BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer
WEST LONG BRANCH — Accepting $15,000 in bribes from an FBI witness that he mistakenly believed was an Ocean Township-based demolition contractor has turned out to be an error that might land former Mayor Paul Zambrano in a federal prison for 20 years.
With his appearance before a federal judge last week, Zambrano is the first of the 11 officials arrested in February during the FBI’s “Operation Bid Rid” to admit to accepting bribes from a witness cooperating with authorities.
Appearing in a federal courtroom in Newark on Aug. 24, Zambrano, 49, who was arrested in a predawn sweep of targeted officials’ homes by FBI agents, pleaded guilty to taking a total of $15,000 in bribes for himself and others before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini, according to U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie.
The former Democratic mayor, who resigned from office under duress in early March, pleaded guilty to one count of extortion, an offense that carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Sentencing for Zambrano is set for Nov. 29. He remains free on $50,000 bail that he paid during his initial appearance in federal court on the same day as his arrest.
Under questioning from Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. McCarren, who prosecuted the case, Zambrano told Martini that during his term as mayor, he accepted a total of $15,000 in increments over five different occasions between September 2003 and November 2004.
Those payments were given to Zambrano by an FBI informant, later identified as onetime Ocean Township demolition contractor Robert “Duke” Steffer and an undercover FBI agent.
Believing that Steffer, now of Florida, was actually looking for municipal work and that the undercover agent was the contractor’s employee, Zambrano took the cash payments as rewards for helping the pair to obtain public contracts in West Long Branch and other municipalities, Christie said in a press statement.
At Steffer’s direction, Zambrano turned over $1,500 of a $5,000 cash bribe that he received in September 2003 to another West Long Branch official, later identified as since-resigned Councilman Joseph DeLisa.
DeLisa, a Democrat who was running for his council seat at the time, was also arrested by FBI agents during the Feb. 22 sting. Though he has denied the federal charges of extortion brought against him, DeLisa subsequently resigned from the council in March and remains free on the $50,000 bail he posted in February.
Of the $1,500 bribe that Zambrano passed on to DeLisa, $500 was to pay for a ticket to a fund-raiser held in October 2003 on the councilman’s behalf, Christie’s office has said.
Zambrano also told Martini that he took another $2,000 in cash from Steffer while meeting him in October 2003, after agreeing to steer a municipal contract for demolition work at the former borough hall to his business.
In addition, the former mayor stated that on Nov. 18, 2003, at the League of Municipalities Convention in Atlantic City, he accepted two separate payments from Steffer, one of $1,500 for himself and the other of $1,000 to be given to an unnamed elected official in another Monmouth County municipality, Christie said.
According to the initial complaint, Zambrano agreed to deliver the $1,000 cash to that unidentified official in exchange for obtaining work for Steffer’s firm in that town.
On the same date and location, DeLisa reportedly received another $1,500 cash payment after indicating that would find more work in the borough for the contractor, the U.S. attorney’s complaint stated.
Zambrano went on to tell Martini that the took another $4,000 during a meeting with Steffer and the undercover agent.
The former mayor then stated that he accepted a final payment of $1,500 from Steffer in November, 2004, during that year’s League of Municipalities meeting in Atlantic City.
“Zambrano and others were extensively recorded on video and audio tape in discussions with undercover FBI agents whom they believed were employees of the cooperating witness and who were purportedly involved in the laundering of loansharking proceeds as well as paying off municipal officials,” Christie said in a statement.
To determine Zambrano’s actual sentence, Martini will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide “appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant’s criminal history, if any, and other factors,” Christie said.
However, the judge is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence and there is no parole in the federal system, Christie continued. Defendants given custodial terms must serve nearly all of that time.
Between Feb. 22 and late April, a total of 28 defendants, including Zambrano and DeLisa, have been arrested by the FBI through its “Operation Bid Rig” investigation into official corruption. The arrested include political leaders, private contractors and business owners, and several Monmouth County employees.
Most notably, the FBI’s early morning arrests included Keyport Mayor John Merla, now-resigned Hazlet Mayor Paul Coughlin, former Keyport Borough Councilman Robert L. Hyer, and Middletown Committeeman Raymond O’Grady, Monmouth County Division of Transportation Operations Director John McCurrin, and Assistant Monmouth County Roads Supervisor Tom Broderick.
In March and April, the FBI subsequently arrested now-deceased former Freeholder Director Harry Larrison, former Marlboro Mayor Matthew Scannapieco, Marlboro Township Municipal Authorities Commission Richard Vuola, Marlboro Planning Board member Stanley Young, Far Hills Councilman Thomas Greenwald, and retired Monmouth County Supervisor of Bridges Anthony Palughi.
From the private sector, the FBI apprehended James Ingram of Middletown, owner of JBI Limousine Service; Marlboro developer Anthony Spalliero; and Stephen Appolonia, of Colts Neck, an executive with International Trucks in Howell.

