It’s no secret that the pipeline that funnels federal relief funds to victims of disaster sometimes suffers from leaks due to fraud, waste, and abuse. Now it seems that New Jersey residents affected by Hurricane Sandy can be added to the list of those downstream.

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer last week accused members of Gov. Chris Christie’s administration of threatening to withhold funds meant for Sandy recovery unless she helped push through a development deal.

Hoboken, 80 percent of which was submerged after Sandy, requested $127 million in federal relief funds administrated by the State of New Jersey, but received less than $350,000, according to a MSNBC report. Meanwhile, a proposal to develop a 19-block tract in Hoboken has languished after suspect environmental studies showed only three blocks—those owned by the Christie-connected Rockefeller Group—were suitable for development.

The two seemingly unrelated issues were put together for Zimmer in May by both Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who told her that the deal needed to “to move forward or we are not going to be able to help you,” according to Zimmer, who appeared on MSNBC’s UP w/ Steve Kornacki Saturday.

"The bottom line is, it's not fair for the governor to hold Sandy funds hostage for the City of Hoboken because he wants me to give back to one private developer," Zimmer, a former Christie supporter, said on the program. "I cannot give a windfall to one property owner because the governor and other people want me to do it."

Christie’s administration—which is also under investigation by the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for allegedly misusing Sandy recovery money for a $25 million tourism campaign—has called Zimmer’s claims “outlandishly false,” and accused MSNBC of being partisan and openly hostile to the administration, according to Time. The Rockefeller Group has also denied any knowledge of involvement on their behalf.

The various imbroglios serve to show how ineffective measures taken to stanch abuse are in the long run. New Jersey, for instance was required by HUD to submit an elaborate action plan before being entrusted with $1.8 billion in Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery. As part of that plan, the state created procedures to guard against waste and fraud, according to the State of New Jersey Office of Recovery and Rebuilding. An executive order signed by Christie and a website called the Sandy Transparency Portal were supposed to provide additional protections.

New Jersey, long known as a den of graft and political cronyism, isn’t alone in mismanaging disaster funds, however. The Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General investigates multiple cases each year. In some instance, funds are found to be properly accounted for. In others, they are not and must be recovered.

A 2013 audit of 10 states and one urban area (which did not include New Jersey) identified $5.7 million in questioned funds. In its report to Congress, the office recommended improvements in allocation, obligation, and expenditure of grant funds, monitoring of subgrantee activities, and financial management.

All this to say what we’ve known since Hurricane Katrina—while a flood of federal funds is often necessary to rebuild broken communities in the wake of disaster, it can sometimes serve as an invitation to drink from the well of exploitation.