Peter Cammarano, Hoboken’s former mayor and councilman, stood before a judge Tuesday and admitted to trading the power of the office he was seeking for campaign cash.
Cammarano, 32, is facing jail time after pleading guilty to accepting $25,000 in “illicit cash campaign contributions” at the U.S. District Court in Newark.
After serving only three weeks in office last July, the newly-elected Cammarano was arrested along with 43 other tri-state area politicians and religious leaders as part of a statewide FBI sting focused on political corruption and human organ trafficking. The FBI had asked an informant and real estate developer from Monmouth County to offer political donations to various politicians up for election in return for favors on future development projects. The informant, Solomon Dwek, then gave the donations in cash.
“They shouldn’t attempt to feather their own nests at the expense of the constituents they are sworn to serve.” – Paul Fishman
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On Tuesday, Cammarano entered a guilty plea to one count of “conspiracy to obstruct commerce by extortion under the color of right,” a crime that amounts to a felony and is “likely” to include jail time, according to U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman.
He will be sentenced on Aug. 3. He may face 24 to 30 months in prison. However, the plea could allow him to avoid a longer sentence of up to 20 years.
U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares explained to Cammarano that the guilty plea would likely result in Cammarano losing his licence to practice law, would potentially result in a monetary fine of up to twice the amount Cammarano is found guilty of accepting, and would require him to return the $25,000 from the campaign.
He also made sure Cammarano understood that he is facing jail time.
“This sentence is within my sole discretion,” Linares told Cammarano.
Ironically, last July, a week before his arrest, then-Mayor Cammarano commented on an unrelated bribery arrest of a local public housing official by calling for “zero tolerance” for corruption in Hoboken.
So far, 17 people arrested in the statewide sting have pleaded guilty, while Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini pleaded not guilty but was convicted after a trial. Several others have pleaded not guilty.
Two years in jail?
Outside the courthouse, Fishman said that sentencing guidelines recommend 24 to 30 months of prison time for the crime to which Cammarano pleaded guilty.
“He was pretty explicit that he was willing to trade his office for campaign contributions,” Fishman said. “I would hope that all public officials would understand that their job involves a public trust, and that they shouldn’t attempt to feather their own nests at the expense of the constituents they are sworn to serve.”
Asked whether he believed the close outcome of the June, 2009 mayoral race runoff between Cammarano and now-Mayor Dawn Zimmer was influenced by the illegal $25,000 contribution, Fishman said he couldn’t speculate. The state explained during the court proceedings that $15,000 was funneled to Cammarano’s campaign through “straw donors,” and the remaining $10,000 was deposited directly.
Cammarano narrowly beat Zimmer in June, but then-Council President Zimmer ended up taking over when Cammarano resigned. Zimmer won the seat outright in a special election this past November.
Fishman said that Cammarano would have a “hard time defending that he didn’t know what he was doing,” since Cammarano was himself a well-known Democratic election lawyer.
Cammarano’s criminal attorney, Joseph Hayden, said outside the courthouse that Cammarano has accepted responsibility for his actions.
“He is only 32 years old, and after he finishes the criminal process, I expect he will rebuild his life and once again be a positive member of society,” Hayden said.
Last July, Hayden told the Reporter, “Bear in mind that the nature of the allegation was that the money was for his campaign and campaign debt, not his personal use.”
That distinction was made again in court, possibly at the request of the defendant. Nonetheless, Hayden said in a later interview that Cammarano will likely be personally liable to return the $25,000 to federal government, rather than it coming from the campaign.
Hoboken bar owner Joe Branco said last week that the Cammarano campaign still owes him and other merchants in the city money for campaign bills, but the campaign fund is broke.
Stoic demeanor
Further details of the criminal complaint against Cammarano and his associate Michael Schaffer, who still sits on the North Hudson Sewerage Authority Board and awaits his own date in court, will not be publicly aired for Cammarano since he gave up his right to a trial by pleading guilty.
The criminal complaint quoted Cammarano, during meetings with the informant, as making comments such as, “I could be, uh, indicted, and I’m still gonna win” and saying his opponents would be “ground into powder.”
Sources close to Cammarano say he is paying dearly for his mistake. They say Cammarano is going through a divorced and has not found work since his arrest, and has been volunteering his time at a local soup kitchen.
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.