A profiteer might bow out

It looks as if state Sen. Wayne R. Bryant, D-Camden - undoubtedly the worst example of a legislator who profits from his public service - may be ready to step out of public life. But not before claiming an annual pension of $83,000, about half of his last three years' worth of salaries from four public-funded jobs. Of course, one of them -- at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey for $35,000 -- has been exposed by UMDNJ's federal monitor as a no-work job.

Although Bryant hasn't said he won't seek re-election to the Senate, filing for his pension offers a strong hint. His constituents may miss him for all the money he has funneled to his Camden area district, but residents elsewhere won't miss him or the legacy he'll leave behind. If the legislators ever get around to banning dual officeholding and pension-padding, in addition to stiffening nepotism rules, the public can give a nod to Bryant for providing so much good material for newspapers like the Press in our campaign for ethics reform.