New Jersey, defaulted on its debt soon before Christie took office in January 2010. William J. Palatucci, Community Education’s senior vice president, is one of Christie’s closest friends and advisers, which could explain why Christie championed the company and approved the funneling of tens of millions of dollars into its services even as the company was in crisis and fended off creditors, the documents reveal.