New Jersey to investigate EnCap project

TRENTON, N.J., Feb. 28 (UPI) -- New Jersey Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper has asked the state's Division of Criminal Justice to investigate a state-backed development project.

Taxpayers stand to lose $50 million if the 785-acre EnCap project fails, the New Jersey Star Ledger reported Thursday.

The EnCap project, including a golf course, a hotel and thousands of homes, was begun in 2004, but has run into a series of delays on environmental issues and funding difficulties, the newspaper said.

In January, the New Jersey Attorney General's office gave EnCap, which is managed by developer Donald Trump, until May to clean up the polluted property, which is on massive landfills in the Meadowlands area.

Trump was hired to oversee the EnCap project in November for a $15 million fee. His contract runs until 2010.

The developer, EnCap Golf Holdings, is controlled by Cherokee Investment Partners, a North Carolina-based private equity company.