A superseding federal corruption indictment against suspended Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini further exposes the city's allegedly corrupt political underbelly. 
       
Beldini, arrested in July and in August indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, now faces two additional counts of attempted extortion and three counts of taking bribes to allegedly help a developer win zoning approvals in the new indictment, which is dated November 19. 

The developer turned out to be FBI informant Solomon Dwek. 

Beldini allegedly took $20,000 of Dwek’s money and, through straw donors, funneled it into Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy’s reelection account and the Jersey City Democratic Committee.  She also allegedly extracted a promise from Dwek to use her as the real estate agent for his purported development project on Garfield Avenue.

In one exchange with Dwek recounted in the indictment, Beldini, who was the treasurer for Healy’s reelection campaign, even gave him a brief tutorial on the practice of wheeling. 

Beldini explained to Dwek why his $10,000 will be given to the Jersey City Democratic Committee instead of Healy’s campaign account (Healy, who has not been charged with a crime, is not identified in the indictment, but is easily identifiable as “JC Official 1”).

“What we’re trying to do is put money into different funds so we can, when we need it, funnel it back into [JC Official 1]. Which everybody does. So this is for the Jersey City Democratic Committee,” she said.

Former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell was indicted today on federal charges of taking $10,000 in bribes in exchange for help with development approvals.

Elwell, who resigned shortly after his July 23 arrest, allegedly promised to expedite development projects for Solomon Dwek – a government cooperating witness posing as a developer under an assumed name – in exchange for the money.

Also indicted was Ronald Manzo, brother of former Assemblyman and five-time Jersey City mayoral candidate Louis Manzo.  Ronald Manzo, who is charged with taking $5,000 to facilitate the relationship between Elwell and Dwek, was indicted last month along with his brother on separate corruption charges.

According to the indictment, Dwek gave Elwell – through Manzo -- $10,000 and promised another $10,000 after the June 2 primary.  

“Don’t treat me like an opponent. Don’t treat me like an enemy. Treat me like a friend and help me. Just support my stuff. Expedite my applications. That’s all,” the indictment quotes Dwek as telling Elwell at a Hoboken diner.   

Elwell, the indictment contends, “nodded his head affirmatively in response.”

Former Jersey City housing commissioner Ed Cheatam has arrived in federal court in Newark, the Star-Ledger reports.

Cheatam, who is also the former vice president of the Jersey City Board of Education, is one of the two public officials who are expected to plead guilty today.  The other has not yet been named.  

Cheatam is charged with taking bribes from an FBI informant and funneling them into Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy’s reelection campaign (Healy has not been charged).  

Update: the other defendant to plead guilty today is Denis Jaslow, a former investigator for the Hudson County Board of Elections and, before that, a corrections officer at East Jersey State Prison.

Jersey City officials Leona Beldini and Ed Cheatam were the first of 44 allegedly corrupt public officials and money launderers indicted after last month’s sweeping corruption bust.

Beldini, the 74-year-old Deputy Mayor, and Cheatam, the 61-year-old former Jersey City Housing Authority commissioner and a Hudson County affirmative action officer, were each charged with one count of extortion by a federal grand jury today.

Beldini allegedly took $20,000 for herself and in illegal campaign contributions to Mayor Jerramiah Healy’s (identified in the indictment as “Jersey City Official 1”) reelection campaign, for which she was the treasurer.  In exchange, she allegedly agreed to help the government’s informant, later identified as failed developer Solomon Dwek, with development projects.  Cheatam and the late political consultant Jack Shaw, the circumstances of whose death shortly after his arrest last month have yet to be solved, allegedly converted the cash into payments to Healy’s campaign.  

Cheatam is charged with taking $15,000 in bribes from the informant.  

Healy has not been charged.