administration officials that he should leave his position last year but remained on the job until Oct. 2. He had told Delgado-Polanco when she was hired over the summer that he was leaving the authority because the commute was “killing him,” he wanted to spend more time with his family and he had job offers in Bergen County, where he’s from. He agreed to stay on through her transition but told Delgado-Polanco he had to leave by the end of October. She said she was not certain why he had that deadline and was not told when she was hired about the allegation against Alvarez.

That Alvarez remained on the job so long surprised Murphy campaign attorney Jonathan Berkon, he testified Tuesday, because he had discussed with Platkin —and told Brennan — in June that Alvarez would be leaving government. Berkon said he expected that the separation would happen at a "reasonably fast pace."

But he said he did not follow up with Platkin between June and October. He acknowledged under questioning from the panel that perhaps he should have checked back in with the administration to see if Alvarez had left.

"It seems, unfortunately, that it was a trend that no follow-ups were done," said Assemblywoman Eliana Pinto Marin, D-Essex, co-chairwoman of the committee.

The Murphy transition's executive director, Jose Lozano, testified about Alvarez's hiring but provided no clarity on exactly how he got the job. Lozano said he was made aware of the allegation against Alvarez in December by Pete Cammarano, the incoming chief of staff, and