Did former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell accept a bribe to help a developer move a project along, or was he just entertaining a potential campaign contributor who might invest in his town?
A jury considered this question last week during the bribery and extortion trial of the former mayor, who was one of 46 politicians and religious leaders arrested in 2009 in connection with a government sting. Elwell’s trial began Monday morning in U.S. District Court.
Elwell was arrested on July 23, 2009 and faces three counts: conspiracy to commit extortion, attempted extortion, and bribery.
The defense said the video shows that Dwek never indicated what kind of favor he really wanted.
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Manzo testifies
During the opening statements in the trial on Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen Nakly alleged that Elwell knew full well he was being paid for assistance with Dwek’s development in the future. She said that he agreed to assist Solomon Dwek when he (according to the government) allegedly took cash in a FedEx package from Manzo at a Secaucus restaurant.
“You will not hear that he said ‘No, no thank you for the money,’ ” said Nakly.
Defense Attorney Thomas Cammarata countered that Elwell never accepted a corrupt payment and that he never promised Dwek any action in exchange for money.
He said there was “no question” that any money for Elwell was a campaign contribution.
Cammarata also painted a picture of Dwek and Manzo as two corrupt individuals with an interest in getting passes from the government for their previous crimes. Dwek had pleaded guilty in 2009 to bank fraud and money laundering charges in connection with a scheme to defraud PNC Bank of more than $50 million. He still has not been sentenced.
“He’s hopeful he’s going to walk away from a lifetime of crime,” said Cammarata of Dwek.
Manzo sat through lengthy and detailed questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kanefsky in regard to his dealings with Dwek. Dwek brought down many politicians in the 2009 FBI sting operation.
Last month, Manzo pleaded guilty to receiving cash payments from Dwek, including a $5,000 payment for facilitating a $10,000 cash payment to Mayor Elwell and $27,500 in payments connected to his brother, former Assemblyman Louis Manzo. Extortion charges against Louis Manzo have been dismissed on grounds that he was not a public official at the time, but he still faces lesser charges of mail fraud. He has not pleaded guilty to any crimes and Ronald has said that he did not give the cash payments to his brother.
Revealing videos
At the trial, both the prosecutors and the defense showed various black and white FBI video clips from conversations that took place between Elwell, Dwek, and Manzo.
The prosecution played video of a meeting between Manzo and Dwek that took place at the Malibu Diner in Hoboken.
In it, Dwek tells Manzo, “Just make sure I have him in my corner…I just want him to expedite my stuff,” speaking of Elwell.
In his testimony, Manzo admitted to arranging a meeting between Elwell and Dwek at the La Reggia Restaurant in Secaucus to discuss Dwek’s interest in a Secaucus property. Manzo had a 12-year friendship with Elwell, had given him campaign contributions, and provided the township with employee insurance via his insurance company.
Manzo said that at the Secaucus restaurant, he gave Elwell $10,000 in cash that had been handed to him by Dwek outside the restaurant. In his testimony on Tuesday, according to other media sources, Manzo described what happened after he took cash from Dwek.
Manzo claimed that he said to Elwell, “I said I have $10,000 here that [Dwek] gave me. What should I do?”
Manzo said that Elwell responded, “I don’t know if I can take it. I’ll have to check with my people.”
Manzo and Elwell then discussed whether Dwek could be trusted. Manzo testified he told Elwell that former Jersey City housing official Edward Cheatam had vouched for Dwek. (Cheatam has also pleaded guilty in connection with the sting.)
Manzo said in his testimony that he started to become concerned because it was clear at that point that accepting the money would be illegal. He said he asked Elwell again what he wanted to do. He said Elwell told him, “All right, I’ll take it and I’ll get back to you.”
Manzo claimed that Elwell took the money and never raised the subject again.
Poking holes in allegations
Throughout the rest of the trial, the defense continued to make the case that Elwell understood the meeting with Dwek to be primarily for development purposes. The defense showed video clips in which Elwell talked about how little control he had over the state Meadowlands Commission, which has jurisdiction over 88 percent of zoning in Secaucus.
The defense said the video shows that Dwek never indicated what kind of favor he really wanted.
The trial continued through this past Thursday and is scheduled to continue this coming Monday.
Adriana Rambay Fernández may be reached at afernandez@hudsonreporter.com.