Hugin last year praised Trump on national TV.īut Hugin mentioned Trump just once during his remarks on Tuesday, saying he will be “an independent voice for New Jersey in Washington.” Hugin was also a supporter of President Donald Trump, donating more than $200,000 to a pro-Trump super PAC and the RNC during the 2016 election. I learned that leaders go to where the problems are to make a difference,” Hugin said of his experience in the Marine Corps.Ĭelgene had several ties to the Christie administration and Hugin is close with Bill Palatucci, a confidant of the former Republican governor. Today, he has two sons who are Marine officers. He went to Princeton on a full scholarship, then joined the Marines. Hugin grew up in Union City - also Menendez’s hometown - and was the first member of his family to attend college. “You meet cancer patients, you know who you work for.” It gave a new sense of mission and purpose of my life,” he said. He said the company is on the “verge of curing several cancers” and has created thousands of jobs in New Jersey. “Bob Hugin is the very definition of a robber baron - a ruthless and unscrupulous businessman.”īut Hugin said he’s proud of his work at Celgene, which he said was near bankrupt when he first joined it. “I intend to do everything in my power to be sure people in New Jersey know that Bob Hugin made millions by exploiting people fighting cancer and taking advantage of poor people on Medicare,” David Mitchell, a cancer patient who took a Celgene drug and founded the organization Patients for Affordable Drugs, said in a statement. (Melgen was convicted of Medicare fraud in a separate trial that did not involve Menendez).Ĭelgene also made news last year for “aggressively” raising prices on cancer drugs during Hugin’s leadership and was cited in a Bloomberg report for keeping more than three-quarters of its cash overseas. Medicare abuse was also at the center of Menendez’s corruption trial, with prosecutors alleging he went to bat for Melgen so that Melgen would not have to pay back millions for overbilling Medicare for “multi-dosing” an expensive eye drug. Last summer, Celgene paid $280 million to settle a lawsuit that charged it committed fraud by re-purposing a leprosy drug for unapproved cancer treatments and that it filed false claims with Medicare. 5 after working there for nearly two decades - has its own controversies that threaten to blunt his anti-corruption message. Hugin’s former employer, Summit-based Celgene - from which he retired as executive chairman on Feb. “He must be and he will be held accountable by the voters this November.” I’m embarrassed about how people think about New Jersey based on Senator Menendez’s behavior,” Hugin said. The trial - in which Menendez was accused of doing favors for Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen in exchange for political contributions, private jet flights and lavish vacations - damaged the senator’s standing in the polls, with a majority of voters saying he doesn’t deserve reelection. The Department of Justice announced last month that it will not retry Menendez. Menendez faced a 2 1/2-month corruption trial last fall that ended in a hung jury, with 10 of 12 jurors favoring acquittal on most counts against New Jersey’s senior senator. He’s violated the public trust and, at the same time, he’s failed the people of New Jersey.” “I have to tell you I am offended by Senator Menendez’s actions. “This campaign is going to be a contrast - a stark contrast in candidates,” Hugin, 63, said at an Elks lodge in Springfield, Union County.
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