New Jersey Senator Wayne R. Bryant (D), 61, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison and two years of supervised release (to be served concurrently.) He is required to make a restituion of $113, 167, The prosecution had asked for 10 years.
He was in the Legislature from 1982 through 2008. He was chairman of the Senate budget committee from 2002 through 2007. The Star-Ledger refers to him as "once a titan of politics."
Bryant was found guilty by a Federal jury in November 2008 of 11 counts of mail and wire fraud and 2 counts of corrupt solicitation and acceptance of a bribe - for accepting a "low show" job offered by Michael Gallagher, former Dean at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's School of Osteopathic Medicine, in return for helping funnel extra state dollars to the school. As Chairman of the Senate budget committee, Bryant helped the school obtain $10.5 million in state grants between 2003 and 2006. (Gallagher was sentenced to 18 months in prison. And $113,167 in restitution.)
At his sentencing, the judge chided Bryant who also held a "low-show" job as a part-time attorney for the Gloucester County Board of Social Services - which helped to raise his pension from $28,000 to $81,000 a year. The judge didn't mention that Bryant was called the "King of double dipping" because he has collected salaries from as many as four public jobs he held simultaneously in New Jersey. Or the fact that Rutgers Camden Law school paid him $130,000 for teaching law classes while that school got $11 million in Redevelopment aid.
LEGAL BILLS
Bryant had planned to use $640,000 in campaign contributions to pay his legal bills. His lawyer pointed out that former state senator and Newark Mayor Sharpe James (D) and and Sen. Joseph Coniglio (D-Bergen) had both tapped their own campaign accounts to fight corruption charges. A state appeals court 3-judge panel shot the idea down and urged the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, which oversees campaign finance rules, to take a firm stand on the issue and adopt a regulation that would address future cases involving criminal charges and political war chests.
He was in the Legislature from 1982 through 2008. He was chairman of the Senate budget committee from 2002 through 2007. The Star-Ledger refers to him as "once a titan of politics."Bryant was found guilty by a Federal jury in November 2008 of 11 counts of mail and wire fraud and 2 counts of corrupt solicitation and acceptance of a bribe - for accepting a "low show" job offered by Michael Gallagher, former Dean at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's School of Osteopathic Medicine, in return for helping funnel extra state dollars to the school. As Chairman of the Senate budget committee, Bryant helped the school obtain $10.5 million in state grants between 2003 and 2006. (Gallagher was sentenced to 18 months in prison. And $113,167 in restitution.)
At his sentencing, the judge chided Bryant who also held a "low-show" job as a part-time attorney for the Gloucester County Board of Social Services - which helped to raise his pension from $28,000 to $81,000 a year. The judge didn't mention that Bryant was called the "King of double dipping" because he has collected salaries from as many as four public jobs he held simultaneously in New Jersey. Or the fact that Rutgers Camden Law school paid him $130,000 for teaching law classes while that school got $11 million in Redevelopment aid.
LEGAL BILLS
Bryant had planned to use $640,000 in campaign contributions to pay his legal bills. His lawyer pointed out that former state senator and Newark Mayor Sharpe James (D) and and Sen. Joseph Coniglio (D-Bergen) had both tapped their own campaign accounts to fight corruption charges. A state appeals court 3-judge panel shot the idea down and urged the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, which oversees campaign finance rules, to take a firm stand on the issue and adopt a regulation that would address future cases involving criminal charges and political war chests.
[NOTE: Links directly above are to Wikipedia entries. The Coniglio Wiki entry hasn't been updated to reflect his conviction in April 2009 for essentially the same thing Bryant did - funnel money to a state university school in exchange for a high-paying job.]
Despite all the chicanery, New Jersey newspapers treat Bryant after his conviction and sentencing like a kind of lovable rogue in the tradition of Bonnie and Clyde or Jesse James. Which is great unless you're the victim taxpayer or a parent trying to instill values in your child. No wonder corruption in New Jersey is chronic and pandemic. As if to underscore it, yesterday 44 were arrested, including the mayors of Secaucus, Hoboken and Ridgefield, two legislators (1 was Republican) and other assorted politicos for corruption plus fivel Rabbis involved in money laundering.
Wikipedia entry for Bryant.
Full trial coverage from The Star-Ledger. Here
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