Robert P. Corsa

Passaic County's veterans representative, Robert P. Corsa, has quit after a short, rocky term marked by controversy.

Appointed to a newly created post in 2001, Corsa was a Vietnam War veteran and longtime veterans' advocate who enjoyed the support of the ruling Democrats for most of his term.But he became a favorite target of the Republican opposition, particularly Freeholder Walter W. Porter, who argued that he was being paid too much to do little.

County Administrator James V. Convery confirmed that Corsa had resigned effective last Friday.
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Corsa could not be reached for comment.A woman answering his telephone number Monday in Clifton said he no longer lives at the address.

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Corsa, a Clifton resident who had been among Democratic Rep.
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In June, Porter stepped up his protests when it came to light that Corsa had changed his American Legion affiliation from a post in Clifton to one in Delaware.

Porter charged that the move seemed to show Corsa was collecting a Passaic County paycheck despite having moved out of the state - which also seemed to explain why Corsa was not in his office very much.The freeholder said last week that the recent resignation shows he was correct about Corsa's relocation.He said he would demand further investigation to ensure that Corsa was not holding another job while working for the county.

Administration officials, however, have defended Corsa's performance.They said he continued to live in Clifton, even though he was spending more time at a residence in Delaware because he had friends and family nearby.

Democratic Freeholder Lois Cuccinello has attributed Porter's criticisms to a grudge against Vietnam veterans.Porter, a World War II veteran, has denied that, saying he was only relaying the complaints of area veterans.

"We've had veterans traveling to Bergen and Morris counties and being refused services, because it's too crowded," Robert P. Corsa, Passaic County's veterans' advocate, told the committee."This [a Passaic clinic] will alleviate the need for them to travel there, or to East Orange or over to New York," Corsa said.