Hoboken Mayor Cammarano, Secaucus Mayor Elwell, Jersey City deputy mayor busted

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Harvey Smith spends day on bench in hallway of federal courthouse while jury deliberates his fate
Thursday, December 16, 2010
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - The first day of jury deliberations in the corruption trial of former Jersey City Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith ended at 4:40 p.m. yesterday without a verdict.

Smith, 61, spent most of the day sitting on a bench with other family members in the hallway at federal court. Smith is accused of accepting $15,000 in cash from FBI informant Solomon Dwek, who pretended to be a developer named David Esenbach. In exchange for the money, Smith allegedly agreed to help Dwek obtain permits and to do other favors.

Of the $15,000, Smith returned $5,000, which according to court testimony was funneled into his campaign coffers by straw donors. Smith was running for mayor of Jersey City at the time. The other $10,000 Smith stored in his basement and then turned it over to his attorney.

Smith is charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under the color of official right, two counts of attempted extortion, two counts of bribery and one count of money laundering. Smith has testified that he tried to return the $10,000 payment, but was unable to before he was arrested in July 2009.

Deliberations continue today at 9:30 a.m. in the courtroom of Judge Jose Linares.

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Jurors in Smith corruption case begin deliberations
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - Was former Jersey City Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith a willing conspirator in a plot to accept bribe money or was he an unsuspecting dupe drawn into a corrupt plot by expert storytellers? That's the question jurors have to figure out as they begin deliberations today in federal court.

Smith, 61, is accused of accepting $15,000 in cash from Solomon Dwek, an informant who pretended to be developer David Esenbach. Smith allegedly agreed to help Dwek obtain permits and do other favors in return for the money.

Of the $15,000, Smith returned $5,000, which was then converted into a check and money orders and deposited into a bank account for his 2009 bid for mayor of Jersey City. The other $10,000, Smith stored in his basement then turned over to his attorney.

Smith is charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right, two counts of attempted extortion, two counts of bribery and one count of money laundering.

Smith has testified he tried to return the $10,000 payment but was unable to and that he didn't know the $5,000 was converted into a donation.

"The defendant in this case, L. Harvey Smith, wants you to believe he was only in the business of serving the public, but you've seen the evidence in this case, you know better," Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Moser said in her closing statement yesterday. "Dumping the bribe money into a campaign account doesn't magically transform it into a legitimate campaign contribution," she added.

But Smith's attorney Peter Willis described his client as a life-long public servant who had a blemish-free career until his arrest in July 2009. Willis argues that Smith was an unwilling participant who was drawn to meetings with Dwek under false pretenses by Ed Cheatam, who served under Smith as deputy mayor in 2004.

Smith was simply concerned about a proposed development in his district, while Cheatam and Dwek were "good storytellers," he said.

Willis underscored the fact that the government's case against Smith relies heavily on testimony by Cheatam, who has already pleaded guilty to accepting $70,000 in bribes from Dwek and signed a cooperation agreement.

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Former Jersey City assemblyman's federal trial on corruption charges is expected to hear closing arguments today
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - Closing arguments are expected to be heard today in the corruption trial of former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith, who is charged with accepting $15,000 in bribes and faces decades in prison if convicted.

Smith is one of more than 40 people charged in a massive federal probe and is accused of accepting the money from FBI informant Solomon Dwek who was masquerading last year as a developer seeking favors.

While on the stand yesterday, Smith reiterated that he was outraged when he received the initial $5,000 payment from Dwek, so much so that Smith said he returned the money through an intermediary.

But the intermediary, former Jersey City Housing Authority Commissioner Edward Cheatam, has testified that the money was not returned to Dwek but instead funneled into Smith's campaign by straw donors.

Smith, at the time, was running for mayor of Jersey City and has acknowledged receiving the campaign contributions. Cheatam has already pleaded guilty to taking bribes from Dwek.

Smith testified that months later, shortly after another meeting with Dwek, another go-between tossed a FedEx envelope in his car that turned out to contain $10,000. The former assemblyman said he knew "something was terribly wrong" when Dwek phoned him and said, "We'll keep those Fed Ex's coming."

Smith said he immediately called his pastor, the Rev. Joseph Jones of Jersey City's Monumental Baptist Church, because he wanted his help returning the money. On the witness stand yesterday, Jones confirmed he received a call from Smith.

"He said to me 'Reverend, there's something I've got to talk to you about,'" Jones said. "'Somebody put something in my car,' and he said 'I need to meet with you and talk to you.'"

But Jones was unable to meet Smith, who testified he took the money home, left it in his basement, and went on vacation the next day. A few days into his trip Smith was notified there was a warrant for his arrest and he returned home and surrendered.

Under cross-examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Moser reminded Jones that he told the FBI that Smith had not given him any information about why he wanted to meet.

"Since then, you remembered he said someone put something in his car?" Moser asked.

"Yes," replied Jones.

Testimony ended yesterday with the prosecution's first rebuttal witness, Eugene Drayton, who was one of Smith's campaign managers in 2009.

Smith testified last week that once the $5,000 was converted into campaign contributions, he gave the checks and money orders to Drayton or his campaign treasurer Eric Martin. Drayton denied ever seeing them, as did Martin.

The trial resumes this morning at 8:30 a.m.

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Former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith testifies at corruption trial he wasn't thinking about a recording device when he made "pat down" remark that is heard on tape
Saturday, December 11, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith said he threatened to pat down a pushy, loud-mouthed developer because he wanted the man to stop talking.  "The things he was saying could have lead to a misinterpretation of what he was saying," Smith said.

When Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny Kramer asked Smith during her cross-examination yesterday if he wanted to pat down the man he knew as David Esenbach because he was concerned he had a weapon, Smith responded, "It's possible."

"You didn't want to pat him down for a recording device?" Kramer asked Smith.

Smith responded, "I didn't think about that at that time."

Smith is on trial accused of accepting $15,000 from Esenbach, a fictitious persona used by federal informant Solomon Dwek.

It was outside the Broadway Diner in Bayonne following an April 30, 2009 meeting that Smith was captured on tape telling Dwek, "Stop talking because you make me feel like I want to pat you down."

The line had been played for jurors over and over again during the course of the past two weeks. It was also the first line of Kramer's opening statement.

The government alleges that Smith used his position as an assemblyman to help Dwek further developments on Garfield Avenue in Jersey City and Route 440 in Bayonne. While Smith admits that he made calls to state agencies to check the status of the purported projects, he says he did nothing illegal or in violation of the Legislative Code of Ethics.

Kramer noted that while Smith testified that Dwek made him uncomfortable the first time he met him, April 26, 2009, he kept eating his breakfast during that meeting and went on to meet with the man three more times. She also got Smith to testify that he didn't pay for the meals he ate during the April meetings.

Kramer is working to discredit Smith's testimony that he feels he was set up by onetime Deputy Mayor Edward Cheatam, who introduced him to Dwek.

Smith, who was running for mayor of Jersey City in 2009, said he made it clear during the first meeting that he could not accept cash donations. So when Dwek gave him $5,000 cash through a middle man - Richard Greene, a former Hudson County employee - he returned it to Cheatam, he said.

Smith said he was unaware Cheatam was converting the cash into a check and five money orders, which he dropped off a week later.

Smith testified that he was given another $10,000 on July 17, 2009, when Cheatam tossed a Fed-Ex envelope into the back of his car. But Smith said he had no idea cash was in the envelope until he drove off. When he tried to go to Cheatam's house to return it, Cheatam was not there, he said.

Smith testified that he kept the $10,000 in his basement because he was leaving for vacation early the next morning with his two grandsons and his wife, Gail, who was scheduled to have major surgery when they returned.

His vacation was cut short July 23, 2009 when the FBI called him and asked him to surrender. He's among 45 individuals charged in the Operation Bid Rig III sting. Cross-examination continues Monday.

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Former Jersey City assemblyman testifies he felt uncomfortable during meeting with FBI informant and specifically told him "I don't do quid pro quo"
Friday, December 10, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - Former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith can't use entrapment as a defense against federal corruption charges, but that hasn't stopped his attorney from trying to prove he was set up.

Smith took the stand in his own defense yesterday against charges he accepted $15,000 in cash - broken into two payments - in exchange for his official assistance. Under questioning from his attorney Peter Willis, Smith testified that former Jersey City Housing Authority Commissioner Ed Cheatam, whom he considered a friend at the time, introduced him to purported developer David Esenbach.

Esenbach was actually Solomon Dwek, a federal informant who was secretly recording meetings and phone conversations with public officials he attempted to bribe. Cheatam and Jack Shaw, a Jersey City political consultant who died last year, were paid by Dwek to bring people like Smith to meetings.

Smith said yesterday that Cheatam - who has pleaded guilty to taking bribes from Dwek - arranged the meeting under the guise that the developer wanted to contribute to his campaign 2009 Jersey City mayoral campaign. The four met at a Perkins in Staten Island on April 24, 2009. Dwek, Cheatam and Shaw told Smith about a purported development on Garfield Avenue in Jersey City and asked for his assistance.

Under questioning from Willis, Smith pointed out that when Dwek asked him for assistance at that meeting, he remained noncommittal and asked more questions about the project. According to FBI tapes of that meeting, when Smith stood to leave, Dwek followed him and said, "Give me your word that you'll expedite my stuff."

Smith responded, "I don't do quid pro quo. Ed will tell you how I operate."

Willis asked Smith to tell the jurors what he was thinking when Dwek asked Smith to commit to expediting his proposals.

"I was a little uncomfortable during points of this meeting, with words that were said. I wanted an opportunity to set him straight," Smith replied.

Smith said yesterday that when Dwek passed along $5,000 to him through a middle man on April 30, 2009, he thought it was a campaign contribution and didn't know it was cash until he opened it in his Jersey City office. Smith said he didn't count it, but called Cheatam and returned it.

Through straw donors, Cheatam converted the funds into a check and money orders, something Smith said he knew nothing about.

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At former Jersey City assemblyman's corruption trial, two former state officials testify that they didn't consider calls he made to them about development projects to be inappropriate
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - The government yesterday rested its case against former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith, who is accused of accepting $15,000 in bribes. Prosecutors called current and former state officials to the stand yesterday.

Smith is accused of taking the bribes from Solomon Dwek, a federal informant who pretended to be developer David Esenbach. As Esenbach, Dwek sought Smith's help with a proposed project on Garfield Avenue in Jersey City and Route 440 in Bayonne.

Former state Department of Transportation Commissioner Stephen Dilts testified yesterday that Smith contacted him about the Bayonne project, where Dwek was purportedly seeking an access road from Route 440.

Former state Department of Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Mark Mauriello said Smith called him about the Garfield Avenue site, which was contaminated, wanting to know where the remediation process stood.

Both men said they didn't feel the inquiries were inappropriate.

Deputy Assembly Speaker John Wisniewski, chairman of the Assembly transportation committee, testified yesterday that Smith called him as well. Wisniewski, a lawyer from Middlesex County, said Smith called him asking if he could represent a client in a land use matter in Bayonne.

Wisniewski, who is also chairman of the state Democratic Party, initially told Smith he could do such a job, but when Smith told him the matter would be before the state Department of Environmental Protection, Wisniewski said he told Smith that would be a conflict. "I'm already paid by the state to be an assemblyman," Wisniewski said. "I can't be paid by a client to go before a state agency."

Smith's attorney Peter Willis asked if Wisniewski ever filed a written complaint that Smith had violated the ethics rules and Wisniewski said he had not.

The judge is away today and the trial is set to resume tomorrow, when Smith is expected to testify.

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Two government witnesses at trial of former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith tell different stories of becoming involved with bribe scheme
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - Two witnesses in the government's case against former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith told different stories yesterday in court about how they became involved in a scheme to bribe him. Smith is on trial accused of accepting $15,000 in bribes from Solomon Dwek, a federal informant who pretended to be a crooked developer.
 
Richard Greene, the former head of the Hudson County Office of Business Opportunity, testified yesterday that his former co-worker Edward Cheatam asked him to attend a meeting with Dwek and Smith at the Broadway Diner in Bayonne on April 30, 2009. The government originally charged Greene with passing a $5,000 bribe from Dwek to Smith, but recently dropped those charges.

Greene said yesterday that Cheatam and Smith had a "hot and cold" relationship and he was there to help Cheatam make Smith comfortable while meeting Dwek. Greene said he was an ordained minister and served as a spiritual advisor to Smith after Smith's son died.

But Cheatam, who has pleaded guilty to taking $70,000 in bribes for introducing Dwek to officials, told a different story. He testified that Greene wanted to be involved after hearing about Dwek's purported development on Garfield Avenue in Jersey City and agreed to deliver a campaign donation from Dwek to Smith.

Greene said yesterday that when Dwek handed him the cash, he was told Smith was expecting it and to make sure Dwek's name wasn't associated with it. Greene said he then went over to Smith's car and relayed the message that the supposed developer didn't want his name associated with the donation.

With Cheatam's help, the money was subsequently funneled into Smith's campaign using straw donors. Smith was running for mayor of Jersey City at the time.

The trial resumes today.

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Judge allows 'set-up' question in corruption trial of former Jersey City assemblyman
Published: Friday, December 03, 2010, 3:59 PM
Updated: Friday, December 03, 2010, 5:28 PM
Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal

Setting something up and entrapment are not the same, according to the federal judge presiding over the corruption trial of former Jersey City Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith. “A setup is not an entrapment, the sting operation by definition is a setup,” U.S. District Judge Jose Linares said. “It doesn’t have to be entrapment.”

Smith is accused of accepting $15,000 from a government informant posing as a crooked developer. He was one of 46 people charged last year in Operation Bid Rig III, a sweeping political corruption and money laundering sting operation centered around FBI informant Solomon Dwek, who pretended to be developer David Esenbach.

Prior to today’s lunch break in the trial, Smith’s attorney Peter Willis asked the government’s key witness, Edward Cheatam, if he knew the definition of “set-up.” Willis is trying to prove that Cheatam, who served as deputy mayor when Smith was appointed mayor of Jersey City, induced Smith to meet with Dwek under the false pretense that Dwek wanted to donate to his 2009 mayoral campaign.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny Kramer objected to use the use of terms like induce and setup, saying that the court has already ruled Smith cannot use entrapment as a defense at trial. She argued that inducement is a legal term and part of entrapment and said that was why she asked to discuss Willis’ line of questioning with the judge. She accused Willis of trying to “plant seeds” of entrapment in the minds of jurors.

Linares heard the arguments before jurors returned from lunch. “It was getting dangerously close so I wanted to address it,” she said.

But Linares overruled her objection. “The facts of this case are that Mr. Cheatam had an inducement to bring Mr. Smith and many other politicians to the table because he was getting paid, so it was his benefit to bring people to the table, I think that’s appropriate,” Linares said. Cheatam has pleaded guilty to accepting $70,000 in bribes in exchange for introducing Dwek to public officials.

When Cheatam returned to the stand, Willis asked him about something Dwek said during a taped meeting with Cheatam and Smith. “I’m not a Democrat, I’m not a Republican. I’m the Green Party,” Dwek says. When Willis asks Cheatam what Dwek is talking about, Cheatam testified, “He always says that, he deals with cash.”

When Smith goes to leave that meeting, Dwek asks him to give him his word to expedite his approvals and promises to pay him. “Did you understand that Mr. Esenbach was setting up Mr. Smith,” Willis asked Cheatam.

“I didn’t get that impression, no,” Cheatam testified.

After Dwek promised to pay Smith, the then-assemblyman responds, "I don't do quid pro quo." When Willis asked Cheatam about that statement, he testified he did not know the meaning of quid pro quo.

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Jury at former Jersey City assemblyman's corruption trial sees video of him meeting with FBI informant, two others in diners to discuss deals and payments
Friday, December 03, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A black and white video shows former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith asking questions and jotting down notes on the back of a place mat about potential developments in Jersey City and Bayonne.

Those notes, and a tape of that July 16, 2009 meeting at the Jersey City Diner - which was also attended by Edward Cheatam; Jersey City political consultant Jack Shaw, and federal informant Solomon Dwek - was shown yesterday during the second day of Smith's federal corruption trial.
 
Smith is accused of accepting $15,000 from Dwek, who was pretending to be a developer, in exchange for Smith's official assistance.

On the tape, Smith tells the developer that he will speak to Assemblyman John Wisniewski, chairman of the Assembly transportation committee, of which Smith was a member at the time.

Smith says he will try to arrange a meeting between Dwek and Wisniewski, but adds that Wisniewski is a lawyer and a "straight guy."

But Dwek makes it clear he's willing to pay people for their help. Dwek references a previous $5,000 payment to Smith, joking that he's a generous guy.

Smith responds, "According to your standards you're generous" and the whole table laughs.

When Dwek asks for his support, Smith says he can make some calls. "I can get the ball rolling," he says.

According to tapes shown in court yesterday, Smith met with the trio again the following day, this time at the Malibu Diner in Hoboken.

At the end of that meeting, Cheatam testified yesterday, he walked over to Smith's car and gave him $10,000 cash from Dwek in a Fed-Ex envelope.

Under cross-examination, Smith's defense attorney, Peter Willis, painted Cheatam as a corrupt public official who introduced Dwek to political figures in exchange for cash payments. Cheatam has pleaded guilty to accepting $70,000 in bribes.

He also used Cheatam's own statement to the FBI to question his credibility. Referring to an FBI report, Willis said when Cheatam was arrested July 23, 2009, he told agents he had thrown the envelope in Smith's car.

"That's what it says here, but that's not what I remember saying," Cheatam said.

Shaw died shortly after his arrest last year.

The trial is scheduled to resume today.

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Former Jersey City assemblyman's federal corruption trial hears testimony on how alleged bribe money got disguised as contributions from straw donors, and prosecutor points to L. Harvey Smith's own words caught on tape
Thursday, December 02, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - From illicit campaign contributions disguised by straw donors to promises of checking on environmental issues with a state agency, the federal government made its case to jurors yesterday that former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith is a man who was easily bought.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny Kramer even used Smith's words against him.

"'Stop talking because you make me feel like I might want to pat you down.'"

"The defendant's own words are perhaps some of the most compelling evidence we're going to see throughout the trial," Kramer said during her opening remarks at Smith's corruption trial. Smith is caught on tape saying those words to Solomon Dwek, an informant who pretended to be a corrupt developer named David Esenbach.

But Smith's attorney, Peter Willis, argued that his client did nothing illegal. He said his client told Dwek that he doesn't do "quid pro quo," a remark Dwek also caught on a hidden camera and that, as an assemblyman, Smith had every right to check with state agencies about projects in his district.

Smith is accused of accepting $15,000 in bribes from Dwek to obtain environmental permits for a project Dwek claimed he wanted to build on Garfield Avenue in Jersey City.

Willis said yesterday that Smith returned the first $5,000 payment from Dwek; and that when Dwek passed another $10,000 to him through a middle man, Smith sought guidance from his priest and was arrested before he had the opportunity to return the money.

But former Jersey City Housing Authority Commissioner Edward Cheatam took the stand as the government's first witness yesterday and said he not only introduced Smith to Dwek, he also got straw donors to convert the $5,000 cash payment into money orders and a check for Smith, who was running for mayor of Jersey City in 2009.

With the money orders and check in hand, Cheatam said, he called Smith and told him he had converted the cash and drove to Smith's home. "He said he was home because he was sick, he told me to put the envelope in the mailbox," Cheatam said, adding that he did as he was told.

Cheatam said as he was driving away he saw an arm reach out to the mailbox from the door.

Cheatam has pleaded guilty to taking about $70,000 from Dwek in exchange for introducing him to officials, including former Jersey City deputy mayor Leona Beldini, who was convicted at trial.

Smith and Cheatam are among the 46 individuals charged in last year's massive Operation Bid Rig III sting operation.

Smith's trial continues today.

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Former Jersey City assemblyman's federal corruption trial will hear testimony from many prominent officials
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - No, Solomon Dwek won't be testifying at the corruption trial of former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith, which is scheduled for opening arguments today in federal court.

But just because the government's ace informant is sitting this one out doesn't mean this trial won't have star power.

Several high-profile names appear on a potential witness list, including former New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Stephen Dilts, former Department of Environmental Protection Agency Commissioner Mark Mauriello, and Patricia Leahey, from the state Department of Treasury's Management and Internal Audit Unit.

Evelyn Ford, the compliance director for the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, is also on the list.

Smith was running for mayor of Jersey City in 2009 when he allegedly accepted $15,000 in bribes from Dwek, who was pretending to be a developer, to help Dwek obtain environmental and other permits.

Deputy Assembly Speaker John Wisniewski, chairman of the state Democratic Party, is also listed. Wisniewski declined to comment yesterday about his involvement in the case.

Chairman of the Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee, Wisniewski has previously said he was the unnamed "DOT official" referred to in the criminal complaint against Smith.

Dwek recorded a conversation during which Smith said he could not get Wisniewski's help with approvals for a project on Route 440 in Bayonne, according to the complaint. Smith was also a member of the transportation committee at the time.

There are also several local personalities on the list, including Smith's former aide Richard Greene, former Jersey City Housing Authority commissioner Edward Cheatam, and Maher Khalil, former deputy director of the Jersey City Department of Health and Human Services.

The government recently dropped all charges against Greene, who was accused of passing a $5,000 bribe from Dwek to Smith. Cheatam has pleaded guilty to accepting $70,000 in bribes from Dwek, and Khalil pleaded guilty to accepting $72,500 in bribes.

Jersey City Ward F Councilwoman Viola Richardson is on the list, as well as Jersey City Planning Director Bob Cotter.

Being on the list doesn't mean the potential witness will be called and could only be an indication that their name will be heard on tapes recorded by Dwek.

Operation Big Rig III, as last year's massive sting is known, has so far led to guilty pleas or convictions of 14 persons related to Hudson County, including former Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini and former Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano.

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Jury selection begins in federal corruption trial of former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - Jury selection in the federal corruption trial of former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith is to resume today. Smith is accused of accepting $15,000 in bribes from a federal informant who posed as a crooked developer.
 
He's among 46 people charged last year in Operation Bid Rig III, a sweeping political corruption and money laundering sting, and is the fifth to go on trial.

Juries have former Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, former Guttenberg Councilman Vincent Tabbachino and ex-Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt, of Ocean Township [sic]. Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez, who was tried with Tabbachino, was acquitted.

A pool of potential jurors spent yesterday filling out questionnaires. In contrast, jurors in Beldini's trial answered questions verbally.

Among the questions jurors were asked on the questionnaire was whether they knew or heard of Solomon Dwek, the prodigious informant at the center of the sting. Even though the government doesn't plan to call him, conversations and meetings he recorded will be played during trial.

The potential jurors were also asked their views on law enforcement officials, if they have made political donations, or have a problem fairly judging someone with a party affiliation. Smith, a Democrat, is charged with accepting the funds when he was running for mayor of Jersey City in May 2009.

They were also asked if knowing a witness had signed a cooperation agreement with the United States would affect their impartiality.

The government is expected to call Richard Greene, Smith's former aide, who was charged with passing a $5,000 bribe from Dwek to Smith. The government dropped its charges against Greene last week.

Without Dwek, the government could also rely on the testimony of former Jersey City Housing Authority Commission Edward Cheatam, who pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy soon after he was charged last year. Cheatam was on the witness list for Beldini's trial but was never called to the stand.

Attorneys for both sides said they hope to have a jury seated by tomorrow.

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Federal government drops charges against former aide of former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith
Published: Friday, November 26, 2010, 9:58 AM
The Jersey Journal

Although the federal government is pushing through with corruption charges against former Jersey City assemblyman L. Harvey Smith, they are dropping charges against Smith's former aide, as reported by the Jersey Journal.

Reports say Richard Greene, who was charged with extortion conspiracy in a July 21, 2009 criminal complaint tied to Smith, will not be prosecuted. First Assistant Public Defender Chester Keller, who is representing Greene, told the Journal he was "very happy for Richard," adding, "Richard's a good man."
The government's complaint alleged that Greene accepted $5,000 from a government informant outside a Bayonne restaurant in April 2009 and then handed the money to Smith inside Smith's car, according to reports.

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Court refuses ex-N.J. assemblyman's entrapment claim in FBI corruption investigation
Published: Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 5:26 PM
Updated: Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 5:26 PM
Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger

HUDSON COUNTY — Entrapment will be no defense for former Democratic Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith. U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares ruled today that Smith will not be allowed to claim he was lured by the FBI into last year’s sweeping federal corruption sting, rejecting a request to hold evidentiary hearings into the matter.

[...]

According to criminal complaints, Dwek, who was going by the name of David Esenbach and supposedly was looking for development deals in Jersey City, met Smith several times seeking his intervention with high-level state agency officials. Dwek, the complaint charged, walked out of one meeting with Smith, then took an envelope containing $10,000 in cash out of the trunk of his car.

"Okay," Smith said as he walked to his own car.

Prosecutors say Dwek gave the money to Cheatam, who had facilitated the meeting. Cheatam took it to Smith, returning without the envelope. According to transcripts of surveillance video from a hidden camera worn by Dwek, the informant himself then walked over to the legislator’s Ford Flex. "Harvey, I don’t want you to call me a cheap skunk anymore," he said.

"Hey, it’s not about that," Smith replied, according to the transcripts. "It’s just about, it’s just about the fact that I’m a straight guy."

Greene has been charged, but not yet indicted. Shaw died within days after his arrest. Cheatam has already pleaded guilty in the case. Willis argued it was Shaw and Cheatam who drew Smith into the scheme.

[...]

In his ruling today, Linares said entrapment can be argued only when the government’s deception "actually implants the criminal design in the mind of the defendant." The judge said neither Cheatam nor Shaw, who arranged the meetings with Smith, were acting as agents of the government.

Willis argued Dwek continuously played upon the fact he was a donor and that his client repeatedly attempted to disassociate himself from the alleged illegal activities, but that Dwek "bulldozed" him by "trying to put words in Mr. Smith’s mouth. Words that do not come from Mr. Smith."

However, Linares was not convinced. He said the recordings provided no evidence Smith was in such dire need of funding for his ill-fated mayoral campaign that he was induced by Dwek to take illicit contributions, and appeared to be engaged in nothing more than a business transaction.

The U.S. Attorney’s office had no comment. An attorney for Smith did not return calls seeking response.

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Ex-assemblyman L. Harvey Smith wants to argue at corruption trial that he was drawn into bribery scheme as part of government plot to entrap him
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - As part of a government plot, a former Jersey City official and a political consultant allegedly conspired with an FBI informant to entrap former assemblyman L. Harvey Smith in last year's massive sting.

That's the defense Smith's attorney, Peter Willis, wants to argue when Smith's trial on corruption charges begins later this month.

Smith is the first of the 46 charged in Operation Bid Rig to try to use an "entrapment" defense. He is accused of accepting $15,000 in bribes when he ran for mayor of Jersey City in 2009.

Yesterday, a motion hearing was held before Judge Jose Linares to decide whether or not Smith will be allowed to put forward the entrapment defense when his trial starts Nov. 29. Linares said he would likely rule on the motion this week.

With Smith seated at the defense table, Willis argued yesterday that the government used former Jersey City Housing Authority Commissioner Edward Cheatam, political consultant Jack Shaw, and Smith's former aide Richard Greene to entice Smith to accept $15,000 in alleged bribes.

Cheatam has pleaded guilty to taking bribes from government informant Solomon Dwek, who was masquerading as a deep-pockets developer seeking favors from people of influence. Greene was arrested but hasn't been indicted, and Shaw died soon after his arrest.

To argue entrapment, Smith would have to admit he committed a crime. Willis was careful yesterday to refer to the "alleged bribe" while arguing that Smith was induced by the government to commit an offense he otherwise would not have.

Willis said Shaw and Cheatam drew Smith into a scheme that started before Smith ever met Dwek in April 2009. He said Greene, a spiritual advisor to Smith, was used to pass money.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Moser countered that the conspiracy in this case started when Smith met Dwek at a Staten Island diner on April 24, 2009.

"It's absurd and laughable that Jack Shaw - who is now deceased and died a few days after being arrested - and Edward Cheatam signed on and inculpated themselves," she said.

The government alleges that Smith accepted a $5,000 bribe on April 30, 2009 and a $10,000 bribe July 17, 2009.

In an 81-page brief filed in September, Willis argues that when an intermediary put an envelope containing $5,000 in cash in Smith's car, Smith was unaware it contained cash and returned the funds to Cheatam.

The government charges that Smith gave the cash to Cheatam to convert it into smaller checks, which were then funneled into Smith's campaign.

Willis revealed yesterday that Smith turned over the $10,000 to him in July 2009 and that this money has been kept in a bank vault.

[MCA™]

Paging fasteddie...


Former assemblyman L. Harvey Smith has spent all his defense money before trial begins in November; federal program will pay his $135-an-hour lawyer
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The public will pick up the tab for former assemblyman L. Harvey Smith's defense against federal corruption charges.

U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares signed an application Monday that allows Smith to have his lawyer, private investigators and expert witnesses paid for through a federal program for financially stricken defendants.

Smith's attorney, Peter Willis, who will stay on as his public defender, said Smith took out a loan on his home but could no longer afford to pay for his defense. Willis said state officials suspended Smith's pension pending the outcome of his trial.

Smith, a former member of the Jersey City City Council, is a former Jersey City public schools employee and a former Hudson County undersheriff.

Willis, who will now be paid $135 per hour as Smith's court-appointed attorney, declined to say how much Smith has spent on his defense. "He went through a substantial amount of his private money until it was exhausted," Willis said. "This is just a last desperate attempt to kind of equalize ourselves with the government."

Willis said another benefit to Linares signing Smith's application is Smith will receive daily transcripts of the court proceedings in his case. Willis said normally that would cost thousands of dollars.

Smith, who resigned from his post as undersheriff when he was running for mayor of Jersey City last year, also served in the state Senate. He did not seek re-election to his Assembly seat last year.

Smith is among the 46 people charged in Operation Bid Rig last year, a sweeping political corruption and international money laundering sting. He is accused of accepting $15,000 in bribes from a federal informant.

Smith has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his trial is set to begin Nov. 29.

[MCA™]

Federal court filing cites wiretaps showing federal informant Dwek's requests for meetings were rebuffed by Bayonne's mayor and Jersey City Councilmen Gaughan and Brennan
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A series of wiretaps cited in a federal court filing reveal that a number of politicians in Hudson County rebuffed overtures from Solomon Dwek, the government informant at the center of last year's massive corruption sting.

According to filings submitted on behalf of former Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith - who claims he was entrapped by Dwek and government agents - Dwek tried to approach Bayonne Mark Smith, as well as Jersey City Councilmen Bill Gaughan and Peter Brennan. But they didn't bite.

The 81-page motion filed by Smith on Sept. 9 as part of an effort to have federal charges against him dismissed indicates that Dwek tried to approach Mark Smith, Gaughan and Brennan through two intermediaries - former Jersey City Housing Authority commissioner Edward Cheatam and political operative Jack Shaw.

Shaw died shortly after his arrest in July 2009 as part of Operation Bid Rig and Cheatam was among the first to plead guilty.

Steve Gallo, Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith's chief of staff, said Shaw tried to set up a meeting with Dwek but "wasn't successful."

Brennan said Cheatam approached him about meeting with Dwek, but he declined when money was mentioned. "They were trying to get every council person in my opinion," Brennan said.

Gaughan said Friday he met with Cheatam, Shaw and Dwek, but became suspicious when Dwek couldn't provide specific details about his purported Jersey City development. After Dwek tried to give him $5,000 through an intermediary, Gaughan said he cut off contact.

"They don't ever talk about the guys that say 'no,'" Gaughan said. "They talk about the ones that unfortunately succumbed to the temptation."

According to published reports, Councilwoman Viola Richardson also refused to meet with Dwek.

L. Harvey Smith maintains his innocence and is headed to trial Nov. 29.

[MCA™]

Destitute former Hoboken mayor remorseful before sentencing on federal corruption charges
Published: Thursday, August 05, 2010, 12:30 PM
Updated: Thursday, August 05, 2010, 12:55 PM
Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

Former Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano III was remorseful as he stood before U.S. District Judge Jose Linares awaiting his sentence on federal corruption charges today. “I know that I have let down friends and family and supporters and the people of Hoboken. I can honestly say that I will spend the rest of my days trying to make amends for my conduct in this case,” Cammarano told the judge.

Linares sentenced Cammarano to 24 months in jail and two years supervised release. He also ordered Cammarano to return the $25,000 he received in bribes from a government informant. But Linares did not add a fine as he did with others who have pleaded guilty in charges following last year’s massive political corruption sting.

Cammarano’s attorney Joseph A. Hayden asked the judge for compassion. He said Cammarano’s wife has left him, he is separated from his daughter, his law licenses has been suspended and he has been without work since his arrest last July. In delivering his sentence, Linares said there was a need to deter these crimes and protect the political system.

Of the Hudson County officials charged in Operation Bid Rig to plead guilty and be sentenced, Cammarano has received the longest jail term. Former Jersey City Councilman Phil Kenny was sentenced to 12 months and one day in jail, followed by two years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $4,000 for pleading guilty to extortion conspiracy for accepting $5,000 in bribes. Kenny is serving his sentence at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Unsuccessful Jersey City council candidate Lavern Webb-Washington, who pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy for accepting $15,000 in bribes, was also sentenced to one year and one day in prison followed by two years of supervised release. She had to forfeit $5,000. Her June prison surrender date was suspended pending the outcome of another Operation Bid Rig case that could impact the charges against her.

Guy Catrillo, who is serving time at the federal detention center at Fort Dix in Burlington County, pleaded guilty to attempted extortion under color of official right for accepting $15,000 in bribes. The former Jersey City planning aid was fined $4,000 and sentenced to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

[MCA™]

Former Jersey City deputy mayor Leona Beldini asks judge to let her remain free pending appeal of her corruption conviction instead of starting prison term next Monday
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - If a federal judge doesn't intervene, former Jersey City deputy mayor Leona Beldini will report to a Texas prison on Monday as inmate 30118-050.

In an 11th-hour attempt to keep from being locked up, Beldini and her attorney asked U.S. District Judge Jose Linares yesterday to allow her to remain free on bail pending her appeal of a federal corruption conviction. Linares said he would give the request "serious consideration" and said if he doesn't rule by Monday he would push back her prison date.

Beldini, who looked shaken in court, did not speak at the hearing.

She was convicted on two bribery charges in February for accepting $20,000 in illicit campaign contributions for Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy's 2009 election from a federal informant. Four other charges against her were dismissed. Healy has not been charged with any crimes.

In June, Linares sentenced her to three years in prison, plus two years of supervised release and a $30,000 fine. Her attorney, Brian Neary, said she has already paid the fine.

Neary argued that Beldini, 76, should be allowed to remain free on the $100,000 bail she posted before her conviction because she is not a flight risk, has poor health and has a good chance of winning her appeal. He argued that the jury was inconsistent because it convicted Beldini of bribery but not extortion and offered other cases where bail has been granted.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Moser said those cases don't apply to Beldini and questioned how successful her appeal will be. Beldini, who owns several properties, is worth $2 million and faces a significant prison term, making her a flight risk, Moser argued. "A jury of 12 people found without any doubt that the defendant acted corruptly," Moser said.

Beldini is one of 46 people charged last year in Operation Bid Rig, a massive federal political corruption and money laundering sting that also brought charges against Hudson County assemblymen and mayors.

Although Linares asked the federal Bureau of Prisons to place her close to home, Neary said Beldini must report to Carswell Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. He said no reason was given. The facility, located on Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, provides specialized medical and mental health services to about 1,475 female prisoners.

[duke_of_earl]

fined $30,000 for accepting $20,000 in bribes

Man, talk about diminishing return on investment!

Think so?  That's just the amount she was caught taking.

duke

[bdlaw]

fined $30,000 for accepting $20,000 in bribes

Man, talk about diminishing return on investment!

[MCA™]

Jersey City ex-Deputy Mayor Beldini is sentenced to three years in prison
Published: Monday, June 14, 2010, 12:45 PM
Updated: Monday, June 14, 2010, 12:55 PM
Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal

Former Jersey City deputy Mayor Leona Beldini was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $30,000 for accepting $20,000 in bribes from an informant posing as a developer.

The former burlesque queen, 75, was also sentenced to two years probation after she serves the prison sentence for her two convictions, Judge Jose Linares ruled this morning in Newark. The three-year sentence is below federal guidelines of 41 to 51 months.

Beldini's attorney, Brian Neary, said he plans to appeal the sentence and will be asking for bail, pending the appeal.
"Campaign contributions are not bribes," Neary said "She took checks, not cash. She received nothing and promised nothing."
Beldini, who was Mayor Jerramiah Healy's campaign treasurer at the time of the crimes, faced up to 10 years in prison on each count and a fine of up to $500,000.

Beldini was convicted in February on two counts of bribery -- acceptance of things of value to influence and reward -- for accepting $20,000 in campaign contributions from FBI informant Solomon Dwek. The two $10,000 payments were made on March 25, 2009 and May 5, 2009.

Half of the bribe money that Beldini accepted went to the Jersey City Democratic Committee and half to Healy's campaign. Dwek made the donations in exchange for the promise of Beldini's official help in getting approvals for a fictitious development project on Garfield Avenue. The informant recorded four meetings in March and April 2009 with Beldini and others, including Healy, who has not been charged.

Beldini was the first person convicted in cases stemming from last summer's massive federal corruption and money-laundering sting. The probe led to charges against 46 people, including public officials, rabbis and a man accused of trying to sell a human kidney.

The investigations saw its second court conviction when former Ocean County Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt was convicted of bribery and extortion. He faces up to 30 years in prison, but the term will likely be between 41 months and 51 months.

[MCA™]

Corruption trial for former assemblyman L. Harvey Smith of Jersey City is set to begin Nov. 22 in federal court
Thursday, June 03, 2010

NEWARK - Jury selection in the corruption trial of former assemblyman L. Harvey Smith, of Jersey City, will begin Nov. 22. Smith's attorney Peter Willis, of Jersey City, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra Moser and Jenny Kramer met with U.S. District Judge Jose Linares yesterday and set the trial date. Linares also set an Oct. 14 date to hear motions in the case.

Smith was arrested last July in a sweeping political corruption and international money laundering sting that brought charges against 46 people. A grand jury indicted Smith in February on charges that, while serving in the Assembly, he accepted $15,000 in illegal campaign contributions from federal informant Solomon Dwek.

The indictment alleges $5,000 was funneled through Edward Cheatam, a former Hudson County affirmative action officer and Jersey City Housing Authority commissioner. Smith has maintained his innocence. Cheatam has already pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Dwek, a failed developer who was caught trying to cash bogus $25 million checks.

Dwek secretly recorded his meetings with officials, during which he offered them cash for their assistance in furthering a fictitious Garfield Avenue project he said he was planning to build.

Smith is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit extortion and two counts of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right, each of which carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and $250,000 fine.

He is also charged with two counts of receiving corrupt cash payments, which carries a maximum 10-year sentence and $250,000 fine, and one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum 20-year sentence and $500,000 fine.

MELISSA HAYES

[MCA™]

Failed Jersey City council candidate seeks trial after pleading guilty in massive NJ corruption sting
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
May 28, 2010, 4:43PM

Failed Jersey City council candidate LaVern Webb-Washington filed notice today that she will seek a trial in light of a recent ruling by a federal judge throwing out similar counts against two brothers charged in the same federal sting, officials said.

The Ward F candidate pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy under the federal Hobbs Act, which prohibits the misuse of public office.

Last week U.S. District Court Judge Jose Linares threw out similar extortion counts against former state Assemblyman Louis Manzo and his brother Ronald Manzo, who were charged in the same probe, a massive sting that netted more than 40 arrests on accusations ranging from political corruption to money laundering and even trafficking in human body parts.

The judge held that the extortion counts under the Hobbs Act did not apply to the Manzos because they were not public officials when their alleged crimes occurred. Linares found that the fact that Louis Manzo was running for mayor of Jersey City at the time did not make him a "public official."

Webb-Washington, 61, had pleaded guilty to extortion, saying she took $15,000 in illegal campaign contributions from FBI informant Solomon Dwek in exchange for the promise of her future help in getting approvals for his fictitious development project on Garfield Avenue.

In March, she was sentenced in to a year in prison, but earlier this week Linares indefinitely postponed the start of her prison term after her lawyer asked the judge to put the sentence on hold based on his Manzo ruling.

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Judge: Trial will happen for former Jersey City housing inspector
By The Jersey Journal
May 28, 2010, 12:00PM

A federal judge overseeing trials for many of those arrested in last summer's massive corruption probe yesterday declined to throw out extortion charges against former Jersey City housing inspector John Guarini, The Jersey Journal reported.

The Journal also reports that Guarini is charged with attempted extortion and bribery for allegedly accepting $50,000 in cash payments - $20,000 in 2007 and $30,000 in 2008 - from Solomon Dwek, who became an FBI informant after federal agents caught him committing a $50 million bank fraud.

Guarini's attorney, W. Scott Murphy of West New York, argued unsuccessfully that five extortion-related counts filed against his client don't fall under the federal statute covering conduct by public officials, as reported by The Jersey Journal.

The Jersey Journal reported that last week, U.S. District Court Jose Linares threw out similar extortion counts against former assemblyman Louis Manzo and his brother Ronald Manzo, who were charged in the same sting. The judge held that the Manzos were not public officials when their alleged crimes occurred. Murphy referred to the Manzo ruling in his arguments.

[MCA™]

Federal judge drops extortion charges against Lou Manzo and brother; they still face bribe counts
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A federal judge yesterday dropped extortion charges against former Jersey City assemblyman Lou Manzo and his brother Ronald Manzo. The brothers had been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right and three counts of attempted extortion under color of official right.

The U.S. attorney brought the charges under the Hobbs Act, a federal law that prohibits officials from using government positions to obtain payments. But U.S. District Court Judge Jose Linares ruled that since neither brother was an elected official, or promising to influence an elected official at the time of the alleged crime, the Hobbs Act doesn't apply in this case.

"The superseding indictment focuses the conspiracy and attempt charges solely on the allegation of misuse of Louis Manzo's potential future political office," Linares wrote in his 27-page decision. "Therefore, the government has presented no case factually on point to the present case and this court has not found one."

Lou Manzo welcomed the legal victory. "I'm just thankful that my attorney made such an eloquent argument on the law and that the judge saw what was there and called it for what it was," Lou Manzo said. "This was in my opinion an abuse of authority by the federal government trying to expand the statute."

While the judge dismissed four charges, the Manzo brothers still face two charges of travel in interstate commerce to promote, carry on and facilitate bribery, for allegedly traveling to Staten Island to accept bribes.

They also face a mail fraud charge, which stems from an April 21, 2009 campaign finance report mailed to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission that does not disclose $17,500 in bribes the brothers allegedly accepted up to that point, according to the indictment.

Manzo was running for mayor of Jersey City when he and his brother allegedly accepted $27,000 in bribes from a government informant in exchange for helping the informant, who was posing as a developer, with a future project.

"We are reviewing the opinion and considering our next steps," U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Rebekah Carmichael said yesterday.

Lou Manzo maintained his innocence yesterday. "I never took a bribe, I never agreed to do anything, and the federal government knows it," Manzo said.

Ron Manzo's attorney, Samuel DeLuca, called it an "appropriate decision." Lou Manzo's attorney, John D. Lynch, said he was "extremely pleased with the decision."

Lynch was uncertain how the decision might affect other cases. The Manzos are among 44 people who were arrested and charged with political corruption and international money laundering in July.

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Manzos not the only non-officeholders charged under Hobbs Act
Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Other individuals who were not holding public office, but were charged under the Hobbs Act:

Michael Manzo, a former Jersey City arson investigator who ran unsuccessfully for the Jersey City City Council, pleaded guilty to accepting $5,000 from a government informant in exchange for helping the informant, who was posing as a developer, with a future project. He faces 10 to 16 months in prison when sentenced.

Jimmy King, a former Jersey City Parking Authority director and unsuccessful Jersey City City Council candidate, pleaded guilty to accepting $10,000 from a government informant, posing as a developer, in exchange for helping him secure development approvals. He faces 10 to 16 months in prison when sentenced.

La Vern Webb-Washington, an unsuccessful Jersey City City Council candidate, is serving a one-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to accepting $15,000 in bribes from the government informant, posing as a developer, in exchange for helping him obtain approvals.

Lori Serrano, a onetime chairwoman of the Jersey City Housing Authority and an unsuccessful Jersey City City Council candidate, has pleaded not guilty to allegations she accepted $10,000 in bribes from the informant. She is awaiting trial.