Carla Katz's brother-in-law pitching book on Corzine

Rocco Riccio, a self-described former "street thug," is trying to publish a book about his one-time friendship with Gov. Corzine, promising to expose details of the governor's breakup with former labor leader Carla Katz.

Riccio, who is married to Katz's sister Genise, blames the governor for ending his state career, for trouble in his personal life, and for financial ruin, according to an outline and partial rough draft of the untitled book.

Riccio bitterly describes Corzine's staff members as "harsh," calling them "henchmen" who coldly destroyed him because he was "no longer a valued asset for the governor's political ambitions."

"It is my turn to punch back by telling the truth," he declares in his opening chapter.

Riccio's book proposal comes as Corzine seeks election to a second term as New Jersey's governor. Although polls put him in a potentially tight race with Republican candidate Christopher J. Christie, New Jersey has favored Democrats in recent years.

Through spokesman Robert Corrales, Corzine declined to comment.

In the book proposal, Riccio promises to detail what he knows about the Corzine-Katz relationship, as well as explain why Corzine, a multimillionaire former chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, reportedly gave Katz millions of dollars in a settlement after the pair broke up.

Corzine has tried to distance himself from both Katz and Riccio. Last month, he won an appeals court ruling to keep secret hundreds of pages of e-mails between himself and Katz, and paid Riccio $362,000 in an undisclosed settlement of a never-filed lawsuit in September.

Still, Riccio is pursuing the book, talking with an agent he met through a mutual friend, and seeking a co-writer. Riccio said he also was pursuing a civil-rights complaint aimed at getting his state job back.

In the book proposal, obtained by The Inquirer from an independent source, Riccio writes, "I truly believe the public has the right to know the truth behind all the secrets and ambiguous positions the governor has taken on these so-called personal questions. . . . The citizens have the right to know the true character of the person they voted governor. They need to hear from a person who for three years had a very close personal and professional connection to this man and his staff."

As a state worker, Riccio became acquainted with Corzine through Katz. When he became a political liability to Corzine, Riccio says, the governor told him to resign his job at the Department of the Treasury. Riccio went to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, a job he says he quit in 2006 under the governor's advice and with promises of a job in the private sector.

At the time, there were rumors that Riccio used his access to state tax records to find dirt on Corzine's enemies. But Riccio has steadfastly denied that and notes he was never charged with wrongdoing.

Without a state income, Riccio says, he fell into financial ruin. He said Corzine never came through on promises to find him a job.

Corzine personally gave Riccio $15,000 in 2007. Desperate to get Corzine's attention and to embarrass him, Riccio said, he went to the Newark Star-Ledger and told a reporter there about the $15,000 payment.

In September, the governor wrote him a check for $362,000 and got Riccio to sign a confidentiality agreement restricting him from discussing the settlement of that never-filed lawsuit, according to the Star-Ledger. Riccio declined to discuss that payment.

He has little affection for his sister-in-law, Katz, who "never really trusted me. I guess because of my political affiliations."

Riccio is a Republican.

Katz declined to comment.

In the book proposal, he recounts a scene in which Katz had Corzine, former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, and former Gov. Jim McGreevey lift the Torah at her son's bar mitzvah.

However, Booker and Corzine were not at the event, and it was her daughter's bat mitzvah, not her son's bar mitzvah. Neither Riccio nor his wife was at the bat mitzvah. Additionally, non-Jews are not permitted to touch the Torah unless in rare circumstances where they are relatives or very close friends, said Rabbi Bonnie Goldberg of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, who directs the Center for Jewish Life and Learning.

Katz and Corzine met in 1999, and they dated between 2002 and 2004, becoming engaged at some point in the relationship. Corzine separated from his wife in 2002, and they divorced in 2003.

Katz headed the Communications Workers of America Local 1034 until the national CWA removed her in July on allegations that she misused union funds in her election campaign to unseat a rival and conducted union business without proper approval from members. She is suing to reverse her removal.

Katz raised the ire of Chris Shelton, District 1 vice president, and leaders of other CWA locals representing state workers in 2007. During the talks, she broke from her negotiating committee and began communicating via e-mails with her ex-fiance, the governor, and later urged members to vote against the settlement.

Riccio promises in the book proposal to explain the e-mails, saying, "I will also detail the secret issues all the New Jersey voters have been speculating. Why did Corzine give his ex-girlfriend all the gifts he did?"

There were happier times, though, between Riccio and Corzine, he writes. In the book draft, he acknowledges that knowing Corzine had been helpful to his career. When word of the friendship got out, "I began receiving preferential treatment. A transfer that I had requested all of a sudden was approved."

Riccio, a bearded, broad-shouldered 46-year-old, grew up in Trenton's Italian enclave of Chambersburg and describes himself as a former "street thug" given to a few "youthful indiscretions." He became politically active in 1993 when a Trenton pizza parlor he owned went bust. He blamed the policies of former Gov. Jim Florio and became active in Republican Christie Whitman's successful gubernatorial campaign.

After Whitman won, Riccio in 1994 got a job as a driver in the Department of the Treasury. He was promoted to furniture-mover and went to college to study accounting. He eventually became a tax auditor. In 2005, he left Treasury for the Department of Human Services as an administrative analyst and transferred back to Treasury for a manager's position. He left state employment in early 2007.

Riccio believes he was helpful to Corzine's political career by introducing him to Philadelphia-style sports. An avid Eagles fan, Riccio said he arranged to get Corzine on WIP sports-talk radio; Riccio believes that benefited Corzine because he wasn't well-known to WIP's listeners.

Also, Riccio said he worked his Republican contacts during Corzine's 2005 gubernatorial campaign to find out what attacks they were preparing to launch against his friend.

But as much as the two men may have helped each other in the past, the present is pretty clear: Riccio is openly angry, and Corzine won't talk.

Reflecting on their relationship, Riccio writes: "Unfortunately, I enjoyed the adulation, and this may have triggered an inner ambition that I wanted to become a person of worth. Maybe this is why I put myself in a position that drew so much attention."