Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Attorney General Zulima Farber resigned today after a special prosecutor said she violated the state's ethics code by improperly helping her boyfriend at police traffic stop.

Farber, 61, quit hours after retired state judge Richard Williams released a report that while she broke no criminal laws, she failed to ``ensure that the laws were faithfully and fairly enforced.'' Farber, the state's first Hispanic attorney general, said at a news conference with Governor Jon Corzine that she would leave office after seven months rather than defend herself.

``I resign out of respect for the governor and for the goals we both share for the success of this administration,'' Farber told reporters at the statehouse in Trenton. ``Such a fight would be a tremendous distraction.''

The resignation of Farber is a setback for Corzine, a Democrat who won election last November after pledging to clean up the ethics of state government. Corzine, 59, said that he didn't ask Farber to resign, although he said her decision was correct. The resignation followed calls from state politicians including Democratic State Senator John Adler, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, for Farber to quit.

``While Zulima has been strong and effective as attorney general, the report from Judge Williams would inevitably impair that effectiveness and risk undermining people's confidence in this office and in our state government,'' Corzine said. ``She recognizes that. I recognize that.''

`High Standard'

The governor said that ``in the context of some of the historical failures in our state, we have to be operating at a very high standard.''

The Williams report details Farber's actions on May 26, 2006, to help Hamlet E. Goore, who lived with her in North Bergen, New Jersey.

On that day, a police officer in nearby Fairview stopped Goore at a ``Click-It or Ticket'' checkpoint designed to encourage seat belt use. The officer found that Goore's driver's license was suspended and his van's registration was expired, prompting him to write two tickets. Officers told Goore that his van would be towed, and he called Farber, the report said.

Farber, who was preparing to deliver a speech in Edison, New Jersey, directed her driver, a New Jersey State Police lieutenant, to take her to Goore, the report said. Farber arrived at the scene, where Goore had asked if the van could be towed to his home in nearby North Bergen, New Jersey, instead of being impounded, the report said.

No Tickets

After Farber spoke to officers at the scene, the report said, police canceled the tow and allowed Goore to drive his van home. Police never gave Goore the tickets, and a Fairview officer voided them. Williams wrote the evidence was ``inconclusive'' on whether Farber talked with police about the tickets.

Farber also made phone calls that morning to administrators at the state Motor Vehicle Commission to have Goore's driving privileges restored. They were restored that morning.

Williams wrote that Farber's decision to go to the traffic stop was ``most unusual,'' given her position of power.

``Coming to the scene of a traffic stop, where you have a personal interest in the outcome of police decisions made at the scene, creates a serious risk of raising public suspicion about the legitimacy of those decisions,'' Williams wrote.

`Preferential Treatment'

``There is no evidence that the attorney general explicitly asked for preferential treatment of Mr. Goore at any time,'' Williams wrote. ``However, Hamlet Goore did, in fact, receive preferential treatment.''

``The conclusion is inescapable that her personal relationship with Hamlet Goore caused her to act in a partial manner,'' Williams said.

Farber said she didn't dispute most of the report -- only the conclusion by lawmakers that it required her resignation.

``I might quibble with some of the details, but I think it was fairly done,'' Farber said about the report. ``This much is undisputed -- I did not fix any tickets or ask for any tickets to be fixed for me,'' she said.

``I long ago apologized for not appreciating that my mere presence might lead police officers to behave differently than normal, and I do so again today.''

Acting Successor

The report said that Goore and Farber intended to go to the Jersey Shore for the weekend, and the van carried two bicycles, golf clubs, tennis racquets, clothes and other personal items.

Asked at the news conference why she went to the scene, Farber said: ``To remove valuable stuff from the back of the van that was about to be impounded. That's what I was doing at the scene.''

After Farber's resignation takes effect Aug. 31, First Assistant Attorney General Anne Milgram will assume the post on an acting basis, Corzine said.

Milgram, 35, is a former prosecutor who worked on human trafficking cases at the U.S. Justice Department, according to the attorney general's website. She also served as counsel to Corzine when he was in the U.S. Senate and worked as a prosecutor under Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Voreacos in Newark, New Jersey, at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net; Catherine Larkin in Washington at clarkin4@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 15, 2006 19:29 EDT