Former Newark Mayor Is Sentenced to 27 Months

NEWARK — A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Sharpe James, Newark’s towering yet controversial former mayor, to prison for 27 months at a simmering five-hour hearing in which he rebuked the prosecution for “heartlessly” adhering to a bureaucratic form of justice. The sentence was a fraction of the 20 years prosecutors had requested for Mr. James, who was convicted on fraud charges stemming from the sale of city properties to a former companion for a fraction of their cost.In rendering the sentence, Judge William J. Martini of United States District Court blistered the prosecution, saying he was “shocked and disappointed” by the sentencing request and questioning the contention that the James administration had been corrupt for years.“Don’t talk about a history of corruption unless you can prove it,” Judge Martini, a former Republican congressman, scolded Judith H. Germano, the chief prosecutor in the case. “I don’t want to hear these allegations of a corrupt administration, he’s all-powerful, he didn’t do any good. I’m supposed to throw out the history of a man’s life for misconduct he committed at age 69?”It has long been axiomatic to supporters of Mr. James, a five-term Democratic mayor, that he was Newark’s savior: a powerful yet sometimes vindictive man who improved Newark’s beaten-down image and brought to town the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the Prudential Arena and the Newark Bears.Yet Mr. James, 72, who also served for years as a state senator, has long found himself in the cross hairs of the federal government, which has investigated him on a range of corruption allegations for years.Christopher J. Christie, the United States attorney for New Jersey, responded swiftly to Judge Martini’s attacks, wading into precisely the same waters his office had been counseled to avoid.“In seven weeks, Sharpe James will report to federal prison,” Mr. Christie, a Republican, said at a news conference following the sentencing. “In seven weeks, he will be away from the house at the beach, the Rolls-Royce, the romantic strolls down Broad Street to catch the bus with regular people.”Mr. James’s six-week trial this spring covered a host of urban touchstones, from sex to mayoral power to developable real estate. He was accused — and convicted — of helping Tamika Riley, 39, gain access to a city-sponsored program meant to redevelop Newark’s struggling South Ward and not disclosing that she was his romantic partner. SOURCE:NYT.COM