Posted on 09/06/2007 7:12:48 AM PDT by Calpernia
TRENTON, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- Eleven mayors and two other New Jersey officials from across New Jersey, were arrested Thursday in federal corruption investigation, officials told 1010 WINS reporter Steve Sandberg.
Democratic state Assemblymen Mims Hackett Jr. and Alfred E. Steele were among those arrested, along with Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera. The chief of staff to Newark's City Council president was also arrested, the official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to upstage a formal announcement, said the arrests were related to insurance contracts for local governments.
Per NJ101.5: several of the officials were allegedly caught accepting payoffs from undercover agents in a sting operation. Others were charged as part of related corruption investigations. The accused officials served in at least three counties, including Essex, Atlantic and Passaic.
Names update: Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera, Passaic Council members Jonathan Soto and Marcellus Jackson, Orange Mayor Mims Hackett, Passaic Assemblyman Alfred Steele, Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera, and more names coming...
ping
News conference is at 2:00pm
Isn’t arresting corrupt politicians in New Jersey a little like shooting fish in a barrel?
Look at the times. Mine was posted first.
We should issue RailRoad watches to the Posting Police.
Thanks for the ping. It would be nice if one of these eleven would make a deal and do a little singing. You never know.
The investigation began in mid-2006 amid evidence of corruption in the Pleasantville schools near Atlantic City.
In response, The FBI established an undercover insurance brokerage company purporting to employ the government's two cooperating witnesses and undercover agents.
Pleasantville school board members then allegedly took thousands of dollars in bribes from the cooperating witnesses, Drewniak said.
The circle of corruption widened when Pleasantville school board members referred the cooperating witnesses to public officials in northern New Jersey who also took bribes and, in turn, put them in touch with other public officials.
Those arrested allegedly demanded and accepted payments ranging from $1,500 to $17,500 and sought to perpetuate a relationship with the cooperating witnesses to continue receiving bribes, according to the criminal complaints.
Those arrested Thursday were Democratic state Assemblymen Mims Hackett Jr. and Alfred E. Steele; Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera; Passaic Councilman Marcellus Jackson and former councilman Jonathan Soto; and Keith Reid, chief of staff to Newark's City Council president.
Steele has been an assemblyman since 1996, serving as deputy speaker since 2002. He's also the pastor at Seminary Baptist Church in Paterson and a Passaic County undersheriff.
Jenna Pollard, who answered the phone at Steele's Paterson office and identified herself as his chief of staff, said she had no comment and didn't know if Steele had a lawyer.
Hackett, 65, has been Orange mayor since 1996 after eight years on the city council. He's been an assemblymen since 2002.
A phone message left at Hackett's office wasn't immediately returned Thursday. Neither were messages left at Reid's and Rivera's offices.
Crump said she just found about Reid's arrest and had no comment. She said he has worked for her since she became the council president on July 1, 2006.
The arrested Pleasantville school board members are Jayson G. Adams, James T. McCormick, James A. Pressley, Rafael Velez. Also arrested was former board member Maurice "Pete'' Callaway, who is now a Pleasantville city council member. Louis Mister, of Pleasantville, a private citizen, was also arrested.
More than 100 public officials in the state have been convicted on federal corruption charges in the last five years.
Thursday's arrests were the latest in an anti-corruption campaign waged by Christie's office. Two other Democratic state senators, Wayne Bryant of Lawnside and Sharpe James of Newark, are among others facing pending corruption charges.
Looks like there is or has been singing. This is stemming from the Wayne Bryant investigation.
I'd like to be in court when the Judge asks if Mister Mister is present.
That is funny. I didn’t even catch that as I was typing.
Kyrie Eleison on the road to Leavenworth!
LOL!!
Will the judge tap his shoe or the gavel? Or maybe tap his shoe with the gavel?
Sorry! Thought it was after; didn’t pay enough attention.
I’m not a posting policeman. I don’t really care, but since FR is horribly un-user-friendly so you can’t easily find same-articles/subjects, I like to try to herd everyone to 1 place rather than it being all spread out. I’m not jumping down anyone’s throats about whether they repeated or not.
I’ve had 1010wins on all afternoon.
I’ve not heard the press conference yet. They originally said it was scheduled for 2:00pm.
Did I miss it?
Not that I know of.
This investigation seems fast moving - I can only wonder whether the beyon maximun sentence of Terry Weldon, after he did not sing until convicted, is “moving things along” with these other scumbags. Hehehe
We are going to have to dust off your team soon. Once Chris Christi is through, we will be in need of leaders :)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1892482/posts
Corruption Arrests Send Shockwave At Statehouse
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