Posted on 07/07/2004 10:36:10 AM PDT by Liz
TRENTON, N.J. -- A Democratic fund-raiser linked to Gov. James E. McGreevey extorted $40,000 in campaign donations by promising a farmer that public officials would help him get more money for development rights to his land, federal authorities said Tuesday.
David D'Amiano is charged with extortion, mail fraud and bribery. According to an indictment released Tuesday, D'Amiano told the owner of a Piscataway farm he would not get premium value for his property unless he made donations to the Democratic Party.
Middlesex County officials had offered Mark Halper $3 million for development rights to his 74-acre family farm. After D'Amiano got involved, that offer rose to $7.4 million, according to the indictment.
D'Amiano, 45, of Edison, who owns a recycling and mulch business in Carteret, did not enter a plea during an arraignment Tuesday in federal court in Newark. He was released after posting a $100,000 bond.
After the hearing, D'Amiano refused to answer questions.
His lawyer, Edward J. Plaza, said he would plead not guilty. "Mr. D'Amiano did not bribe anyone," Plaza said.
McGreevey is not named in the indictment. He has acknowledged discussing the land matter with D'Amiano and Halper, but has denied any wrongdoing.
"At the end of a two-year investigation, it's quite clear our administration acted properly and ethically," McGreevey said Tuesday.
The owners of the farm cooperated with the FBI and recorded conversations, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
In April, McGreevey released thousands of pages of telephone logs, internal memos, meeting minutes and handwritten notes subpoenaed by the U.S. attorney.
Those subpoenas were served two days after the FBI raided the state Democratic headquarters, seizing donor rolls, computer accounts and other materials related to contributors.
D'Amiano is also charged with diverting campaign contributions from the Democrats, with some going to a personal account.
He faces two extortion counts, each of which carries up to 20 years in prison. He also faces a bribery charge and eight counts of mail or wire fraud, which each carry up to five years in prison.
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Skimming? And we thought only organized crime did that (/sarc).
Dumbocrats are co-opting the same money-making scams as organized crime but the Dims are far worse than criminals b/c they work their scams posing as the "party of the people," saviors of the middle class.
Organized crime types are straighforward. They do not pretend they are something other than what they are.
Is a key Democrat industrial state that should go for Kerry in jeopardy?
Nah, the fine folks in Jersey thought Torch Torricelli was an angel, so they won't even blink an eye about this.
Yup, that's what the bosses boys told me, and I'm sticking to it. ;-)
Is Governor McGreevey "State Official 1"???
VIEW THE D'AMIANO INDICTMENT (PDF file, 65k)
View Timeline, US Attorney's Press Release and other info here
(-:
Right, that's not corruption....they're intellectuals discussing literature......
(Sniffle) Somebody call the Thought Police. Accusing McG and the gang of corruption is nothing but a viscious hate crime (sob).
I just wish the Governor had called the author of "The Prince" by the name Tony Soprano always uses: Prince Matchibelli.
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