BAYONNE AND BEYOND — Two years ago, on the same day as FBI agents arrested 44 New Jersey politicians and religious leaders in connection with political corruption, agents raided the Bayonne house of former Bayonne Mayor and former Assemblyman Joe Doria. He was never charged with any crime.
According to a report on NJ.com this week, “In a rare letter from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, federal prosecutors said they have closed their investigation of the matter.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Nobile sent a letter on Sept. 7 to John Azzarello of Chatham, Doria’s attorney. Nobile said that there would be no charges in relation to the matter that spurred the investigation.
Doria declined to comment for the article.
At the time Doria’s home was raided — July 23, 2009 — Doria was serving as then-Gov. Jon Corzine’s head of the Department of Community Affairs, which deals with municipalities.
According to NJ.com, “Authorities never said publicly why they considered Doria a suspect. However, it was later disclosed that Solomon Dwek, the federal undercover informant at the center of the investigation, met several times with Doria. Dwek …claimed to have given thousands in cash to a middleman, who was to pass it along to Doria. During the trial of Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini — who was convicted for her role in the corruption sting — Dwek testified he paid two bribes totaling nearly $40,000 to the middleman, Jack Shaw, with the understanding the money would be delivered to Doria. Shaw died days after he was arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities. But before he died, he denied he had given any of Dwek’s money to Doria.”