HOBOKEN—The New Jersey Supreme Court has disbarred former Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, who resigned in 2009 and was sent to federal prison after accepting bribes from a government cooperating witness. The court delivered its unanimous opinion, authored by Judge Barry Albin, on Sept. 17.
Cammarano passed the New Jersey bar in 2002 and practiced with the firm of Genova, Burns & Vernoia before quitting to run for mayor in 2009. He had been elected city councilman-at-large in 2005, then defeated current Mayor Dawn Zimmer in a runoff election to become Hoboken’s 37th mayor.
Just 23 days after taking office, Cammarano was arrested for taking payments totaling $25,000 from government witness Solomon Dwek during his mayoral campaign in exchange for giving preferential treatment to Dwek’s purported real estate developments in Hoboken.
In 2010, Cammarano pleaded guilty in federal district court to one count of conspiracy to obstruct interstate commerce by extortion under color of official right. He was sentenced to two years in prison and two years of supervised release.
The N.J. Supreme Court had temporarily suspended Cammarano from practicing law in New Jersey after his conviction, but the Office of Attorney Ethics filed a motion for final discipline with the Disciplinary Review Board, seeking Cammarano’s disbarment.
The Review Board voted 4-2 to impose a three-year prospective suspension, foregoing a full disbarment for Cammarano “because he was targeted by a government operation and was a passive participant in the bribe,” according to a summary of the Supreme Court ruling.
The Office of Attorney Ethics appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, which heard arguments on April 9, 2014.
“An elected official who sells his office—who offers favored treatment to a private developer in exchange for money — betrays a solemn public trust,” wrote Albin in the opinion. “This form of corruption is corrosive to our democracy and undermines public confidence in honest government, and its rippling pernicious effects are incalculable.”
Joseph Hayden Jr., Cammarano’s attorney, told NJ.com that he was “painfully disappointed” with the court’s ruling. He reiterated that Cammarano’s role in the bribery scheme was “passive” and said that Cammarano had never been in trouble before his 2009 arrest.
“I believe Peter’s a good person and will ultimately make a positive contribution to society,” added Hayden.