Christopher Christie

NEWARK – Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James was charged in an Indictment today with using city-issued credit cards to spend lavishly on himself, eight female companions and others during personal trips and vacations to such places as Martha’s Vineyard, Rio de Janeiro, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie and State Attorney General Anne Milgram announced. MORE

Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James was indicted today on charges that he used his city-issued credit cards "to spend lavishly on himself, eight female companions and others during personal trips and vacations to such places as Martha’s Vineyard, Rio de Janeiro, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico", U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie and State Attorney General Anne Milgram announced.

Christie and other law enforcement officials will hold a news conference following court a court appearance by James, a State Senator who served as Mayor from 1986 to 2006.

The 33-count Indictment also charges James "in a second fraud against the citizens of Newark in which he allegedly facilitated and approved the drastically cut-rate sale of city-owned land to Tamika Riley, one of his companions, who fraudulently reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sales. She too is charged with this fraud in the Indictment."

James was expected to turn himself in to the FBI upon notice of the indictment, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney.

James and Riley are expected to appear at about 2:15 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo. Judge Arleo's courtroom is in the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Courthouse (the new courthouse) in Federal Square in Newark, between Broad and Mulberry Streets at Walnut Street.

A news conference with Christie, Milgram, FBI Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun and IRS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent in Charge William P. Offord will follow the court appearances. The news conference will most likely be held outside the courthouse, when the Indictment and a detailed news release will be available.

READ SHARPE JAMES INDICTMENT

An announcement by the United States Attorney is expected to come about midday, with a news conference to follow. 

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie has scheduled a major announcement tomorrow regarding the federal probe of State Sen. Sharpe James, the former Mayor of Newark, according to the Star-Ledger.  James has been notified by federal prosecutors that he was the target of a grand jury investigation.

Brookdale Community College has canceled State Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos’ cable television show, saying the college does not want to be at the flashpoint of a political campaign.

Kyrillos had hoped to show himself in conversation with U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie, an unabashed critic of state officials and arguably the GOP's favorite leading man. But the interview Kyrillos did with the feisty Christie may air after the Nov. 6th election on a pubic access channel, and not before, said Cheryl Cummings, executive director of the Brookdale Network, which produced the program.

"The program is not running," Cummings told PoliticsNJ.com. "It’s been produced, but it’s not running." She called a plug on Kyrillos’ website alerting viewers to the pre-election times and dates of his show "inaccurate information."

Christopher Christie received some criticism for complaining about how Stuart Rabner's confirmation as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was being delayed by politics as usual.  After all, asked the critics, shouldn't the U.S. Attorney, who has the power - and has used it - to investigate and indict state and local officials, keep his editorial opinions to himself lest it seem that he is tacitly threatening any recalcitrant legislators?  But concerns about the appropriateness of Christie's comments were quickly replaced by the chatter of some legislators and members of the media about the substance of his remarks, particularly his assertion that there is a lack of genuine leadership in the State House.

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Democrats defended Sen. Nia Gill Thursday and tried to keep their heads raised in what U.S. Attorney Chris Christie says is a veritable house - and senate - of shame.

Christie brought both arms down on top of the Legislature yesterday as he fumed about senatorial foot-dragging and slammed lawmakers for not promptly moving to approve Gov. Jon Corzine’s nomination of Attorney General Stuart Rabner to the office of Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

The word got out early to the press corps on Wednesday morning.  Get to the Annual Luncheon of the 200 Club of Mercer County, a group dedicated to helping the families of public safety and rescue personnel killed in the line of duty, a great cause.  But the news maker would be Christopher Christie, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, who was the event's keynote speaker and would have something important to say.  Christie planned to discuss the hold-up in the confirmation of Stuart Rabner, his former colleague and still close friend, as the next chief justice of the state court.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman John Adler might be the Rodney Dangerfield of New Jersey politics. U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie referred to him as a "third-rate bureaucrat" while speaking to reporters following a speech in Mercer County today. And at a Gannett editiorial board meeting in October 2005, then-gubernatorial candidate Jon Corzine threw the Harvard Law graduate under the bus: "John Adler will not be my attorney general. We will pick the very best individual with the skills to make sure we carry out an executive order to clean up politics in this state," Corzine said.

Two months later, Corzine nominated Zulima Farber.