11 New Jersey Politicians Arrested

A phony company created by the FBI netted nearly a dozen officials -- including Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera and Assemblyman Alfred E. Steele -- who were arrested this morning in a widespread corruption sting.

Those charged are accused of demanding and accepting cash bribes to influence the awarding of contracts for roofing and insurance services by school districts and municipalities, according to criminal complaints unsealed with the arrests.

The defendants — a collection of mayors, state legislators, and school board officials from Atlantic, Essex and Passaic counties — are to appear in federal court at 1:30 p.m. in Trenton.

They include Steele, who is also a Passaic County undersheriff, Passaic city Councilman Marcellus Jackson and former Passaic city Councilman Jonathan Soto. Steele is also the pastor at Seminary Baptist Church in Paterson and has been in the state Assembly since 1996. He has served as deputy speaker since 2002.

Dubbed “Operation Broken Boards,” the investigation began in mid-2006 with evidence of corruption in the Pleasantville school district. The FBI established an undercover insurance brokerage company with two cooperating witnesses.

Pleasantville School Board members allegedly took thousands of dollars in bribes from the cooperating witnesses, one of whom had previously operated a separate roofing business.

The circle of corruption widened when certain Pleasantville school board members referred the cooperating witnesses to public officials in northern New Jersey who also took bribes and, in turn, put the contractor in touch with still other corrupt public officials, the complaints allege.

Federal authorities say the defendants demanded and accepted payments ranging from $1,500 to $17,500 at a time. In most cases, those charged sought to establish and perpetuate a corrupt relationship with the cooperating witnesses to continue receiving bribes, the complaints say.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and FBI Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun have scheduled a 3:30 p.m. press conference in Trenton to discuss the case.

Also arrested were Orange Mayor and the Democratic state Assemblyman Mims Hackett Jr. The chief of staff to Newark’s City Council president was also arrested, as were five current and former Pleasantville school board members.

Jenna Pollard, who answered the phone at Steele's Paterson office and identified herself as his chief of staff, said she had no comment and didn't know if Steele has a lawyer.

The arrests are the latest in an anti-corruption campaign waged by Christie's office.

Two Democratic senators, Wayne Bryant of Lawnside and Sharpe James of Newark, are facing pending federal corruption charges. Both pleaded not guilty.

More than 100 public officials in the state have been convicted on federal corruption charges in the last five years.

FBI agents this morning rounded up roughly a dozen New Jersey public officials on bribery charges related to roofing and insurance contracts, according to sources close to the investigation.

The 18-month investigation, which included an undercover operation with secret recordings, began focusing on contracts awarded by the Pleasantville School Board in Atlantic County. The probe eventually widened to include other government contracts and involved officials from Passaic and Essex counties, the sources said.

Among those charged are Samuel Rivera, the mayor of Passaic; Assemblyman Mims Hackett, Jr., who is also the mayor of Orange; Assemblyman Rev. Alfred E. Steele, from Paterson; and Keith Reid, the chief of staff to Newark City Council President Mildred Crump. All of them are Democrats.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and the FBI have made public corruption a top priority in recent years. The investigation leading to today's arrests - headed by FBI Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun - was dubbed "Broken Boards " and had federal authorities targeting school board members, state lawmakers, mayors and city officials, the sources said.

Trouble has long plagued the schools of Pleasantville, located about five miles west of downtown Atlantic City.

With 3,600-students, it is an Abbot District and has had 13 superintendents since 1997. Seven of them were on the job less than six months. In July, a state-appointed monitor began working with the district after years of financial and staffing turmoil.

A recent investigation by an independent law firm accused past and present school board members of violating the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

TRENTON -- Eleven public officials from across New Jersey, including a mayor and two state lawmakers, were arrested Thursday in a federal corruption probe, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Democratic state Assemblymen Mims Hackett Jr. and Alfred E. Steele were among those arrested, along with Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera, a law enforcement official said.

The chief of staff to Newark's City Council president was also arrested, the official said, along with Passaic Councilmen Jonathan Soto and Marcellus Jackson and five Pleasantville school board members.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to upstage a formal announcement, said the arrests were related to insurance contracts for local governments.

The arrests were first reported Thursday by WNBC-TV in New York.

Initial court appearances were scheduled in federal court Thursday afternoon in Trenton.

The U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Christopher J. Christie, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun have scheduled a 3:30 p.m. news conference at the courthouse.

The arrests are the latest in an anti-corruption campaign waged by Christie's office, and mark the second major corruption roundup this year.

Two Democratic senators, Wayne Bryant of Lawnside and Sharpe James of Newark, are facing pending federal corruption charges. Both pleaded not guilty.

More than 100 public officials in the state have been convicted on federal corruption charges in the last five years.