TRENTON — A federal judge in Newark today reduced by 10 months the prison term for former Democratic state Sen. Joseph Coniglio, who was convicted on corruption charges two years ago but recently had all but one of those counts thrown out on appeal. In chopping Coniglio’s 30-month sentence for mail fraud and extortion to 20 months, U.S. District...
Former state senator had his sentence reduced today.TRENTON — A federal judge in Newark today reduced by 10 months the prison term for former Democratic state Sen. Joseph Coniglio, who was convicted on corruption charges two years ago but recently had all but one of those counts thrown out on appeal.
In chopping Coniglio’s 30-month sentence for mail fraud and extortion to 20 months, U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh told the nearly packed courtroom, "I would think that any rational person looking at this would have to think some change in the sentence is due. I have a man who was originally found guilty of six counts, and now five counts have been set aside."
Given the reduced sentence, Coniglio, of Paramus, could soon be a free man. He’s already served more than 16 months in a federal work camp, his attorney, Gerald Krovatin said. Moreover, Krovatin said, Coniglio will get a 15 percent reduction of his sentence for good behavior, reducing the time he needs to serve to 17 months.
As Krovatin left the court, he said Prosecutor Rachael Honig had just told him the government might offer Coniglio bail, if the remainder of the prison time looked to be short. By late afternoon, though, that offer didn’t seem as likely: Krovatin said the state Bureau of Prisons had "tentatively recalculated" Coniglio’s release date to April 27, more than a month away.
In April 2009, Coniglio was found guilty of fraud and extortion for steering state funding to Hackensack University Medical Center in exchange for a lucrative consulting job. He received multiple, 30-month terms on each of the counts, which were to be served concurrently. The high-profile influence-peddling case against Coniglio had put a spotlight on how millions of dollars in state grants to legislative districts were secretly brokered for years by Trenton lawmakers.
A retired union plumber, Coniglio, now 68, funneled more than $1 million in grant money to the hospital after it gave him a high-paying consulting job that required little work.
But earlier this month, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia vacated five of the six counts against Coniglio — while also ordering Cavanaugh to resentence him. The appeals court cited a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling from last year that found that part of the law upon which Coniglio’s conviction was based was overly vague.
The statute, known as "theft of honest services," had been interpreted as requiring public and corporate officials to disclose conflicts of interest and act in the best interests of their constituents or employers.
But the Supreme Court said the statute — which was used to convict Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former chief executive of Enron — was unconstitutionally vague to the extent it criminalized behavior beyond bribery and kickback schemes. It concluded the statute could be used only in cases involving bribes and kickbacks.
Citing that decision, the 3rd Circuit said Coniglio’s conviction on the honest services statute was based on a "clear and obvious legal error that is not subject to reasonable dispute."
However, it upheld the extortion conviction, which required prosecutors to prove Coniglio knowingly accepted one or more payments to which he was not entitled, "with the implied understanding that he would perform ... an act in his official capacity."
Today, Krovatin argued that tossing all but one count against his client meant the sentence should be reduced to just the 16 months Coniglio has already served. In addition, he argued his client – who suffers from an auto-immune definciency – was being mistreated at the federal work camp, and that Cavanaugh should look to reduce his sentence based on that factor as well.
Krovatin said Coniglio was unable to get proper treatment for afflictions he suffered at the work camp, including an ear infection, bleeding gums and bed sores.
Honig argued the facts of the case remain the same, and that Coniglio should have to serve the full 30-month sentence for the extortion count that was upheld on appeal.
"While neither the citizens or the hospital were harmed financially, there was a public trust that was violated," Cavanaugh said. "I do believe the sentence I’m about to give is a deterrent ... I think public officials must recognize that they will face significant punishment, if they violate the public trust." He also said that he was somewhat "swayed" by the harsh conditions a sickly Coniglio had suffered at the prison camp.
After the hearing, Coniglio’s wife, daughters and other family members and friends — nearly 20 in all — gathered around Krovatin to congratulate him on the sentence reduction.
Then Coniglio’s wife of 46 years — appearing teary-eyed and overjoyed — whispered to Krovatin, before crying out "Thank you!"and falling into his arms.
Asked later about the exchange, Krovatin said simply, "She asked me, ‘Is he coming home?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’"
Previous coverage:
• Ex-N.J. Sen. Joseph Coniglio faces resentencing after appeals court dismisses all but one charge
• N.J. pension board slashes convicted Sen. Joseph Coniglio's retirement pay
• Hackensack hospital tightens ethics after Coniglio scandal
• Former N.J. Sen. Coniglio arrives at Pennsylvania prison
• Former N.J. state Sen. Joseph Coniglio heads to prison
• N.J. governor candidate Chris Christie was brazen, hands-on as federal prosecutor
• Ex-state Sen. Joseph Coniglio is sentenced to 2 1/2 years on corruption charges