The Communications Workers of America’s national executive board has suspended the head of the union’s largest local _ a New Jersey state worker who also used to be Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s girlfriend.

The board voted unanimously Monday to suspend Carla Katz and the governing board of Local 1034, claiming financial malpractice and suppression of dissent among the local’s 16,000 members.

Katz, 49, has led the local Communications Workers union since 1999. She gained notoriety during Corzine’s successful 2005 gubernatorial run when it was revealed that he had paid off the mortgage on her house and given her other gifts they have refused to disclose. Katz and Corzine dated from 2002 to 2004 while Corzine was a U.S. senator.

Union officials said the suspension was the result of an internal investigation that Katz had previously criticized publicly. She filed a federal lawsuit alleging retaliation on the part of the union.

Katz said Monday’s action was more of the same.

“This action by the National union is appalling and the charges against our Local’s leadership are completely false,” she said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “It is a travesty that the retaliation against me, and my fellow union leaders, for our opposition to the bad state worker deal, continues in full force.”

Corzine is fighting in state courts to keep private e-mails that he exchanged with Katz during state worker contract talks in 2006 and 2007.

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Associated Press writer Samantha Henry in Trenton contributed to this story.