OCEAN COUNTY — Testimony in the federal corruption trial of former Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt concluded today after one of his former co-workers told jurors the ex-lawmaker discussed plans to start a consulting business. The statements of Diane Ambrosio, the municipal clerk in Ocean Township, were part of the defense team’s attempt to convince jurors Van Pelt was acting...
Former N.J. Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt leaves federal court earlier this week during his corruption trial. He is accused of taking a $10,000 bribe from an FBI informant.
OCEAN COUNTY — Testimony in the federal corruption trial of former Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt concluded today after one of his former co-workers told jurors the ex-lawmaker discussed plans to start a consulting business.
The statements of Diane Ambrosio, the municipal clerk in Ocean Township, were part of the defense team’s attempt to convince jurors Van Pelt was acting as a consultant when he accepted $10,000 from a government informant and that the cash was not a bribe.
Ambrosio, the last of four witnesses called by the defense, said she spoke with Van Pelt in January or February 2009 about his career plans after his 10-year stint on the Township Committee.
"We had a conversation about him wanting to leave the public sector and possibly going into consulting work," she said.
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"He’s very knowledgeable in land use law,’’ she said.
But on cross-examination, Ambrosio said that when they had their conversation, Van Pelt did not tell her he was already doing consulting work.
On trial in U.S. District court in Trenton, Van Pelt is charged with extortion and bribery. He is accused of accepting a $10,000 bribe to expedite the permitting process for a development project in Ocean Township.
Van Pelt accepted the cash on Feb. 21, 2009, after a dinner meeting at Morton’s Steakhouse in Atlantic City with disgraced real estate developer Solomon Dwek, who was secretly working for the federal government under the name David Esenbach.
Van Pelt, who has already testified on his own behalf, insists the money was a retainer for his work as a consultant for Esenbach. He said he planned to start working for Esenbach after he left municipal office and after consulting with a state ethics attorney about what types of work he could do as a legislator without violating state ethics laws.
Federal prosecutors, however, contend Van Pelt fabricated the consultant work because he was still a committeeman when he took the cash. He resigned his local position on Feb. 28, 2009, 10 months before his term expired.
Elected to the Assembly in 2007, Van Pelt, a Republican, had planned to run for a second term in 2009, but resigned eight days after his arrest, in July 2009.
When federal prosecutors make their closing statements on Monday, they will not be permitted to argue the manner in which Van Pelt deposited the cash is evidence of his guilt.
Van Pelt admitted he deposited $5,500 into a joint checking account and another $4,400 into an Etrade account. Prosecutors intended to argue he tried to hide the sudden influx of cash by making a number of smaller deposits. Charles Henderson, a TD Bank manager in Lumberton where one of the deposits was made, testified last week that banks only report to the federal government cash deposits of $10,001 or more.
Pisano rejected defense attorney Michael Gilberti’s request today to recall Van Pelt to the witness stand to refute information about his financial status.
Gilberti argued that testimony from Wednesday, showing Van Pelt had nearly $900,000 in outstanding debt, left jurors with the impression he was not financially able to repay Esenbach.
In one of the secretly recorded conversations, Van Pelt told Esenbach he would return the money if he did not "deliver." However, Van Pelt had already deposited all but $100 of the payment into a joint checking account and an Etrade account.
Through his attorneys, Van Pelt sent the federal government a cashier’s check in February for $10,000, plus $112 in interest, as reimbursement for money he accepted from Dwek, Gilberti said.
But the judge said the repayment came after Van Pelt was arrested and knew Dwek was working for the government.