Ex-Mayor Of Newark Charged With Corruption

Sharpe James Indicted For Land Sales And Misuse Of City Credit Cards

(AP)  A federal grand jury Thursday indicted former Newark Mayor Sharpe James on corruption charges involving land sales and the extravagant use of city-issued credit cards on himself and several women.

The 33-count indictment charges James with fraud for allegedly facilitating and approving the cut-rate sales of city-owned land to a female companion.

It also charges James, 71, with using the city-issued credit cards on himself and eight women during trips to destinations including Rio de Janeiro, Puerto Rico and Martha's Vineyard, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie and state Attorney General Anne Milgram announced.

Minutes after the indictment was announced, James was seen walking into FBI headquarters in Newark where he was expected to turn himself in. The woman accused of buying the bargain-priced city land, Tamika Riley, was expected to appear in court with him. Riley, 38, is a publicist and former clothing store operator in Newark.

Ethical questions have long surrounded James, who has a home on the Jersey shore, a yacht and a Rolls Royce. He has been a state senator since 1999, while also serving as Newark's mayor until last year, when he decided not to see re-election.

"This indictment is about as surprising as the sun rising in the morning," Tom Wilson, the New Jersey Republican State Committee chairman, said wryly.

The former mayor, a Democrat, has said little publicly since federal investigators notified him that he was the target of a corruption probe last month.

In a handwritten letter to The Associated Press, dated June 16, James said he never had the power to broker land deals or set prices by himself.

"No, no, no, the mayor is not a boss or a lord or can give away municipal land," he wrote.

James served as the mayor of New Jersey's largest city for 20 years before announcing last year he wouldn't seek re-election. He announced in April that he also wouldn't seek another term in the Senate after his current term expires in January.

James first joined Newark city council in 1970. His election in 1986 made him the city's second black mayor.

He earns $49,000 a year as a senator and collects an annual pension of about $125,000 from Newark. Additionally, he accrued more than $1 million in a retirement account at Essex County College, where he worked two decades ago. After leaving the mayor's job last year, he directed an urban institute at the college — at a salary of $150,000 annually — before retiring in June.

James withdrew $500,000 from his retirement account last week, state Treasury Department spokesman Tom Vincz said.