Chris Christie

Chauncey I. Brown III, the former Paterson Board of Education president and a long-shot candidate for Assembly last year, was arrested today for allegedly soliciting bribes, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office.

Brown, a former Paterson fire captain, was arrested this morning at the ambulance company where he worked as an EMT.

The arrest is directly tied to U.S. Attorney Chris Christie’s corruption bust of 11 public officials last September, who were accused of soliciting bribes to influence who received public contracts.

In his Assembly bid last year, Brown, the 35th district’s sole Republican legislative candidate, was initially running against a ticket that included Democrat Al Steele, who was one of those arrested public officials.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8), right, with U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).: Politicker file photo 

On a regular basis now, Gov. Jon Corzine reminds audiences that he’s running for re-election. If he doesn’t end up running for whatever reason, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) says he wouldn’t mind personally stepping into the breach.

But whoever ends up out there on the barricade facing the GOP in a statewide race, Pascrell said his party should not fear likely Republican candidate U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, whom Quinnipiac University last week listed one point above the governor in a statistical tie - 41% to 40%.

Of his own gubernatorial run, "I would think about it very seriously," Pascrell said. "Right now I’m supporting the governor and I would urge him to run for re-election.

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo: Politicker photo

NEWARK - Joseph DiVincenzo knows the joke is coming, and he fields it with a grin - the one broadcaster Steve Adubato, Jr., has delivered for years about how DiVincenzo tried out for more than a half dozen NFL teams and got cut by every one of them.

The fact that Brett Favre is now taking snaps for the Jets sets up Adubato’s new punch line.

"He’s even older than Joe D," Adubato cracks and the roomful of politicians at the Breakers laughs, and DiVincenzo a moment later stands at the microphone, giving a nod to Essex County Democratic Chairman Phil Thigpen, who’s out there in the audience somewhere.

"I’m with Phil Thigpen, not Steve Adubato," DiVincenzo says, a playful poke at his leader, the junior Adubato’s father, who tried to oust Thigpen as chairman earlier this year but ran into a public objection by DiVincenzo, who wanted Thigpen to remain as chair.

DiVincenzo prevailed.

Crime fighters U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie and state Attorney General Anne Milgram will appear together at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey’s William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy on Thursday.

NJN’s lead anchor Kent Manahan will moderate a panel that is scheduled to focus on the issue of human trafficking, and will feature Christie and Milgram followed by a question-and-answer session.

The Star-Ledger reports that former Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for taking bribes in exchange for municipal contracts.

Rivera, who was one of 11 public officials caught in an FBI corruption busting sting in September, was also fined $4,000.

Former Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera is set to be sentenced in federal court on Friday morning.

Rivera pleaded guilty to extortion on May 9th, after he was netted in a high profile arrest of 10 public officials last September.  The sentencing will occur at 11 a.m. and will be presided over by U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson.

Rivera faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 

Assemblyman Michael Doherty today became the first elected official to endorse conservative activist Steve Lonegan's prospective gubernatorial bid.

Doherty announced today that he will chair the recently formed Committee to Draft Steve Lonegan for Governor, and called Lonegan "New Jersey's Ronald Reagan."

The committee was jump-started earlier this week by Republican political consultant Dan Gallic.

“No one speaks out louder or stronger for taxpayers and in defense of our conservative values than Steve Lonegan. He is not only the strongest candidate we can run against Jon Corzine, he is the best man for the job,” said Doherty in a statement.

Doherty, who’s among the legislature’s most conservative members, flirted with a U.S. Senate run last year, and was the only New Jersey legislator to endorse Republican Ron Paul for president.

“Lonegan is not only our only hope to save our state, but our last hope.”

In what could turn out to be the first proxy fight of the 2009 race for governor, Democratic State Chairman Joe Cryan chastised State Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R-Middletown) for his claim that public corruption prosecutions by U.S.Attorney Chris Christie helped end “Christmas Tree” budget items.

"Mr. Kyrillos should get his facts straight and get the story right,” said Cryan. “It was Governor Corzine who did away with Christmas Tree spending and it's Governor Corzine who has reformed other aspects of the budget process, effectively changing spending practices by both political parties for years, if not decades.”

“Christmas tree items” referred to legislative pork, often in the form of last minute expenditures added to the budget for legislators’ pet projects. Corzine vowed to end them for the 2009 budget, while they drew scrutiny and subpoenas from the U.S. Attorney’s office during previous years.

Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin today sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Chris Christie asking him to expand his probe of Bergen County officials to the operations and fee structure of the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA).

Yudin pointed to County Executive Dennis McNerney’s appearance at a Glen Rock school board meeting, during which he urged members to use the BCIA to issue bonds for school expansion projects. Members of the school board, however, decided to seek the bonds on their own.

Yudin said that McNerney wanted to strong-arm the school board into accepting the bonds from the BCIA so that Bergen County Democratic Organization (BCDO) allies would stand to earn thousands of dollars in fees.

U.S. Attorney Chris Christie: Politicker file photo 

NEWARK - U.S. Attorney Chris Christie rejoiced following the federal sentencing of former Newark Mayor Sharpe James today, but also acknowledged that a U.S. District Judge’s decision fell far short of what Christie and his prosecution team had sought.

He strove to focus on the positive.

"In seven weeks, Sharpe James will report to federal prison for one reason and one reason only: he is a criminal," Christie told reporters. "He is a federal felon."

Then he turned to U.S. District Judge William Martini’s imposition of a 27-month sentence on James instead of federal prosecutors’ suggestions of a 15-20 year penalty.