COLLEEN LUTOLF Former Brick Township Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli enters the federal courthouse in Newark to plead guilty to accepting bribes from an unnamed developer between 1998 and late 2003. U.S. Attorney Chris Christie says his office isn’t done
with Brick yet
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER & COLLEEN LUTOLF
Staff Writers
Former Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli left a message on Brick Township employee Edward Moroney’s voice mail last Friday.
“He said to expect a bad day on Monday,” said Moroney, who works as a staff assistant in the Mayor’s Office.
Scarpelli admitted in federal court Monday that he accepted at least $5,000 in bribes from a developer over a five-year period.
Scarpelli, 67, pleaded guilty to one count of accepting and agreeing to accept cash payments in exchange for official action at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Newark.
Monday’s hard morning rain had become a drizzle by the time he entered the Martin Luther King Jr. Courthouse shortly after 10:15 a.m.
Scarpelli, dressed in a blue suit, clutched a blue and white umbrella with a Maser Consulting Inc. insignia on it – the engineering firm for which Scarpelli said he had been hired in 2004 as a “good will ambassador.”
He gave up the position in August 2005 after local Republicans made a campaign issue out of Scarpelli’s Maser moonlighting when they discovered a Maser employee had successfully bid on a piece of property in a township land auction.
Scarpelli abruptly forfeited his office one month ago in a one-sentence resignation letter that cited “personal reasons.” He has not spoken publicly since his resignation, and remained silent as he entered the courthouse. He would not answer a reporter’s questions.
The former mayor stood before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton, his suit now slightly rumpled and a slight grimace on his face.
He answered Wigenton’s questions regarding his taking of at least $5,000 in bribes from a developer between 1998 and late 2003 in a soft but clear voice.
Scarpelli admitted by answering in the affirmative that he received the payments in Brick and in other unnamed locales in Ocean County.
Federal officials have not disclosed the developer’s identity except to say that the developer’s company has done work in Brick and is involved in interstate commerce.
“Was it your understanding when receiving the cash payments from the developer that the developer expected you to use your official position as mayor to assist the developer with obtaining township approval for the developer’s projects in the township?” Wigenton asked.
“Yes, your honor,” replied Scarpelli.
One such payment consisted of $500 in cash Scarpelli received while somewhere in Ocean County in 2003.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Larkins would not say why Wigenton asked Scarpelli about that specific payment or give details regarding the over $4,500 Scarpelli also received in bribes.
“It’s important for the citizens of Brick to know he received, as he admitted today in court, bribe payments,” Larkins later said outside the courtroom.
“Did you act knowingly, willingly and corruptly,” Wigenton asked.
“Yes, your honor,” said Scarpelli.
Wigenton set the former mayor’s sentencing date for May 29. Scarpelli was released Monday on a $50,000 unsecured bond.
Although the charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, Scarpelli will more than likely face a probable sentencing range of between 24 and 30 months in federal prison.
Scarpelli must also surrender his passport as part of the plea deal. His travel is limited to within the New Jersey State lines except for trips to his Florida home, which must first be approved by the court.
After he left the courtroom, Scarpelli deferred any comment to his lawyer, Michael T. Nolan Jr. of the Brick firm Kelly, Nolan & White.
“Obviously this is a very difficult day for Joe Scarpelli and his family and for the people of Brick Township,” Nolan said. “He is truly sorry for his poor judgment that led him to this day. He has accepted full responsibility for his actions and wants to apologize not only to his family and friends but to those who trusted and supported him through his many years of public service. Knowing that he has disappointed them is really far more painful than any punishment a court can impose.”
Scarpelli’s tenure as mayor was filled with public service, Nolan said.
“I dare say even his hardest critics … would contest Joe Scarpelli did a tremendous amount of good. The man should be judged solely not on one act but the sum total of his acts,” he said.
Township Administrator Scott A. Pezarras issued a brief statement after Scarpelli’s plea.
He noted that Scarpelli accomplished “a great deal” during his three decades of public service.
“It is unfortunate that his career ended in this manner,” Pezarras said. “It is my hope that the residents of Brick Township recognize that today’s pleas are a result of the actions of one man and do not look negatively upon the dedicated public employees of the community. The municipal staff is focused on the task at hand, which is moving Brick Township forward.”
Sal Petoia, the mayor’s former Planning Board designee who has served on the board since 1994, said Monday night Scarpelli never once tried to influence his vote on board decisions.
“I’ve always voted my own mind,” he said. “I never received orders. I never experienced anything where he said, ‘Vote this way.’ At no time did I ever feel pressured into making a vote.”
Brick has an honest and objective Planning Board, Petoia said, “and they do their homework and vote on the basis of what’s presented before them. The whole thing sounds absurd. He’d have to convince five board members to vote for something.”
Petoia has known Scarpelli for over 40 years. He said he is shocked and disappointed that Scarpelli “would get involved to make such decisions.”
“I hope the air gets cleared out,” he said. “In the meantime, there’s a cloud over everyone. My heart goes out to his family.”
Another former Planning Board member, Domenick Brando, told The Star-Ledger in October 2005 that Scarpelli urged him to vote on the Parkway-70 Plaza application submitted by JSM at Brick.
JSM at Brick was a limited-liability corporation that was a partnership of real estate developer Jack Morris and John Lynch, the Middlesex County power broker who recently admitted to taking bribes. JSM proposed to build a 285,000-foot “lifestyle mall” on the Route 70 site.
Right around the time JSM’s application was before the Planning Board in 2003, Lynch’s political action committee, New Directions Through Responsible Leadership, contributed $15,000 directly to Brick Democrats, according to state Election Law Enforcement Commission.
Federal officials would not comment on what application votes Scarpelli may have attempted to influence, nor over what governmental board, but Brando said he believes it is the JSM project.
On Monday, Brando reiterated his statements he made to The Star-Ledger.
“He [Scarpelli] called me a liar,” Brando said. “I guess I kinda wasn’t.”
Brando said he and Scarpelli were at lunch at what is now the Marina Grille when the mayor told him he “needed the project to go through.”
And the probe into Brick Township corruption isn’t over, said U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie.
“Our corruption investigation in Brick Township is continuing, and we will follow the evidence wherever it takes us,” Christie said.
Lt. James Riccio, the Brick Police Department’s internal affairs officer who has been assigned to the FBI’s Red Bank office for over a year investigating municipal corruption, said Monday that he will continue to work with the FBI.
Federal officials would not say if Scarpelli’s plea deal was a result of his supplying information regarding additional corrupt officials in Brick, Ocean County or other New Jersey counties. They would also not discuss any role former Department of Public Works Director Jack Nydam may have played, if any, in Scarpelli’s downfall.
Mayor Daniel J. Kelly, who was sworn in on Jan. 5 to replace Scarpelli, issued a brief statement about Scarpelli’s plea on Monday.
“Today’s news is distressing to myself and the residents of Brick Township,” he said. “However, our community has been through tough times and we will make it through this. In the meantime, I will pray for the Scarpelli family during this difficult time.”
Former Mayor Daniel F. Newman said he was sorry to hear the news.
“I’m disappointed,” he said. “That’s all I can say. He did a lot of good things, but now he’s going to have to pay for this one.”