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Joseph Ferriero arriving at U.S. District Court in Newark in February.
(EJA)
NEWARK — Joseph Ferriero, the once-powerful boss of the Bergen County Democratic Party, was found guilty of bribery, fraud and racketeering charges Thursday in what federal prosecutors called a "politics for profit" scheme.
Ferriero kept his head down and looked over at his attorney as the jury in U.S. District Court delivered the verdict after deliberating over four days.
"Definitely not," Ferriero said when asked for a comment.
Ferriero, 57, was acquitted of two other charges in the five-count indictment. He faces a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison and fines totaling $750,000, prosecutors say.
During the seven-week trial, federal prosecutors told jurors Ferriero used his position as chairman of the Bergen County Democratic Organization to "line his pockets."
They say he took part in a scheme to extort payments of $35,000-a-month from a Virginia company looking to develop property in the Meadowlands.
The payouts were made so Ferriero would not use his political might to get in the way of the Mills Corp.'s plan to build an entertainment and retail complex known as Xanadu, prosecutors say.
And, they claimed, Ferriero created shell companies so he could funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks to his own bank accounts.
"What Joe Ferriero did in a decade as chairman of the Bergen County Democratic Organization was to take that unpaid position and make it pay," Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday.
Ferriero was facing a five-count indictment that included charges of bribery, extortion, and receiving kickbacks.
His lawyer, Michael Baldassare, claimed Ferriero was simply tapping into contacts he cultivated during decades in Democratic politics so he could earn a living.
"They can say bribery, bribery, bribery," Baldassare said during his closing argument. "I can say the ceiling is purple. It doesn't make it so."
Ferriero's 2009 conviction on a federal corruption charge was vacated the following year.
On Thursday, Baldassare predicted his client would be "fully vindicated yet again."
"Once again, the best the government could do against Joe Ferriero was obtain a mixed verdict," Baldassare said. "Just as occurred the last time the government prosecuted Mr. Ferriero, we believe this verdict will not survive post-trial motions."
Sentencing has been set for July 27, 2015, before Judge Esther Salas.
"Joseph Ferriero was convicted today of running a local political organization as a criminal enterprise, using his power and position to line his pockets," New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said Thursday. "The evidence we presented at trial described a racketeering operation that ran on influence peddling, bribes and kickbacks. Rooting out this kind of political corruption is a constant priority for this office. The people of New Jersey are entitled to honest public service."
Ferriero served as chairman of the Bergen County Democratic Organization from 1998 through 2009 and prosecutors said his power grew during years when there was a Democrat serving as governor.
Prosecutors say Ferriero used his influence to convince public officials in several Bergen County towns to contract with a Nutley software developer named John Carrino.
In return, Ferriero was paid a percentage of the gross receipts from any contract obtained through Ferriero's efforts, prosecutors said. Ferriero managed to hide his interest in the software developer's contracts by using two shell companies, one of which was incorporated in Nevada, they say.
The investigation was led by the FBI's Newark office.
"Today's conviction of Joseph A. Ferriero reaffirms the FBI's commitment to combat public corruption in New Jersey and serves as a reminder that those individuals who violate the public's trust will be held accountable," said Richard Frankel, the head of the FBI's Newark office.
Thomas Zambito may be reached at tzambito@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomZambito. Find NJ.com on Facebook.