Former Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano to be released seven months early

HOBOKEN AND BEYOND – Former Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, who is incarcerated at Lewisburg, Pa.’s United States Federal Penitentiary, now has a release date of March 11, 2012, according to the Bureau of Prisons website. This is seven months ahead of his original October 2012 release date.

Calls to Cammarano’s defense attorney, Joseph Hayden, were not returned by press time. The story will be updated if an explanation is received.

On July 23, 2009, Cammarano was arrested for taking campaign money from an FBI informant posing as a real estate developer, allegedly in exchange for future help with development projects. His arrest came a mere three weeks after taking office. He was replaced by present Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who was at the time the City Council president.

The arrest was part of a wide-ranging FBI sting into corruption.

In April, Cammarano entered a guilty plea to one count of “conspiracy to obstruct commerce by extortion under the color of right,” a felony.

Cammarano was sentenced to 24 months in prison, and he reported in early October 2010, meaning his original release date was scheduled for October 2012.

See the cover story in this weekend’s Reporter newspapers for more details related to the FBI sting as the second anniversary of the arrests approaches. – Ray Smith

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