Sharpe James

State Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Demarest) is so upset about what he sees as a lenient sentence for former Newark Mayor and State Senator Sharpe James that he’s fired off a letter to the editor of every daily newspaper in the state.

On Tuesday, James was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and fined $100,000.

Cardinale’s letter contains some criticism of U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martini, a former Republican Congressman who presided over the trial and sentencing of James. Cardinale said staffers toned down more pointed criticism of the judge.

“It’s struck me that (Martini) has become an enabler, even an apologist for this culture of corruption,” he said in a phone interview.

Republican congressional candidate Chris Myers today demanded that his opponent, State Sen. John Adler, remove a controversial appointee from the state parole board.

Adler is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

State Parole Board member Charles Jones drew scrutiny when he wrote a letter to Judge William J. Martini asking for leniency for Sharpe James, who he used to work for as an aide. Jones was appointed to the board in early 2006, although judiciary committee members at the time questioned whether he was qualified for the position.

HILLSIDE - Gov. Jon Corzine thought he heard a familiar tone of woe Gov. Jon Corzine: Politicker file photowhen New York’s new governor, David Paterson, addressed the dire state of the New York State budget this week.

"It sounded like my state of the budget, which I gave in February of last year," Corzine said.

Paterson on Tuesday announced a special legislative session to confront what he described as an economic crisis confronting New York State, including a budget shortfall of $6.4 billion.

Corzine this year shaved $600 million out of the state budget to help harness a state structural deficit of $2.5 billion, even as states like Pennsylvania and California are taking their own approaches to similar financial crises.

In an economic downturn nationwide in which food and gas prices are up and home values down, "This is crunch time on Main Street," said the governor - and most excruciatingly for the poor.

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.

NEWARK - Citing violation of the public trust but noting the former mayor's overall effectiveness while in office, District Court Judge William J. Martini sentenced Sharpe James today to 27 months in prison, and a fine of $100,000.

His former girlfriend, Tamika Riley, received 15 months for her role in the corruption case.

In his sum-up, the judge reproved the prosecution for taking a heavy-handed and "inflammatory" approach to James's penalty, saying his imposition of what they hoped would be a maximum sentence of 15-20 years would be an "extreme injustice."

"It disappoints me and it shocks me that government would seek 10-20 year sentencing," Martini said. "I know in the zeal of prosecution, things sometimes get distorted. ...If the intent was to advocate for a big sentence to put this court on the spot, I'm not concerned with that, nor was it effective.

"It makes me question some of the perspectives here," added Martini, who also described as "unhelpful" letters he had received calling for the maximum penalty.

He said he struck the proper balance on a "sad day."

NEWARK - Facing an increasingly indignant district judge, Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith Germano said she wants 15-20 years, or the maximum penalty for former Newark Mayor Sharpe James.

"Your Honor, committing crimes does not come with an AARP card, this is not the movies," Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith Germano said, referring to the 72-year old James. "He was healthy enough to travel to the Dominican Republic with Tamika Riley."

Judge William Martini objected to that last point, which is not part of this case, he argued. In an increasingly angry tone, he also challenged Germano’s more general references to James.

"You throw out a person’s entire history because of one instance in his life where he committed a wrong?" Martini wanted to know.

NEWARK - Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James approached the judge Sharpe Jamesmoments earlier and thanked him for his "professionalism" in the way he's run the trial.

"I would like to apologize to my wife (sons and mother)...for suffering they have had to endure," James said. "I would like to thank the citizens of Newark...we've become an extended family."

He insisted he did not mean any harm. 

"I'm simply trying to make Newark a better place than I found it in 1986," said the former mayor. "If I made a mistake, Your Honor, it was not of malice. I would never do anything to hurt the people of Newark."

NEWARK - Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) submitted a letter to the court on behalf of former Newark Mayor Sharpe James, part of which defense attorney Thomas Ashley read to U.S. District Judge William Martini.

"The events represent a brief period in a long and illustrious career," Turner wrote. "...I am convinced he is not likely to commit another offense."

The crime of fraud, said Turner, represented a departure from James’s otherwise distinguished public service as a teacher and elected official, in her view.

Sen. Bill Baroni (R-Mercer), Tuner's Republican state Senate colleague and fellow member of the Mercer County delegation, last week wrote a letter to Martini with three other GOP lawmakers, asking the judge to impose the maximum penalty. 

Sentencing of former Newark Mayor Sharpe James is underway this morning at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Building, where James hopes to avoid the maximum sentencing for fraud.

U.S. District Judge William Martini specified in his opening exchanges with prosecutors that James’s ex-girlfriend, Tamika Riley, successfully rehabilitated city housing properties in question, and the taxpayers experienced no financial loss.

But financial loss is not the issue, said the judge.

"There was a fraud here, and it involved (Ms. Riley) obtaining properties without knowledge by the public," Martini said. "...The failure of the mayor to disclose his relationship with Tamika Reilly is a deprivation of public services."

A week before former Newark Mayor (and state senator) Sharpe James is scheduled to to be sentenced in federal court, five state senators are requesting the maximum sentencing.

"We implore you," state senators Bill Baroni (R-Mercer), Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth), Gerald Cardinale (R-Begen), Joe Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), and Kevin O'Toole (R-Essex), said in a co-authored letter sent this morning to U.S. District Judge William Martini.

"I was surprised to see Sharpe James's attorney advocating for lesser sentencing," said Beck. "This is a mayor who openly abused his power in office. We are at a low point in terms of public trust, and if citizens don't believe in their public officials it erodes our ability to administer our democracy."

According to the Star-Ledger, James's attorneys plan to meet with Martini on Wednesday to urge him to impose far less than a decade in prison on the 72-year old former mayor, who was convicted earlier this year on corruption charges.