NJ Gov. James McGreevey gave in to critics and agreed on July 24 to reimburse the Intl. Longshoremen's Assn. (ILA) for flying him and his family to Puerto Rico. During the planned 5-day visit, McGreevey was the keynote speaker at the ILA's national convention in San Juan. The ILA has contributed more than $100,000 to Democrats in NJ since McGreevey began his run for governor.
McGreevey's own spokesman admitted that ILA president John Bowers' announcement that the ILA might soon be hit with fed. racketeering charges “was a bit of a bombshell for the governor.” After his Tuesday speech, McGreevey cut short the trip, announcing that he would return to NJ for the funeral of a close friend's daughter. Two days later, he promised to find out how much the ILA had paid for his airfare and hotel stay and reimburse the union
