By Patricia Alex, Staff Writer, The Record
The agency that investigates public waste and misconduct in New Jersey has launched an inquiry into Kean University’s purchase of a $219,000 Chinese-made conference table, two sources familiar with the probe said Friday.
The investigation by the state Comptroller’s Office was prompted by news, first reported in The Record last month, that the public university had waived competitive bidding in purchasing the multimedia table, one of the sources said.
Meanwhile, the contract with the manufacturer – recently released by Kean under an Open Public Records Act request – shows that Kean agreed to pay the travel expenses, room and board for three workers from the Shanghai Rongma Office Furniture company in China to come to Union Township to install, and then modify, the 22-foot-diameter circular table.
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