Joe Coniglio

Former State Sen. Joseph Coniglio received a 30 month prison sentence following his conviction on federal corruption charges.

Former state Sen. Joe Coniglio (D-Paramus) will spend the next 30 months in a central Pennsylvania federal prison, The Record reports.

Coniglio was convicted in April of steering $1 million in state grants to the Hackensack University Medical Center, which employed him as a consultant.  He starts his sentence on Nov. 9th, when he will report to the Lewisburg, PA facility, which has both a high security section and a minimum-security satellite camp.     

In September, Coniglio filed to appeal his conviction.
   

GOP LG candidate Kim Guadagno (center) attends the Indian Independence Day march in Edison on Sunday.

Seeking to portray their opponent as a hapless enabler of corruption who threw a lot of money into the accounts of officials now either fighting in federal courtrooms or headed for a jail cell, Team Christie today issued a release branding Gov. Jon Corzine as the "number one financer of corrupt politicians and county bosses in New Jersey."

Going back to 1998 and Corzine's initial foray into state politics, the Christie campaign in their latest blast targets their rapid-ascent political rival's and his family's donations totaling $441,600 to former state Sen. Joseph Coniglio (D-Paramus) and former Bergen County Democratic Organization (BCDO) Chairman Joe Ferriero.

A federal court earlier this year found Coniglio guilty of corruption. He's now awaiting sentencing.

Ferriero faces his own corruption trial this fall.  

While he could have used his vast personal fortune to stand outside and aggressively reform the system, Wall Street banker turned U.S. Senator and later governor instead cocooned himself into it, said Christie's running mate, Sheriff Kim Guadagno.

United States District Court Judge Dennis Cavanaugh today threw out all of former state Sen. Joseph Coniglio’s post-trial motions to dismiss his indictment and conviction, according to U.S. Attorney spokesman Michael Drewniak.

Coniglio defense attorney Gerald Krovatin had filed several motions, most notably arguing that Coniglio was selectively prosecuted by former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, who is now running for governor.  Cavanaugh ruled that Krovatin failed to show any evidence of discrimination,

“Judge Cavanaugh made the specific finding that Krovatin and Coniglio failed to show any discriminatory effect or intent in this office's prosecution of Coniglio and noted that Krovatin failed to identify any similarly situated individuals (in the legislature) who could have been but were not prosecuted in our investigation of Coniglio and others,” wrote Drewniak in an email to PolitickerNJ.com.

The decision effectively quashes a subpoena Krovatin sent to The Record seeking a recording and notes of Christie's interview by the newspaper's editorial board. 

Former state senator Joe Coniglio of Paramus was convicted last week for influence peddling, among other crimes.  Specifically, Mr. Coniglio was found guilty of using his office to obtain a $5,000 month "consulting" contract from Hackensack University Medical Center, and in return the former senator funneled state grants to the hospital.

If Joe Coniglio is guilty of influence peddling, then virtually every state legislator is guilty of the same "offense."  Routinely, businesses and nonprofits as well as county and municipal governments receive state grants because "their guy or gal" has clout in the state legislature.  That's the nature of our "democracy" in Trenton.  Bringing home the bacon-taxpayers' money-to the well connected.  In other words, Joe Coniglio was crucified by the justice system for the sins of the politically powerful who have been directing taxpayer funds to their favored constituents and campaign contributors for decades.

NEWARK - Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-Bridgeton) today choked down the fate of his one-time colleague, former state Sen. Joe Coniglio (D-Paramus), a fellow union man whom a jury found guilty on five counts of mail fraud and one count of extortion.

"I love the guy," said Sweeney. "I feel for horrible for Joe. He didn't have the ability to get that kind of money. My heart goes out to him. I was saddened by it, stunned. This is a guy who was afraid to do something wrong. I can't find anyone who had a bad word to say about Joe Coniglio. He doesn't have a dishonest bone in his body."

Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin used former state Sen. Joe Conilgio’s conviction on six corruption counts as an appeal to Bergen County voters.  

The best way to stop similar behavior in the future, he said, is to vote some Republicans into office.

“It’s a sad and unfortunate day. It is nothing to be happy about,” said Yudin.  “What it tells me is that this is what happens when you have one-party rule, which is what we have in New Jersey not only at the state level in Trenton, but here in Bergen County.”

FBI Special Agent Wesyan Dun

UPDATED 

NEWARK – First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Brown joined Special Agent Weysan Dun on the sidewalk outside the federal courthouse moments after Judge Dennis Cavanaugh read the jury’s guilty verdict in six of the nine counts the feds leveled against former state Sen. Joseph Coniglio (D-Paramus) - five counts of mail fraud and one count of exortion. 

“Sen. Coniglio joins an ever-expanding list of public officials who have disgraced their offices,” Brown said of Coniglio, whom jurors found guilty of accepting $100,000 from Hackensack University Medical Center in exchange for securing over $1 million in grants. “The jury returned guilty verdicts on all those counts involving an exchange of money with the exception of one count. 

“No public official is permitted to sell his office,” added Brown. “Sen. Coniglio sold his office.”

“We take little joy in convicting yet another public official,” said Dun. “But we are thankfully governed by the rule of law, not the rule of man.”

Each count comes with the potential penalty of 20 years in prison, but Brown said the U.S. Attorney’s Office would pursue sentencing of between 78 and 97 months.

Even with the promise of bipartisan support, this governor has failed to get his package or any meaningful ethics legislation through the Legislature. It's no wonder voters are questioning whether the governor really wants reform or if his September announcement was merely an attempt to pander to the polls in an election year.

NEWARK - The jury has found Joe Coniglio guilty on all counts with the exception of count one (not guilty), count four (no verdict) and count five (not guilty).

NEWARK - Judge Dennis Cavanaugh asks the jury again if there is a "hopeless deadlock" on one count of the nine-count indictment leveled against former state Sen. Joe Coniglio (D-Paramus) and each juror answers in the affirmative.

Cavanaugh dismisses them. Now he talks to counsel.

"It is my obligation is to determine what the position is...I am considering mistrial (in the case of this one count)," the judge says.