Subject: Corzine pays fine for no seat belt: By THOMAS BARLAS Staff Writer, The Press; Gov. Jon S. Corzine voluntarily paid a $46 fine Tuesday for violating state law by not wearing a seat belt in his near-fatal car accident on the Garden State Parkway in Atlantic Co-unty last month. Corzine spokesman Anthony Coley said Corzine met with State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes, state Attorney General Stuart Rabner, and two State Police investigators for a half-hour Tuesday at the governor's mansion in Princeton to discuss the April 12 accident. As the meeting ended, Co-ley said, Corzine asked Fuentes for a ticket. He said Fuentes wrote one and Corzine wrote a check for $46. A few hours earlier, Mullica Township resident Larry Angel appeared in Galloway Township Municipal Court, telling a judge he was dropping the complaint he filed earlier in an attempt to have Corzine charged for failing to wear his seat belt during the accident. Corzine left Cooper University Hospital in Camden on Monday, tearfully apologizing to the state for having set a “very poor example,” adding, “I certainly hope the state will forgive me.” “I was totally moved,” Angel said of Corzine's apology, adding, “They weren't crocodile tears.” Angel told Municipal Court Judge Christopher Brown that he also was dropping the complaint because Corzine was taking “ownership” for his mistake, something he said the governor's administration seemed to be ducking after the accident. Angel also apologized to the court for creating what he called a “circus” around Tuesday's court proceedings. That “circus” included news vans lined up outside the municipal building, and television cameras in the courtroom. Municipal court staff reserved one row of seats in the courtroom for the media, who sat through some video arraignments — including the arraignment of one man who told Brown to “have a nice day” after he set up an acceptable fine payment schedule — before Angel's case was heard. “I hope you enjoyed your 15 minutes,” Brown told Angel. “I'm glad it's over,” Angel replied. But it wasn't: News crews followed Angel outside of the municipal building to question him further about his decision to file the seat belt complaint. “I guess you're going to make it 17 minutes,” Angel said. Angel said he still believed he did the right thing by filing the complaint, as “word on the street” made it seem as through Corzine would escape the ticket that average folks probably would receive. Angel said he hasn't been contacted by the governor's office in connection with his complaint. When asked if Corzine should be cited for failing to wear a seat belt, Angel replied, “That's for some one else to decide.” Angel was asked by a reporter to describe himself. “A loudmouth?” another reporter asked. “I've been called that at times,” Angel replied. Corzine suffered 11 broken ribs and fractured his left femur during the accident. His SUV was traveling 91 miles per hour at the time, and its emergency lights were flashing. The crash occurred when a truck pulled out of the way of the governor's motorcade and then moved back into the right lane to avoid hitting a mile marker. That caused another vehicle to hit the governor's SUV, which went out of control and hit a guardrail. Tom Shea, Corzine's chief of staff, said after the accident that Corzine should be ticketed for failing to wear a seat belt. Coley said the $46 check will be sent by overnight mail to a municipal court in Galloway Township, Atlantic County, where the accident occurred. A special state police review board began investigating the accident on Monday. It will consider whether the accident was preventable and, if so, Corzine's driver may face either training or disciplinary actions.