A federal judge says a major New Jersey engineering firm may move forward with its bankruptcy filing despite objections raised by state prosecutors.Eatontown-based Birdsall Services Group made its filing late last month. The move came just days after the firm and seven of its top executives were indicted for allegedly conspiring to circumvent the state's pay-to-play law while making millions of dollars off government contracts.

The state Attorney General's office argued that the firm was trying to circumvent the prosecution against it.

But Judge Michael Kaplan ruled Monday that the filing could continue and ordered that a trustee be appointed to oversee the firm's $41.6 million in assets. Kaplan also said the company could use about $1 million of those assets to pay its expenses this week.

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