Witnesses to the proceedings in which Paul J. Byrne pleaded guilty to extortion and tax evasion in federal court Monday said he had tears in his eyes.
Blind since August 2001, Byrne looked older than his chronological age of 58, his shoulders slumped, his head tilted slightly so he could make out the proceedings. He did not at all look like the financial and political wheeler-dealer that his former best friend County Executive Robert C. Janiszewski had accused him of being.
“One stipulation in this deal is that I am not going to cooperate with any investigation,” Byrne said last week. “I cannot be called as a witness. I told them I am not going to throw someone else into the frying pan just to save my fat ass.”
Although Byrne had vowed to fight the 16-count indictment to the end, seeking to prove his innocence in the court of law, ill-health and the potential for more than 10 years in a federal prison modified his position. In the end, his attorneys said, Byrne opted to take a lesser sentence in a minimum security prison than take a chance on losing a jury verdict.
Byrne pleaded to a package of charges that include one count of extortion for carrying a payment from accountant Gerry Lisa to Janiszewski, and a tax evasion for failure to file returns from 1999 to 2001 and for failing to declare the percentage of the Janiszewski money that Byrne kept.
One of Byrne’s attorneys, Elise DeNardo, said last week that Byrne pleaded to one count of extortion for three payments he took from Lisa to pass along to Janiszewski to influence a county contract. Lisa pled guilty last year to bribing Janiszewski. Byrne testified that he took some of this money to cover his own expenses.
Byrne also pleaded guilty to income tax evasion from 1999 through 2001, which included the money given him by Lisa. Byrne, according to federal authorities owed $200,000 in taxes over those years.
“This is a non-cooperating plea,” DeNardo said. “While Paul accepts responsibility for his own actions and he will be sentenced on his conduct, he will not be cooperating with the government against anyone else.”
Byrne’s lead attorney, John Coyle, said Byrne pleaded guilty of his own volition.
“We, his attorneys, could not and would not force him to do anything he didn’t want to do,” Coyle said. “He had to make this decision.”
Byrne made the decision
Coyle said as a result of the plea, all charges are resolved, and Byrne’s cooperation with government is no longer and issue.
Coyle said several factors played into the decision, such as Byrne’s ill health, the expense of litigation, and the fact that Hoboken-based real estate developer Joe Barry – Byrne’s co-defendant – had already pled guilty. Barry pled guilty three weeks ago to giving Janiszewski money. Byrne had been accused of getting a share of money, but Barry did not implicate Byrne in any of Barry’s statements.
“Paul knew the evidence with Joe Barry really didn’t connect him [Byrne] with any wrongdoing,” Coyle said. “Byrne didn’t know what was going on between Barry and Bobby J.”
Even the charge that Byrne carried bribes between Lisa and Janiszewski might have been defensible, Coyle said. “The problem arose when it came to the income tax evasion charges,” Coyle said. “You either filed income tax or you didn’t.”
Byrne would not comment on the case to explain the reason why he failed to file returns for three years, but Coyle said the tax issues was one of the significant stumbling blocks of the case.
“We couldn’t get around that,” Coyle said. “If he were convicted on income taxes, he could be sentenced to 30 to 37 months in jail. If convicted of extortion, he could serve up to 20 years, though probably would get sentenced from 72 to 92 months. So it makes sense for him to take a bundled deal from federal authorities that provided a maximum penalty of 37 months for both.”
Byrne will be sentenced Oct. 25. While 37 months in jail is the maximum, his lawyers will fight for much less.
Problems Byrne faced in fighting the charges
Another factor contributing to Byrne’s decision was the massive cost of challenging the evidence brought against him by the federal government.
When Byrne’s case was tied in with developer Joe Barry last year – both were charged in the 16 count indictment – Byrne could rely on Barry’s massive financial resources. When Barry pleaded guilty last month to giving Janiszewski money, Byrne was left to his own resources.
“To give you an idea of how expensive this process is, just to review my taxes it would have cost me $40,000,” Byrne said.
The details of the Barry plea, however, likely worked in Byrne’s favor, since Barry claimed he operated without Byrne’s knowledge.
“Joe Barry would have testified as our witness had this gone to trial,” Coyle said.
This may have prompted the federal authorities to offer Byrne a better deal to avoid losing the case in court.
“By Joe Barry pleading guilty, it enabled John and I go to U.S Attorney and emphasize that Paul had a legitimate business relationship with Barry, and that there was nothing wrong there,” Coyle said. (Byrne had served as a consultant to Barry in the past.) “Therefore, those counts that involving conspiracy will be dismissed. Jeffrey Clark was receptive.”
Byrne said, “They dismissed wire fraud and mail fraud charges.”
Byrne, after spending most of the time since being charged last October listening to 10,000 phone calls taped by federal authorities, said the tapes did not show him involved with any bribery scheme.
“They did not show me doing anything inappropriate,” Byrne said.
DeNardo said the phone calls amounted to between 18,000 and 20,000 hours of tape.
The process of discovery – which is reviewing all the documents, tapes and other things the federal government would use against him – was also a nightmare for Byrne.
“He’s blind,” DeNardo said. “He can listen to the tapes. But what about all the transcribed items and documents? Someone had to read those to him, and it had to be someone that was approved by the court.”
DeNardo said Byrne had sat down with his family to talk over the options before making the decision. “He talked about what would be in his best interest,” DeNardo said.
May not have to go to jail
Coyle said he and DeNardo will be filing motions asking the court to take into consideration Byrne’s poor medical condition with a possibility that Byrne might serve zero time in a prison, but might be confined to his home followed by a few years of probation.
“We intend to seek a downward departure that we hope will reduce his level on the sentencing guidelines so that perhaps he will not face any jail time,” DeNardo said.
Byrne is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 25, giving the defense team time to gather his medical records and allow federal probation officers to interview Byrne and to visit his home. “We’re hoping that the judge will take into consideration Paul’s poor health and rule that he cannot handle jail, sentencing him instead to home detention and probation,” she said.
Byrne said he holds no animosity towards federal authorities, who he claimed “just did their job.” He went as far as to wish lead federal prosecutor Jeffrey Clark good luck in his new job. Clark is leaving the U.S. Attorney’s office to take up work in the private sector.