NJ mayor indicted on corruption charges

NJ mayor indicted on corruption charges

	Published : Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:08 By : Agencies Print this Story

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A town's mayor and his wife surrendered to the FBI on Friday and were charged with diverting campaign funds and taking cash in exchange for aiding a bar owner.

David Delle Donna, mayor of Guttenberg, is the latest of several New Jersey mayors to face charges in recent years in a state plagued by government corruption. Mayors of Asbury Park, Camden, Hoboken and Paterson have been sent to prison. The former longtime mayor of Newark, the state's largest city, is under indictment.

Delle Donna, 49, a Democrat who has been mayor since 2002, and his wife, Anna, 58, were arrested at the FBI office in Newark, federal prosecutors said. Anna Delle Donna has been a member of the town's planning board since 2002.

Both face a two-count federal indictment that was unsealed with their arrest: one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion. Each count carries as many as 20 years in prison and fines as high as $250,000.

Both were released on $100,000 bond set by U.S. Magistrate Claire C. Cecchi. Neither spoke, except to acknowledge that they understood their rights and had obtained lawyers.

The lawyers told the magistrate their clients pleaded not guilty. The mayor's lawer, Ralph J. Lamparello, and his wife's lawyer, Brian J. Neary, declined to comment afterward.

According to the indictment, the Delle Donnas accepted money to help a bar owner smooth over problems with the police and the town council and to help the owner get a zoning variance for a residential property. The owner was not identified in the indictment.

Delle Donna, a supervisor at a heating, ventilation and air conditioning company, had maintained he would be exonerated after FBI raids at his home and town offices in January.

Guttenberg, on the Hudson River across from Manhattan, has about 10,700 residents.

Eleven public officials were arrested Sept. 5, including two state legislators, two mayors and three city councilmen. They were charged with taking money to influence who received public contracts, according to federal criminal complaints.

In July, former Newark Mayor Sharpe James was indicted. James, who remains a Democratic state senator, is accused of using city-issued credit cards to pay for personal trips and expenses while mayor.