11 N.J. Officials Arrested On Corruption

FBI agents arrested 11 public officials in towns across New Jersey Thursday on charges of taking bribes in exchange for influencing the awarding of public contracts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Two of those arrested are state lawmakers, two are mayors, three are city councilmen, and several served on the school board in Pleasantville, where the scandal began.

All 11, plus a private individual, are accused of taking cash payments of $1,500 to $17,500 to influence who received public contracts, according to criminal complaints.

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All 12 suspects, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles, made initial court appearances on Thursday afternoon. The charges against them were explained, they were advised of their rights and a $200,000 unsecured bond—to be paid only if they miss a court appearance—was set for each.

A federal complaint charges each of the 12 with accepting payments from companies that offered insurance and roofing services to cities and school districts, Drewniak said.

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Democratic state Assemblymen Mims Hackett Jr. and Alfred E. Steele were arrested, as was Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera. Also arrested were Keith Reid, the chief of staff to Newark’s City Council president; Passaic councilmen Jonathan Soto and Marcellus Jackson; two current Pleasantville school board members, three former board members and a private citizen. One of the former school board members is now a Pleasantville city councilman.

Rivera is a former police officer and professional wrestler.

Hackett, 65, is both a legislator and mayor of Orange, a city of about 33,000 residents 15 miles west of New York City. He was convicted of kidnapping in 1975 and sentenced to 30 years in prison, but was pardoned a year later when the victim recanted and Hackett’s cousin confessed.

Hackett is accused of accepting $5,000 in bribes, according to the complaint.

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Steele, an assemblyman since 1996 and deputy speaker since 2002, also serves as a Baptist minister in Paterson. He’s charged with accepting $14,000 in bribes, according to the complaint. He had been Passaic County undersheriff but resigned from the $89,900-per-year post on Thursday, said sheriff’s spokesman Bill Maer.

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One of the former school board members, Maurice “Pete” Callaway, is now a Pleasantville city councilman and the brother of former Atlantic City Council President Craig Callaway, who is serving time in federal prison from stemming from an unrelated corruption scheme.

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