CONCORD, N.H. -- A new television advertisement targeting Bill Bradley is prompting speculation about who is funding the little-known New Jersey group that paid for it.

The advertisement, put together by a group called Hands Across New Jersey, began airing Monday on WMUR-TV. The 30-second spot accuses Bradley of past campaign funding abuses.

The piece shows three irate New Jersey residents sitting around a kitchen table accusing Bradley of a variety of campaign financing misdeeds, including arranging favors for special interest contributors.

One speaker says Bradley has called for the elimination of the use of soft money in campaigns," yet he raised millions from special interests."

The advertisement also says Bradley was compelled to return a campaign contribution from an insurance company and attempted to intervene with the Commerce Department on behalf of a donor.

The Bradley campaign denied the allegations, saying the former New Jersey senator had received no contributions from any company, in part because that was not allowed under Federal Election Commission guidelines.

Kristen Ludecke, a campaign spokeswoman, added that Bradley had voluntarily returned a contribution from employees of the Prudential Insurance Company. She said the money was given back because it was raised "using corporate facilities, like a phone," which is not allowed.

"The advertisement attacks, falsely, the record of Mr. Bradley on campaign finance reform issues," the campaign wrote in a letter to WMUR. It asked the station to refrain from broadcasting "soft-money financed attack advertisements."

WMUR-TV did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

A Hands Across New Jersey founder and former member said the group has been inactive for years.

John Budzash, who left the group in 1991, said it now is run by three long-time Bradley enemies who won't let go of a grudge dating back to 1990. He said the ad probably is paid for by national interests who want Bradley defeated.

Because the commercial doesn't advocate supporting a particular candidate and is considered and independent expenditure, federal laws do not require its producers or broadcasters to disclose who paid for it.

John Sheridan, the director of Hands Across New Jersey and one of the people who appears in the ad, said the nonpartisan, nonprofit group has 1,300 dues-paying members and a list of 90,000 potential supporters.

He would not say how much the ad cost or how often it is running, but said the money comes entirely from contributions from his group's members.

"We've remained active since (1990) and we continue to lobby the legislature on good government and low tax issues," Sheridan said. "And who better to speak about Bill Bradley than his former constituents?"

He said the commercial singles out Bradley because New Hampshire voters already know about Vice President Al Gore's questionable campaign fundraising practices, while few know about Bradley's.

The anti-tax group sprung up in 1990 to protest a large tax increase pushed through the New Jersey legislature by then-Gov. Jim Florio that extended a sales tax to, among other things, toilet paper.

Rolls of toilet paper became the group's symbol, and were featured prominently at a rally against Florio and the tax increase that drew thousands of participants.

Florio was ousted after one term by Christine Todd Whitman, who is nearing the end of her second term as governor.

Whitman was catapulted to political prominence by nearly upsetting Bill Bradley in a U.S. Senate race in which she initially was viewed as little more than a sacrificial lamb.

But the group has kept a low profile in recent years.