Merit gives estimate

Officials of a New Jersey health care company said yesterday that state Sen Larry Young's consulting firm has been paid a total of $46,300 since September 1996, not the $84,000 estimate published by The Sun yesterday.

Mafalda Arena, a spokeswoman for Merit Behavioral Care Corp, said yesterday that company records showed Young's firm, the LY Group, has been paid $26,300 during the current year at a monthly fee of $7,000. Last year, she said, records show he was paid $20,000 for four months work at the $5,000 per month rate.

The company released the figures in response to a Sun story yesterday. Previously, Merit officials had declined to say exactly how much LY Group had been paid. The $84,000 estimate was computed based on the $7,000-a-month rate listed on invoices prepared by the LY Group for Merit and reviewed by The Sun.

Pub Date: 12/06/97