Ex-N.J. Assemblyman Van Pelt is found guilty of accepting of $10K bribe

OCEAN COUNTY -- Outside a crowded upscale restaurant in Atlantic City last year, Daniel Van Pelt surreptitiously accepted a white envelope stuffed with $100 bills from a real estate developer seeking special favors and tucked it in his doggie bag. With that exchange secretly captured on videotape, the state Assemblyman from Ocean County not only gave his promise to...

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Clik here to view.Patti Sapone/The Star-LedgerFormer N.J. Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt heads to his car after he leaves federal court during his corruption trial on Wednesday in Trenton. A jury convicted him of taking a $10,000 bribe.
OCEAN COUNTY -- Outside a crowded upscale restaurant in Atlantic City last year, Daniel Van Pelt surreptitiously accepted a white envelope stuffed with $100 bills from a real estate developer seeking special favors and tucked it in his doggie bag.

With that exchange secretly captured on videotape, the state Assemblyman from Ocean County not only gave his promise to help the developer, but he also gave federal investigators the evidence they needed to show he was willing to sell his political influence.

On Wednesday, a jury in U.S. District Court in Trenton convicted the former Republican legislator of bribery and extortion charges, rejecting his claim that the $10,000 was a fee for his consulting services.

"This conviction should remind public officials that no matter what you call it, a bribe is a bribe," U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said in a statement.

Wednesday's verdict was the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s second conviction in court stemming from last summer’s massive public corruption and money-laundering sting. Seventeen other have pleaded guilty. That investigation led to charges against 46 people, including public officials, rabbis and one man accused of trying to sell a human kidney. The verdict also kept intact the office’s unbroken string of more than 150 public corruption convictions in the past eight years.

Van Pelt, 45, did not look at the jury as the forewoman announced the verdict. Dressed in a dark suit with a blue-striped tie, he bowed his head at the first pronouncement.

Van Pelt declined to comment after court, but said earlier in the day he was ready to accept the jury’s verdict. His wife, who attended a portion of the three-week trial, was not in court Wednesday for the verdict but her father kept vigil throughout.

Robert Fuggi Jr., one of Van Pelt’s two defense attorneys, said he was "very disappointed" with the outcome.

"I respect the resolution. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but the jury has spoken," Fuggi said. "It’s unfortunate the verdict went down the way it went down, but that’s how litigation goes."

He said he has to confer with Van Pelt on whether to file an appeal.

U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano allowed Van Pelt to remain free on $100,000 bond until his sentencing on Aug. 24.

Van Pelt, a former mayor and committeeman in Ocean Township, could face up to 30 years in prison, but Fuggi said the term would more likely be between 41 months and 51 months.

Van Pelt met at least eight times between December 2008 and May 2009 with Dwek, who posed as fictitious developer David Esenbach. Dwek began working with the FBI in 2006 after being arrested on bank fraud charges.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachael Honig and Dustin Chao argued Van Pelt fabricated the consultant’s arrangement to cover up the bribe. They said he agreed during a Feb. 11, 2009, meeting with Dwek to take a bribe in exchange for helping Dwek obtain expedited environmental permits for a development project in Ocean Township. He took the cash 10 days later after a dinner meeting at Morton’s Steakhouse in Atlantic City.

Van Pelt’s case was the second of last year’s arrests to go to trial. In February, former Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini was found guilty of accepting $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions from that same developer, Solomon Dwek, who was secretly working with the FBI.

But unlike Beldini’s case, where jurors never saw money directly change hands, the jury in Van Pelt’s trial watched a video of the legislator taking an envelope stuffed with cash.

They also watched a video offered by the defense in which Van Pelt declines Dwek’s offers of gifts and cash three months later, telling him to ‘‘keep your money.’’

Testifying over two days, Van Pelt told jurors he consulted with a state ethics attorney who he said advised him he was permitted to do consulting work as long as he did not introduce legislation that benefited his clients and he did not represent clients to any state agencies or boards.

Van Pelt did not finish his first Assembly term. He resigned eight days after being arrested, four months before his planned re-election bid.

Gov. Chris Christie, who gave the green light to that portion of the investigation involving Van Pelt while he was U.S. Attorney, said he was saddened by the conviction.

"It is always a personal tragedy to watch a public official convicted of a crime," he said. "But I will also commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office for continuing to do the work that needs to be done, to hold elected officials and appointed officials accountable for their conduct."

The jury of seven women and five men delivered the verdict after 11 hours of deliberations over three days.

Staff writer Claire Heininger contributed to this report.

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