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The New York Times
Ex-Mayor of Passaic
Gets Nearly 2 Years
in Prison
By AP from
nytimes.com Posted August 16, 2008
GayPASG e-mail August
19, 2008
TRENTON -- Samuel Rivera, the
former mayor of Passaic, N.J., was sentenced on Friday to nearly two years in
prison and fined $4,000 for accepting cash bribes in exchange for influencing
city contracts.
Mr. Rivera, who was caught in a corruption scheme that netted 11 public
officials, resigned last year after pleading guilty to attempted extortion.
Mr. Rivera, 61, admitted taking $5,000 in exchange for using his official
influence to help a company become the city’s insurance broker. The
company turned out to be an F.B.I. front.
The only explanation Mr. Rivera offered on Friday for his role in the scheme was
“poor judgment.”
A former police officer, Mr. Rivera is among nearly two dozen New Jersey mayors
charged with corruption since 2000.
Among the most well known is Sharpe James, the former mayor of Newark, who is
set to surrender to prison officials next month. Mr. James was ordered to
serve a 27-month sentence and pay a $100,000 fine for his role in the sale of
city-owned properties at a discount.
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