New Jersey state officials are beginning to discuss how to manage the spending of their portion of the $50.5 billion Sandy relief package that was approved by the Senate yesterday, and some officials are concerned there are not adequate controls in place to monitor how the money is spent. 

The combination of a rush to get shore communities ready by Memorial Day and a  massive infusion of Federal money sets the stage for potential fraud and corruption, according to former New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey.

"What you are going to have is some public officials in certain towns wanting to see their towns rebuilt quickly," Harvey said. "You are going to have a lot of cash coming into these towns. So you are going to have to watch how this cash is spent."

Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney has introduced a bill to establish independent integrity monitors similar to the ones put in place by Mayor Giuliani to oversee  the World Trade Center rebuilding. A spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie said the governor had not seen the legislation but was committed to ensuring the Federal aid money was properly spent.

In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita,   the Federal government  paid out  as much as $1.4 billion dollars in unsubstantiated or fraudulent claims, according to the non-partisan U.S. General Accounting Office,

As part of the lengthy deliberations over the Sandy relief bill,  both the House and Senate added additional oversight mechanisms to track how effectively  the Federal money is spent.