SECAUCUS AND BEYOND – Former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell will have to surrender next week and begin serving his jail sentence after a federal judge in Newark on Tuesday denied his bid to remain free while he appeals his bribery conviction, according to The Record.On Monday Elwell must report to the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, N.C., to begin serving a sentence of 2.5 years.Elwell, 66, was sentenced April 12 in Federal Court to 30 months in prison. On July 6, a federal jury acquitted Elwell of conspiracy to commit extortion and attempted extortion, but convicted him on bribery, in connection with a government sting. Federal prosecutors claimed that Solomon Dwek, an FBI informant posing as a real estate developer, gave Elwell $10,000 cash, allegedly through political operative Ronald Manzo, in order to get favoritism on development projects. Elwell has said he saw the money as a campaign contribution rather than a bribe.“We’re disappointed but we’re certainly going to proceed with the appeal,” Thomas J. Cammarata, one of Elwell’s attorneys, is quoted as saying. He also said that Elwell requested that he be sent to the North Carolina prison because it has a medical facility that is connected to Duke University Hospital. Elwell previously underwent surgery for an aneurism.
Our Digital Archive from 2000 – 2016
