NJ Politico Joe Coniglio Convicted

A jury found Bergen County Democratic party bigwig Joseph Coniglio guilty on six counts and not guilty on two counts. Here's a rundown of the charges and the jury response:

Count One, on which Coniglio was found not guilty, involved a letter he sent to Hackensack University Medical Center officials expressing ways in which he could potentially be helpful to the medical center. The indictment quotes a portion of the letter that said Coniglio looks "forward to making [HUMC] the best in New Jersey."

Coniglio was also found not guilty on Count Five. That charge related to a letter that Coniglio sent to HUMC officials terminating his employment with the hospital.

The first eight charges, including one and five, charged the senator with participating in a fraud scheme using the mails to deprive the public of his honest services.

The last charge, on which Coniglio was found guilty, accused the former senator of extortion under color of official right.

As many had speculated, the jury failed to reach a verdict on a charge related to a check sent to Hackensack University Medical Center from the state treasury for $70,000. A letter with Coniglio's signature had gone out to the state Department of Human Services in support of the grant. But Coniglio's former chief of staff, Marc Schrieks, had testified that he generated such letters automatically. Though he conceded the senator would at some point have seen a list of the letters going out, he would not necessarily have seen the letters themselves.

The Bergen County Democrat deserves the convictions, and put the hospital in a bad position. On the charge relating to the $70,000 check, the judge declared a mistrial, which sets the stage for a possible retrial on that particular charge.

Prosecutors were able to show that Coniglio funneled millions of dollars in state funding to Hackensack University Medical Center in exchange for a lucrative consulting job.

Ah, New Jersey; politics and corruption perfect together.