How long was sharpe james mayor of newark

The sentence riled prosecutors and law enforcement agents, souring what some had expected to be a day marking justice against an official long under scrutiny. Attorney Christopher Christie said his office will appeal the sentence, contending it was unreasonable under federal sentencing guidelines. Sentencing came barely two years after James ended his historic tenure as Newark's mayor, a year stretch during which he forged a profile as the city's most impassioned booster and a Democratic Party power broker whose influence rippled statewide.

Along the way, James, a onetime gym teacher, added "state senator" to his resume, and amassed the trappings of success not usually seen from public service: a yacht, Rolls Royce, eight properties, and millions in the bank. James' path from king to convict was unusually swift, starting around the same time he abandoned a re-election bid and effectively ceded the office to his young rival, Cory Booker.

That summer, FBI agents raided a storage garage James rented in Hillside, and newcomers at City Hall turned over records detailing years of travel and entertainment expenses he had billed to city-issued credit cards. The indictment, returned last summer, alleged Riley received the opportunity to buy the city land only because she was James' mistress, and that the mayor ignored his duty to disclose the relationship before signing city contracts to sell her the land.

Despite a pledge to rehabilitate the parcels, Riley resold most of them to established developers soon after buying them, netting several hundred thousand dollars.

Neither James nor Riley testified at trial, nor spoke after the jury found them guilty on all counts. Today their attorneys returned to the arguments that had failed before the jury and in post-trial motions: The government, they said, never proved a crime.

Ashley and defense attorney Alan Zegas argued the former mayor deserved probation. Prosecutors, meanwhile, refused to budge from their claim the crimes warranted nearly 20 years in prison, regardless of James' resume or age. Attorney Judith Germano, the lead prosecutor. There is no discount for age. The arguments didn't resonate with the judge.

Again and again, Martini cut off Germano, challenging the government's logic for such a stiff sentence, and disputing their interpretation of the sentencing guidelines. He said James did not profit from the crime and the city did not lose any revenue.

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