Sharpe James

U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announces the indictment of State Sen. Sharpe James, the former five-term Mayor of Newark
He would go to a park and if people were playing soccer he’d take off his suit jacket and get in on the game, if we went to a Latino party he would dance the meringue, he’d talk baseball with anyone in a diner, he was a big Jackie Robinson fan.

But there was another side to the fit and flamboyant Sharpe James, who served as Newark’s mayor for 21 years, and it took a battery of federal law enforcement officials led by U.S. Attorney Chris Christie to unravel it all out into the daylight Thursday afternoon in Newark.

It’s a hefty, 33-count indictment, including 17 counts of defrauding the residents of Newark with credit cards, four counts of fraud involving local government receipt of federal funds, three counts of improperly favoring girlfriend Tamika Riley through the fraudulent sale of city properties, one count of conspiring to use the U.S. mail to defraud the public, four counts of housing assistance fraud, three counts of tax fraud, and one count of tax evasion. (Please see related story and press release for details).

Senate Republican Leader Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon/Warren) issued the following statement on the U.S. Attorney’s filing of a 33-count indictment against Senator Sharpe James on charges that include conspiracy and mail and wire fraud.

Newark Mayor Meyer Ellenstein was indicted in 1939 on charges that the city purchased land from friends of the Mayor at inflated market values, and former Newark Mayor Sharpe James was indicted today for allegedly selling city land to a friend for below market value.

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

If Sharpe James is indicted today, he would become the fifth Mayor of Newark out of the last seven to face criminal charges.  Kenneth Gibson, a four-term Mayor who lost to James in 1986, pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion in 2002 as part of a plea agreement on fraud and bribery charges.  He had been indicted in 1980 on charges of giving out no-show jobs, but was acquitted by an Essex County jury.

Gibson's predecessor, Hugh Addonizio, had spent fourteen years in Congress before running for Mayor in 1962.  According to local legend, when asked why he would give up his seniority in Washington to be Mayor, Addonizio said: "Because you can make a million dollars in that job."   Despite his indictment on charges that he received over $1.4 million in kickbacks from city contractors, Addonizio ran for a third term and made it to a runoff with Gibson.  His trial began eight days before the runoff, and after an eight-week trial, he was found guilty on 64 counts of extortion and conspiracy.  He spent five years in a federal prison.

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.

Rabner confirmed, Milgram confirmed, budget passed, dual officeholding ban passed, Belleville official arrested, former Harrison official pleads guilty to theft and official misconduct, former Fairfield Township official indicted, stem cell measure passed, monetization shelved.

Editor's Note: On Monday, the Today's News feature will move to the NJPOLITICS IN THE NEWS section, located on the top left side of this site.

Already through the assembly, a bill banning dual office holding passed in the state senate on Thursday, 33-2.

Upset that the bill grandfathers legislators who currently hold two or more offices, the GOP was circling in the senate chamber, taking bites at the bill when an infuriated Sen. Ron Rice let them have it.