Sharpe James Under Investigation For Misusing Campaign Funds

Sharpe James, the former mayor of Newark, New Jersey is under investigation once again. This time, it's for illegally using campaign funds to pay for his criminal defense team when he was convicted in 2008 on fraud and tax evasion charges. Such is the way of life for the Democrat who once was a Newark institution all to himself:

The new case, brought by the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission, could force Mr. James and his onetime campaign treasurer, Cheryl Johnson, to repay the campaign money, pay $30,000 in penalties and reimburse the state for its costs in the case. The suit was filed on Wednesday in Superior Court here.

In 2006, Mr. James opted not to run for re-election after 20 years as mayor. But he had raised money for a possible campaign; the commission said his campaign account still had $744,201.07 as of last month.

In its suit, the commission said that in the months after Mr. James left office, Ms. Johnson called it twice to ask whether he was allowed to use that money to pay defense lawyers. The commission contends that after the second call, one of its officials advised Ms. Johnson that the campaign committee needed to seek a formal advisory opinion from the commission.

The suit says that neither the “defendants, nor any of their representatives, ever requested an advisory opinion.”

Calls to two of Mr. James’s lawyers on Thursday were not returned. A call to his home was not answered.

The commission publishes a compliance manual, which says that candidates and officeholders may pay lawyers with campaign contributions “when the need for legal representation arises directly from, and is related to, the campaign for public office or from the duties of holding public office,” but not when it is related to “personal or business affairs.”

The agency said five payments from Mr. James’s campaign account to his lawyers violated that rule.

It's not surprising that James would have broken this rule, just as surely as he broke numerous other rules during his time as Mayor of Newark. Despite the grinding poverty, he managed to hold on to a lavish lifestyle and helped out friends and confidants benefit from his corrupt methods.

James is now seeking to have that verdict overturned, claiming that a juror had not been truthful in pretrial questioning.

Career Redemption and Resurrection Roulette

There's nothing that people in the country love more than seeing someone famous getting knocked down a peg or 100. 

Except maybe seeing that person overcome the obstacles and situation and redeem themselves in public.

How else can one explain the reaction to Tiger Woods resuming his golf career in rather spectacular fashion at Augusta? He was cheered at practically every opportunity as he ended up with a four under 68 and was just two shots off the lead. Woods was so good that people actually could focus on his golf game and not on his sleazy personal life.

Then you've got former Newark Mayor Sharpe James coming home after a year stint in federal prison for selling city property to his girlfriend at a cut rate discount for $46,000 while she turned around and sold it for more than $600,000. He came home to a hero's welcome, and makes one wonder whether he's going to attempt to get back into politics. James is furiously attempting to rewrite the history, but the fact is that Newark is a much better place since James lost to Cory Booker and Booker cleaned house (incidentally finding the sales transactions and other

The same can be said of disgraced former New York governor Eliot Spitzer who said as much this week. He is contemplating going back into politics, but I think his single biggest obstacle isn't that he admitted paying for sex with prostitutes (okay, call 'em call girls - but it's the same damned thing only that you're paying more for the same things), but that his judgment is so screwed up that he thought that David Paterson would make a good lieutenant governor.

That decision has cost the state dearly as when Paterson was elevated to governor, Paterson was a fish out of water and is incapable of governing in an effective manner being surrounded with multiple scandals of his own making.

Sentencing Day For Sharpe James: UPDATE: 27 Months and Fine

Today, former Newark Mayor Sharpe James (D) gets to learn his fate from a judge. He, and his co-defendant, Tamika Riley, were found guilty on multiple charges stemming from improper sales of real estate.

About 125 people packed the courtroom as the hearing was set to begin. U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and Attorney General Anne Milgram sat in the front row.

Prosecutors contend that James deserves as much as 20 years in prison for arranging the sale of lucrative city land to Riley, his onetime mistress. Defense attorneys have pleaded for leniency, saying any significant prison term would be a "lifelong sentence" for the 72-year-old James.

A jury convicted the pair in April, concluding that Riley got preferential treatment because of her ties to James and that the mayor had a duty to disclose their relationship before signing city contracts selling the properties.

The judge signaled last week that the prosecutors' request was too harsh, and said that even the 12 1/2 to 15 1/2-year prison term recommended by probation officials was "a stretch."

If James gets less than 10 years, I wouldn't be surprised. Saddened? Absolutely.

James defrauded the taxpayers of Newark for years, and he was found guilty of the crimes. He should do the time. His age is irrelevant.

UPDATE:
This is just absurd. The judge thinks that Newark didn't lose anything by James engaging in cut rate deals.

The judge who will sentence former Newark Mayor Sharpe James today said the city didn't lose any money when James arranged for his mistress to buy cut-rate city land.

Wading through a host of legal issues that will shape an appropriate sentencing range, U.S. District Judge William Martini in Newark said he wanted to clarify what he thought was a misperception.

The city absolutely did lose money on the deal because of lost opportunity costs. Had the city sold the properties through the proper channels, it would have put additional money into its coffers, instead of into the pockets of James' mistress.

UPDATE:
James' attorneys are pushing for probation. I'm sure that will go over well with prosecutors.

UPDATE:
Two years and three months (27 months) plus a fine of $100,000. No restitution to the city of Newark.

I'd say he got of relatively lightly compared to the maximum sentence. I'd put this down as a moderate slap on the wrist.

Feds Drop Additional Charges Against Sharpe James

The Sharpe James experience will not have to include still another trial as the federal prosecutors have dropped charges that James bilked Newark, New Jersey out of thousands of dollars in credit card charges.

Federal prosecutors today dropped charges that former Newark Mayor Sharpe James abused city credit cards.

They said they determined a conviction wouldn't have added any more prison time than he's already facing under a guilty verdict last month.

The disgraced Democratic powerbroker had been set to stand trial in July on charges he billed the city of Newark for $58,000 in personal expenses, including lavish vacations with more than a half-dozen female companions.

Prosecutors alleged he stuck taxpayers with the tab for everything from movie tickets to fast-food meals and nine-day cruises, but he denied the charges and planned to fight them at trial.

Verdict Reached In Sharpe James Trial: UPDATE- Convicted

The disgraced former Mayor of Newark New Jersey will be facing the music later today as the jury has reached a verdict after 5 days and more than 30 hours of deliberations. The Democrat is accused of defrauding taxpayers by pushing deals to his mistress, who is also on trial:

Jurors have reached a verdict in the federal corruption trial of former Newark Mayor Sharpe James. It will be announced within the hour.

The panel has been deliberating in federal court in Newark since April 9 on fraud and conspiracy charges against James and his onetime girlfriend, Tamika Riley. A few minutes ago, they informed the staff of U.S. District Judge William Martini that they had reached a decision.

James is accused of defrauding the city's taxpayers by rigging the sale of nine city lots to Riley between 2001 and 2005. Riley, a 39-year-old publicist from Jersey City with no development experience, bought the parcels for $46,000 and resold them, sometimes just weeks later, for $665,000. Prosecutors said James used his influence to help Riley steer through the city development process, and never disclosed his relationship when he signed the contracts to sell her the land.

"This is a case about betrayal," Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith Germano told jurors during her closing argument.

James, 72, who served five terms as mayor and two as state senator, has denied any wrongdoing. His attorneys have argued that Riley got the same treatment as other developers and that the city council - not the mayor - has the ultimate authority in city land deals.

UPDATE:
Call James a convicted felon. That's the jury's verdict:

A federal jury today convicted former Newark Mayor Sharpe James of fraud for conspiring to rig the sale of nine city lots to his mistress, who quickly resold them for hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit.

Ending a five-week trial, the jury returned its verdict in a courtroom just a block from the City Hall office that James occupied for two decades. On its sixth day of deliberations, the jury found James guilty of all counts in the 13-count indictment.

James' co-defendant and former girlfriend, Tamika Riley, was also found guilty on all counts.

Under federal guidelines, James and Riley could each face several years in prison. U.S. District Judge William Martini allowed both to remain free on bail until sentencing, which was set for July 29 at 10 a.m.

The article finally gets around to mentioning that James was a Democrat towards the end of the report. Not awful, but not great either. Had James been a Republican, I suspect that his party affiliation would have received stronger billing.

The Sharpe James Experience: Name That Party

Once again, the Star Ledger runs a story about former mayor Sharpe James and his corruption trial, and omits a key detail that always seems to be included when a member of the other political party is involved.

A parade of witnesses from City Hall is expected today in the federal corruption trial of former Newark Mayor Sharpe James.

As federal prosecutors continue into a third week pressing their case against James and Jersey City publicist Tamika Riley, they plan to call two city council members, a municipal court judge and two members of James' former security detail to testify.

Among those expected to take the witness stand is Municipal Court Judge Joanne Watson, a former business administrator and corporation counsel in the James administration. Two members of the former mayor's security detail -- city police officers Derrick Foster and Robert Moore -- are also on the list, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith Germano.

Councilmen Luis Quintana and Augusto Amador are also scheduled, she said.

Charged with conspiracy and fraud, James, 72, is accused of steering land deals to Riley, 38, who allegedly earned more than $600,000 by quickly reselling the properties without rehabilitating most of them as required by the terms of the contracts with the city. Riley is also charged with tax evasion.

For those who need a reminder, James is a Democrat.

UPDATE:
The Star Ledger isn't alone. Newhouse News Service also omits the party affiliation.

The Sharpe James Experience: Name That Party!

Care to name that party? It seems that when you've got a GOPer who's committed a criminal act, engaged in corruption, or other such unethical conduct or lapse in moral judgment, the party affiliation is prominently displayed. It's often in the headline or even in the opening paragraph.

Meanwhile, if you're a Democrat, you get a free pass.

Just ask Sharpe James, whose coverage omits his party affiliation. Again.

NJ Corrupt Politicos Update

For a change, the Star Ledger actually reports Sharpe James' political affiliation in reporting on his ongoing corruption trial. It's right there in the third paragraph.

Sharpe James' personal secretary returns to the witness stand for a third day today in the federal corruption case that accuses the former Newark mayor of rigging city land deals to benefit a girlfriend.

Rose Marie Posella, James' secretary for his 20 years in office, spent the entire day Wednesday continuing her testimony for the prosecution and then facing a four-hour grilling by defense attorneys. Posella retired June 30, 2006, the same day James, who did not seek reelection, left office.

On Tuesday, Posella said James secretly requested city officials in 2005 to inform him about land sales in Newark. The prosecution showed a videotape of a television news interview and a copy of a letter to an Associated Press reporter in which the former Democratic mayor denied giving away land.

James, 72, is accused of making arrangements for Tamika Riley, 38, to purchase nine city-owned parcels which she quickly resold for nearly $700,000 in profit without redeveloping them as required by the contracts. James and Riley are both charged with fraud and conspiracy, but Riley also faces tax evasion charges. Both have pleaded not guilty to the accusations and deny any wrongdoing.

The same couldn't be said of an update in the Record on a whole bunch of New Jersey politicians who were indicted in September of last year for corruption. Missing is any reference to political affiliations, despite the fact that all named are not Republicans.

Rivera was arrested last Sept. 6 as part of a statewide FBI undercover sting that passed out more than $130,000 in bribes to officials in return for favorable action on public contracts.

Among the 11 officials arrested with Rivera were then state Assemblymen Alfred E. Steele of Paterson and Mims Hackett Jr., who is also the mayor of Orange; Passaic Councilman Marcellus Jackson and former Passaic Councilman Jonathan Soto; a Newark council aide, and school board members from Pleasantville in Atlantic County.

Six of the 11 officials have pleaded guilty, including Steele and Jackson, and a jury in Camden last week convicted former Pleasantville school trustee James T. McCormick, after three of his one-time colleagues testified against him.

Like Rivera, Soto has pleaded not guilty to charges of extortion and accepting bribes.

A two-count indictment, returned Jan. 16, charged Rivera with extortion in a scheme to peddle his influence on behalf of an insurance contractor in return for $50,000, and actually accepting $5,000 last summer.

The Sharpe James Experience: Name That Party Edition

The Sharpe James trial is about to get underway and Jammie notes that the AP coverage lacks the former Newark Mayor and State Senator's political affiliation. He's a Democrat.

They've been doing that practically every time the James trial comes up. They did it last week as they missed his party affiliation during the jury selection, and they're doing it again now as trial starts.

I bet they'll do it again when they report on every phase of the trial, including the closing statements, the deliberations, and the jury verdict, along with any intermediate stories about any issues that rise during the trial.

Dollars to donuts, the AP, Reuters, Record or Star Ledger will omit his political affiliation. If they don't omit the affiliation entirely, they'll bury it deep in the article as an afterthought.

Had James been a Republican, I doubt it would be so hard to find his affiliation.

UPDATE:
Tidied up the language in the third paragraph.

Name That Party: Naked in New Jersey Edition

Sharpe James, Democrat and former Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, apparently billed adult movies and body lotions to the City of Newark on his many trips:

Indicted former Mayor Sharpe James billed the city for adult movies and body lotions while on a business trip, prosecutors allege in documents filed in federal court.

The allegations were detailed in a Nov. 17 letter sent to James' defense attorneys but not put into the public record, pursuant to a judge's order, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported in Friday's editions.


Records allegedly show James, 71, stayed in a hotel room in Miami that was charged $21.95 for a movie block that gave guests 24-hour access to adult movie titles.

Alan L. Zegas, an attorney representing James, accused the government of using innuendo against his client.

Nice to see that the report ignores his political affiliation. Let's also recall that his successor, Cory Booker, was the one who uncovered problems with James' billing of trips and expenses.

Two NJ Democrats Resign From Assembly Over Corruption Arrests

This is how you report on political corruption cases. You clearly state who is involved and their political affiliation - and it's all done in the first two paragraphs.

Two Democratic state legislators arrested last week on federal corruption charges have resigned, legislative officials said.

Assemblymen Mims Hackett Jr., of Orange, and Alfred Steele, of Paterson, resigned Monday, leaving their Assembly seats four days after they were charged with alleged bribe-taking in the awarding of public contracts. Each sent resignation letters to the Assembly clerk, said Assembly Democrat spokesman Joe Donnelly.

But as Hackett and Steele vacated their seats — even as their lawyers said they expected to plead not guilty — others wondered why party leaders haven't also demanded resignations from two senators indicted earlier this year on federal corruption charges.

The resignations, however, raise questions over why two other indicted Democrats were not forced to resign: Wayne Bryant and Sharpe James. Only a smattering of calls have been made for their ouster - Gov. Corzine was silent on the indictments of Bryant and James, but made it clear that he wanted Hackett and Steele gone by today. Curious.

Actually, it's not so curious. Bryant and James are political powerhouses, and demanding their ouster would upset key constituencies that might affect Corzine and other NJ Democrats down the road.

Rich

Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James (D) who has been indicted on various corruption charges, claims that he can't pay his lawyer bills.

Raymond M. Brown, of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP, represented James in court in July after the former mayor was indicted on corruption charges alleging he bilked the city for thousands of dollars in personal travel and vacations, including one to test drive a Rolls Royce, and steered lucrative city land deals to associates.

But Brown filed a motion to U.S. District Judge William Martini today asking for his firm to be removed from the case.

"Sharpe James has advised me...that his personal funds will not be able to meet the projected budget for the hiring of this law firm," Brown wrote in an affidavit to the court. "Continued discussions of this matter have the capacity to erode the lawyer-client relationship and to interfere with providing effective assistance of counsel."

That's a curious thing, considering that he's quite well to do with various pensions and bank accounts at his disposal. Indeed, he's got an annual pension of about $125,000 and had a million dollar nest egg, from which he withdrew about half. Not all of that money can be used in this matter, but it would appear that he has the assets, but not the willpower to actually use his own money for his legal defense. Further, if he wins the case, he would be reimbursed by the City for his defense since it stems from his time in office. This may be the first sign that things are not going well for James and his lawyers are seeing the mess pile up around them. Knowing that your co-counsel is also facing trouble over this case isn't making Brown's job any easier.

Indeed, that's the more interesting development - federal prosecutors are trying to knock James' other lawyer from the case:

Brown's motion comes as federal prosecutors seek to knock James' other lawyer, prominent criminal trial attorney Thomas Ashley, out of the case. Prosecutors argue that Ashley has a conflict because he represented two other people who could become witnesses in the trial when they appeared before the grand jury. They also said Ashley himself could become a witness in the case because James visited Ashley in Martha's Vineyard in August 2003 during one of the many personal vacations James allegedly billed to the city.

Ashley had another attorney, Alan Zegas, respond with a motion on his behalf, accusing the government of sinking to "unthinkable depths" by tarnishing Ashley's ethics to block James from having the counsel of his choice.

Martini will hear arguments on the motions Wednesday morning in federal district court in Newark.

The legal woes for James are mounting, and having a legal team in flux doesn't make it any easier.

Oh, and no where in this article does it mention James' political affiliation. I'll give you a clue - he's a Democrat.

Arrest Made In Newark Execution-Style Murders: UPDATED: Second Person In Custody

Newark, New Jersey has been a dangerous city for a good long time. That perception has dogged the city for decades since the notorious riots in 1967. Cory Booker was elected Mayor and he promised to clean the city up. He has started to get the problem under control, and crime is actually down for the year. Murders for the year were down over last year, but this past week there was a grisly murder that shocked even long-time Newark residents.

Three college students were murdered execution style. A fourth student was seriously injured and law enforcement was stumped as to how and why this happened. They had few clues to to on. However, they were fortunate that one of the victims survived the brutal attack and was able to help police.

Police arrested a juvenile male Thursday in the case of three college students shot and killed in a schoolyard Saturday night, according to a city official with knowledge of the investigation.

The official, who was not authorized to release information about the case, spoke on condition of anonymity.

Four friends, ages 18 to 20, were shot while hanging out in a school yard. Authorities have said robbery appeared to be the motive.

Three of the victims — Terrance Aeriel, 18, Dashon Harvey, 20; and Iofemi Hightower, 20 —were forced to kneel against a wall and were shot at close range. The fourth, 19-year-old Natasha Aeriel, Terrance Aeriel's sister, survived a wound to her head and is hospitalized.

Mayor Cory A. Booker said investigators were using Natasha Aeriel's help to make a break in the case, but he did not elaborate.

Booker came under fire from some folks who said that Booker should resign over this incident. I suspect that those few were hardcore supporters of the man that Booker replaced, the disgraced and indicted Sharpe James.

Booker will be holding a presser later this morning. More details on the crime:

The massacre unfolded around 11:30 Saturday night, when Aeriel, her brother and two friends drove to a playground behind Mount Vernon School in Newark's Ivy Hill section to drink, eat and listen to music, authorities said.

When they arrived, there were two men at the playground already. But soon afterward, two or three additional men showed up, and the friends started to panic. They exchanged text messages on their cell phones saying they ought to leave, according to police.

But before they could leave, the men approached the four friends and announced a robbery, police said.

Aeriel was shot first, through the face, and left near some aluminum bleachers. The other three -- her brother, Terrance Aeriel, Iofemi Hightower and Dashon Harvey -- were walked to a school wall, forced to kneel and shot in the back of the head.

The last three, described by family, friends and officials as model students at Delaware State University, were dead by the time police arrived in response to a 911 call.

The brutality of the attacks outraged the public, some of whom blamed Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who won office last year on a pledge to cut violent crime. Booker, clearly shaken, has spent the week defending himself and urging the city to come together to help solve the crime and to heal.

This might the the spark that finally gets Newark residents to finally call out the criminal elements that have dominated the city for so long. Booker has to show that the City is not going to tolerate violence and petty crime, and getting the police out on patrol is just one part of the puzzle. Newark has a long way to go to improve its self-image, and it may have taken a very tragic and violent crime to make people realize just how bad things have been and what needs to happen.

UPDATE:
A second person has turned themselves in to Newark police in connection with the execution-style murder of the three Delaware State University students. Jose Carranza turned himself in to the police and he's accused of three counts of murder, four counts of robbery and one count of attempted murder. The guy has a prior arrests and was awaiting trial and forensic evidence tied him to the crime.

Other suspects are still at large, but no details have been given.

UPDATE:
Carranza actually attempted to turn himself into Booker directly.

"He asked specifically if he could turn himself into me," Booker said during a press conference announcing the surrender.

Offcials contacted Carranza's lawyer, Felix Montalvo, who is also a friend of Booker's. They arranged for a meeting at Newark Police Homicide Headquarters at 22 Franklin Street, where Booker led Carranza inside and into the custody of investigators.

"I had absolutely nothing to say to this individual," Booker said.

Newark Screwed By Sharpe James No Matter What

I also wrote about last week in relation to Sharpe James (D-Newark) and a 33-count indictment for fraud, graft, and corruption (25 counts for James personally, with an associate, Tamika Riley, indicted on the remaining counts. James' political affiliation was buried by quite a few media reports, and I further wrote that media outlets should be able to report such a basic fact. Don Surber is also on board with that idea.

Well, as the Sharpe James investigation and ligition moves forward, here's something else to keep in mind. What happens if the prosecutors lose?

When former Newark Mayor Kenneth Gibson was acquitted of corruption charges in the 1980s, he walked out of court a free man.

Then he stuck the city with a hefty bill for his defense lawyer.

His bill, along with that of former City Council President Earl Harris, who was also tried for corruption, cost the city more than $1 million, thanks to a city ordinance that covers legal fees for officials if they are acquitted of criminal charges or if the case is dismissed.

Now, nearly two decades later, the city could find itself in a similar situation if former Mayor Sharpe James beats federal charges that he dipped into public money to pay for lavish vacations and steered lucrative land deals to a companion, Tamika Riley. Authorities say James spent $58,000 on city-issued credit cards for luxury meals, trips and movie tickets.

James, a state senator representing Newark and mayor for two decades, was indicted on 25 counts last week. Over the weekend, Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D-Union), also the state Democratic chairman, called for James' resignation from the Senate. Cryan made his comments in a television appearance and did not return a call seeking comment yesterday.

So far, James has not asked the city to pay any fees for his attorney, Raymond M. Brown. Brown did not return a call for comment yesterday.

"We have not received a request from the attorneys of Sharpe James and until that time, it would be irresponsible to speculate or comment," said Lupe Todd, a spokeswoman for Mayor Cory Booker.

Reimbursing the legal costs of current and former officials who are sued or charged with crimes while performing their official duties is standard in the state, said William Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities.

"We live in a litigious society and there's court cases brought against local officials for just about everything -- some valid, some non-valid," he said. "You can be on a planning board and sued personally for things that you did on behalf of your municipality."

But in most cases, Dressel said, municipalities will not pay the legal fees if an official is convicted. Such is the case in Newark, which has ridden through a carousel of corruption trials over time.

It's one thing to indemnify public officials from civil lawsuits, but criminal investigations are another matter. But, this is New Jersey, so this is to be expected.

James could get reimbursed by the City of Newark for his legal costs (note in this article that James’ political affiliation is not mentioned).

Taxpayers in Newark get screwed if James wins his suit, and they find out that they were screwed if the prosecutors obtain a conviction. Funny how that happens. Either way, Newark gets screwed.

Still, there is another source of money that James could draw upon to pay for his defense: his campaign funds and state pension:

But according to public records, James still has a well of assets to draw from. He has $629,000 left in his retirement fund at Essex County College and draws an annual pension of $124,654 from the city of Newark.

He also has $1.2 million remaining in his mayoral election fund and another $39,961 in his Senate fund.

Fred Herrmann, executive director of the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, said there are no rules prohibiting James from using that money to pay his legal bills. ELEC allows candidates to use money for lawyers if they are challenged in a recount or a case such as a defamation suit that occurs during the campaign.

New Jersey and corruption. Perfect together.

UPDATE:
Others commenting on the James indictment and the corruption in New Jersey politics include: The Daily Newarker, Corruption Chronicles, The Politicker (who notes that the chair of the state Democratic party wants James to resign), and Monmouth County GOP Blog.

In the Cross Hairs

New Jersey and corruption are indeed perfect together as ongoing investigations into various politicians continues. However, why is it that the political affiliation of those politicians buried deep into articles?

The road doesn't end with Sharpe James' indictment.

Still in the cross hairs of federal prosecutors are a half-dozen members of the state Legislature, including Sen. Joseph Coniglio of Bergen County, as well as U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of Hoboken and people connected to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. State Sen. Wayne Bryant, who was in federal court Friday, is awaiting trial.

For those suspected of using taxpayer money for personal benefit, it's an inconvenient truth: More than at any other time in the past three decades, public corruption has been a primary focus of federal and state crime fighters.

"I think scrutiny on corrupt politicians is as intense as it's ever been," said Walter Timpone, a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor. "And politicians ought to be cautious to look carefully at their actions before those actions cause them to cross lines -- either intentionally or unintentionally."

James, the former mayor of Newark and a sitting state senator, is only the most recent public official tagged by U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie, a Republican who has netted more than 100 public-corruption convictions in six years, including some of the state's most powerful politicians.

A grand jury indicted James on Thursday on charges of using taxpayer dollars to take lavish trips to exotic locales and charging them to city credit cards. It also charged him with defrauding taxpayers by selling discounted city land for profits -- in part, benefiting a female companion.

Christie was asked whether the former five-term mayor of New Jersey's largest city was his biggest catch.

"We don't rank 'em, we don't rate 'em," he replied. "What I hope it shows is that no matter how long you're in office, no matter how powerful you're perceived to be, that we will chase down every lead. And if we believe we have proof we'll bring cases against you."

The quarry includes Coniglio, a Democrat who lives in Paramus, where he formerly served on the Borough Council. Christie's office is investigating whether the retired plumber used his Senate post to steer more than $1 million in taxpayer dollars to Hackensack University Medical Center at the same time the hospital employed him as a consultant.

Coniglio insists he has done nothing wrong. Asked during a March interview whether he played a role in steering grants to the hospital, he said, "No." He later said, "I don't recall."

Bryant, a Camden County Democrat who sat on the Senate's powerful Budget and Appropriations committee with Coniglio, was indicted in March on charges that he steered millions in state tax dollars to UMDNJ in exchange for a "no-work" job.

His attorney, Carl Poplar, said Friday that no plea deal is on the table, and that Bryant, who has pleaded not guilty, is gearing up for a scheduled January trial.

Others under scrutiny include state Assemblyman Brian Stack, the Democratic mayor of Union City. Prosecutors have subpoenaed records while examining whether he steered taxpayers' dollars to build a park next to his wife's day care center.

Stack and his wife, Katia, have acknowledged that the mayor played a role in grants that also benefited the day-care center that she directs. But they say the money was earmarked for construction -- and, therefore, separate from the director's salary.

The mayor said last spring that he welcomes a complete and thorough review, which he predicted would "put this thing to rest once and for all."

Another Union City property that has attracted Christie's interest is a house owned by Menendez that was rented by a social services agency. Prosecutors are probing whether Menendez, a Democrat, helped secure federal tax money for the agency.

I've highlighted the political affiliations from the article. We quickly learn that the prosecutor investigating the matters is a Republican, but only later do we learn that most of the targets are Democrats.

I completely understand that New Jersey's political scene is heavily tilted towards Democrats - they outnumber Republicans on voter rolls statewide, and Democrats have had strong showings in elections around the state. However, that is not a reason to bury the political affiliations.

It's also a matter of statistics - more Democrats will be the focus of corruption scandals in New Jersey simply because there are more Democrats in office. That should not give them a pass on the issue and voters shouldn't simply write this off as business as usual in New Jersey. Those soft expectations only harm New Jersey's long term fiscal stability and when politicians engage in corruption, bribery, and fraud, they are stealing from taxpayers. It hits you in the pocket.

When Sharpe James helped out one of his girlfriends by giving them a sweet deal on property in Newark, she flipped a small investment and turned it into a profit of hundreds of thousands of dollars. James spread the largess around to his friends and cronies and Newark suffered for it.

UPDATE:
Sharpe James is working the crowds as though he's campaigning to stay out of jail. The paper trail says something quite different. He was giving his friends and cronies sweetheart deals and they profited from the close relationships. Credit cards issued for the City of Newark were used for personal trips and purchases - and never reimbursed.

If he's trying to sway the jury pool with this nonsense, then the prosecutor may well have to seek another venue to assure an impartial jury.

Journalists: It's Time To Name That Party

Thanks Don for bringing much needed attention to a problem that smacks of journalistic bias. How is it that so many stories about politicians under investigation or indicted lack basic identification of political affiliation?

Why is it so difficult for the wire services to include that basic information? Or, is it omitted in some instances and included in others? Political bias does seem to play a role here, and that's just stupid. It's also lazy and shows a level of incompetence and a failure to take the job of reporting news seriously. It's substituting opinion for responsible journalism. It's also completely inexcusable.

When politicians are being investigated, indicted, or are forced to resign, those are all events that have lead time. These are stories that build over time and the reporters who follow such stories know the facts. Adding a single line that mentions political affiliation isn't difficult. Indeed, all one has to do in many stories is simply throw the political affiliation in parenthesis following the first mention of the person involved.

The AP knew that Sharpe James (D-Newark) [ed: see how difficult that was?!] was under investigation for months and that the DA was going to be holding a presser yesterday. They had lead time to write a basic story and flesh it out with details of the indictment (number of charges, type of charges, who else was indicted along with him). Among the basic facts should be party affiliation.

That is a critical piece of information for everyone - and it doesn't matter what party you belong to or what party the individual involved belongs to. We should have a right to know up front what our politicians are doing and what political parties they belong to. Reporters should not assume that everyone knows that James is a Democrat. Someone reading about his indictment in California wouldn't know. Reporters should not be assuming that their audience knows certain pieces of information about a given case. Report them. That's your job.

It's not the reader's job to go hunting for party affiliations.

I shouldn't have to hunt around a story trying to find what party an indicted politician belongs to. As I found yesterday, some papers did a better job than others, but there's no excuse for the failure to include this information.

I try to include political affiliations for those politicians I write about, especially when those politicians are more obscure and will do what I can to include party affiliation when writing about politicians going forward when it isn't sufficiently clear.

The Sharpe James Experience: UPDATE: Indicted

Sharpe James, Democrat political boss and the former Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and a fixture in New Jersey politics may be facing his toughest fight yet.

Rumors have it that he's going to get indicted today on a wide range of charges.

For weeks, a federal grand jury in Newark has been considering evidence involving city land deals and travel expenses that James billed to the city while he was mayor, The Star-Ledger has reported. That grand jury meets Thursdays, so each week that day has brought more whispers an indictment could be imminent.

Sources, who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to publicly discuss the case, said U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and FBI officials have tentatively scheduled a news conference for this afternoon. Spokesmen for both offices declined to comment.

UPDATE:
It's official. He's indicted on 33 counts Here's the piece in its entirety. Note what's missing:

A federal grand jury indicted former Newark Mayor Sharpe James on corruption charges Thursday, accusing him of fraud in the sale of city-owned land and using city-issued credit cards to spend extravagantly on himself and several women.

The 33-count indictment charges James with fraud for allegedly facilitating and approving the cut-rate sales of city-owned land to a female companion.

James, 71, is also charged in the indictment with using the city-issued credit cards on himself and eight women during vacations and trips to locations such as Puerto Rico, Martha's Vineyard, the Dominican Republic and Rio de Janeiro, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie and state Attorney General Anne Milgram announced.

James was expected to turn himself in to the FBI and appear in federal court later Thursday.

What's missing? How about his party affiliation! He's a life long Democrat. How'd that miss being included in the report? Will wonders ever cease?

UPDATE:
Quote of the Day:

"This indictment is about as surprising as the sun rising in the morning," New Jersey Republican Party chairman Tom Wilson said. "Sharpe James hasn't had a private sector job in 30 years, yet managed to acquire a Rolls Royce, a yacht and a house on the water at the Jersey shore. All the while his colleagues in the Democrat party tolerated, celebrated and even promoted James' political power."

No, it most certainly wasn't surprising. James built up quite a loyal following because he doled out perks to his cronies, and Newark suffered for it.

UPDATE:
Welcome Instapundit readers. Thanks for stopping by!

UPDATE:
This longer AP piece does mention his party affiliation, but it takes until the seventh paragraph to do so. That's an improvement.

UPDATE:
The NYT has a pretty good article on the indictment, and notes his party affiliation in the fourth paragraph. It also notes that there is significant concern among Democrats that there might be a spillover effect.

Here's a copy of the indictment.

UPDATE:
An eagle eyed reader wonders whether I did my math right and found Democrat listed in the fourth paragraph. The link above (this one) does not mention his party affiliation until the 18th paragraph (and obliquely at that).

It would appear that I linked to the wrong article, as this one references the Democrats in the fourth paragraph (again, in an oblique manner).

Both NYT articles were written by David Kocieniewski.