Trenton, NJ.
A tearful Daniel Van Pelt was sentenced to more than three years in prison today for accepting a $10,000 bribe from a crooked developer who was supposedly seeking help with a project from the former state Assemblyman and local official.
U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano ordered Van Pelt to serve 41 months in a federal prison — the maximum sentence for his conviction — despite pleas from his attorney for leniency for the ill former legislator.
"He did a terrible thing to the citizens of this state and for that he is going to pay the price," Pisano said.
Van Pelt, 46, was convicted May 19 of extortion and bribery in the massive federal investigation into public corruption. He was found guilty of accepting a $10,000 bribe from disgraced developer Solomon Dwek, who was secretly working for federal authorities, in exchange for his influence for permit approvals for a fictitious development project in Ocean Township, where Van Pelt was a former mayor and sitting committeeman.
His attorney, Robert Margulies, asked Pisano for leniency because Van Pelt, who suffers from kidney disease and has already undergone one transplant, is expected to experience a health decline in the future, potentially needing another transplant.
Margulies suggested Van Pelt be allowed to be on home confinement in the event his health debilitated to the point that he would need special care.
Pisano rejected the request, saying the federal Bureau of Prisons assured him Van Pelt’s medical needs can be met at its facilities.
"We have good man that did a bad thing," Margulies told the judge. "What enhances that is that he was in a public position at the time."
Crying through most of his address to the judge, Van Pelt, who called himself "trustworthy,’’ said he had aspired to political life since he was a child and realizes he threw that away by accepting the envelope cash. He said he did not live up to the higher standards placed on public servants.
"That day, that time, that night I didn’t have a higher standard. I didn’t do what was best for my constituents," he said. "I take full responsibility. I should have gotten up and walked away. That decision has cost me my career, my reputation," he said.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao said Van Pelt has not taken responsibility for his actions and said the former politician only expressed remorse at having been arrested and prosecuted.
"If Mr. Van Pelt was about honesty, integrity and trust, we wouldn’t be here today," Chao said. "We’re here today because Mr. Van Pelt is about dishonesty, arrogance and remorselessness."
Van Pelt was permitted to report to the Bureau of Prisons after the holidays.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Mayor Suarez Acquitted
Ridgefield, NJ.
Ridgefield Mayor Anthony R. Suarez was found not guilty today of taking bribes from the informant who anchored last year’s sprawling FBI sting, marking the first time a public official has been acquitted of federal corruption charges in New Jersey in more than a decade.
The 43-year-old Democrat closed his eyes and wept as the jury forewoman in Newark read the verdict clearing him of bribery and extortion charges, rejecting allegations that he took $10,000 from an informant who masqueraded as a developer trying to buy off politicians.
“I always had faith people would see the truth,” said Suarez, standing in the rain during a brief news conference outside the courthouse.
He was charged along with scores of others in last year’s massive bribery and money-laundering sting, including five rabbis and more a dozen public officials. Of all the politicians charged, Suarez is the only one who remains in office.
His codefendant, Vincent Tabbachino, a tax preparer and former Guttenberg police officer, was convicted of bribery and extortion.
Suarez was accused of taking $10,000 in bribes from Solomon Dwek, a one-time rabbinical student who became the most prodigious informant ever to wear a wire in New Jersey.
The informant's work led to charges against 46 people in a money-laundering and bribery probe that ensnared five rabbis, three mayors and two state legislators.
Two politicians have been convicted, and 20 defendants in the case have pleaded guilty.
Dwek began cooperating with the FBI in 2006 after being charged with a $50 million bank fraud. He worked his way across the state, wearing a tiny hidden video camera on his belly as he tried to talk rabbis into laundering money and convince public officials to take bribes.
Suarez's lawyer argued that the mayor never knowingly took an illicit dime.
He turned down $10,000 cash. He never deposited a $10,000 check. And, ultimately, the 43-year-old
Democrat kept just $2,500, which he believed was a legitimate donation to his legal defense fund, his lawyer, John Michael Vazquez, said.
If convicted, Suarez would have faced up to 20 years in prison.
Ridgefield Mayor Anthony R. Suarez was found not guilty today of taking bribes from the informant who anchored last year’s sprawling FBI sting, marking the first time a public official has been acquitted of federal corruption charges in New Jersey in more than a decade.
The 43-year-old Democrat closed his eyes and wept as the jury forewoman in Newark read the verdict clearing him of bribery and extortion charges, rejecting allegations that he took $10,000 from an informant who masqueraded as a developer trying to buy off politicians.
“I always had faith people would see the truth,” said Suarez, standing in the rain during a brief news conference outside the courthouse.
He was charged along with scores of others in last year’s massive bribery and money-laundering sting, including five rabbis and more a dozen public officials. Of all the politicians charged, Suarez is the only one who remains in office.
His codefendant, Vincent Tabbachino, a tax preparer and former Guttenberg police officer, was convicted of bribery and extortion.
Suarez was accused of taking $10,000 in bribes from Solomon Dwek, a one-time rabbinical student who became the most prodigious informant ever to wear a wire in New Jersey.
The informant's work led to charges against 46 people in a money-laundering and bribery probe that ensnared five rabbis, three mayors and two state legislators.
Two politicians have been convicted, and 20 defendants in the case have pleaded guilty.
Dwek began cooperating with the FBI in 2006 after being charged with a $50 million bank fraud. He worked his way across the state, wearing a tiny hidden video camera on his belly as he tried to talk rabbis into laundering money and convince public officials to take bribes.
Suarez's lawyer argued that the mayor never knowingly took an illicit dime.
He turned down $10,000 cash. He never deposited a $10,000 check. And, ultimately, the 43-year-old
Democrat kept just $2,500, which he believed was a legitimate donation to his legal defense fund, his lawyer, John Michael Vazquez, said.
If convicted, Suarez would have faced up to 20 years in prison.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Edgar Stahl's Body Found
Are the rumors true this time? Breaking news through the Associated Press reports that the not so deceased Edgar Stahl has turned up on St. Maarten in the Virgin Islands.
The owner of Stahl’s Demolition disappeared nearly two years ago from Sea View, New Jersey. Stahl’s presumed murder helped feed the media blitz surrounding accused Satin Strangler Destiny Blande, who was tried for the crime. Blande, who is still generally assumed to be the Satin Strangler, was nonetheless acquitted of criminal charges. The prosecution in the case relied heavily on surveillance footage of Blande entering Stahl’s boat, where the demolition man was last seen, as well as DNA evidence linking her to the scene of the supposed crime. Their inability to produce a murder weapon, a witness, or even a body proved insurmountable, however.
Stahl’s family later sued Blande in a civil case for wrongful death, winning $38 million in damages.
Satin Strangler fans have had a field day with the Stahl story. The internet spawned numerous new websites dedicated to the demolition man and countless on-line posts using Stahl’s name as a signature. In fact, there have been so many Stahl “wanna-bes” posting comments on bulletin boards and blog sites that today’s reports from St. Maarten were initially dismissed as being fabricated.
Police in St. Maarten report that Stahl was arrested for unpaid moped parking tickets. The United States is now working with French authorities to extradite the former murder victim, who is in debt for more than two million dollars back in New Jersey. Stahl certainly has far more to worry about from creditors and the legal system than a few moped tickets.
The impact that this will have on the Destiny Blande civil case award is yet to be determined. Blande has not been seen since the murders of Horace Krouch and Barabbas Sabbarab, and nobody from the previously vocal Stahl family can be found for comment.
-----
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The owner of Stahl’s Demolition disappeared nearly two years ago from Sea View, New Jersey. Stahl’s presumed murder helped feed the media blitz surrounding accused Satin Strangler Destiny Blande, who was tried for the crime. Blande, who is still generally assumed to be the Satin Strangler, was nonetheless acquitted of criminal charges. The prosecution in the case relied heavily on surveillance footage of Blande entering Stahl’s boat, where the demolition man was last seen, as well as DNA evidence linking her to the scene of the supposed crime. Their inability to produce a murder weapon, a witness, or even a body proved insurmountable, however.
Stahl’s family later sued Blande in a civil case for wrongful death, winning $38 million in damages.
Satin Strangler fans have had a field day with the Stahl story. The internet spawned numerous new websites dedicated to the demolition man and countless on-line posts using Stahl’s name as a signature. In fact, there have been so many Stahl “wanna-bes” posting comments on bulletin boards and blog sites that today’s reports from St. Maarten were initially dismissed as being fabricated.
Police in St. Maarten report that Stahl was arrested for unpaid moped parking tickets. The United States is now working with French authorities to extradite the former murder victim, who is in debt for more than two million dollars back in New Jersey. Stahl certainly has far more to worry about from creditors and the legal system than a few moped tickets.
The impact that this will have on the Destiny Blande civil case award is yet to be determined. Blande has not been seen since the murders of Horace Krouch and Barabbas Sabbarab, and nobody from the previously vocal Stahl family can be found for comment.
-----
This is post #104 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
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Saturday, April 24, 2010
Death on Eve of Premiere
Princeton, NJ.
Preliminary reports of Sinclair Blande’s sudden death have now been confirmed.
The father of suspected Satin Strangler Destiny Blande died at University Hospital after suffering a massive heart attack tonight. Daughter Cheryl stated that the owner of Neon Lights advertising began complaining of chest pain after returning from court in the afternoon. “He was furious at the court’s decision,” she said. “He was doubled over with pain but refused to go to the hospital.” She called for an ambulance after her father collapsed, but it was too late.
“He was in ventricular arrhythmia upon arrival,” a hospital spokesperson said. “He never regained consciousness.”
Blande’s infamous daughter Destiny, almost universally thought to be the Satin Strangler, was unavailable for comment.
-----
This is post #93 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
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Preliminary reports of Sinclair Blande’s sudden death have now been confirmed.
The father of suspected Satin Strangler Destiny Blande died at University Hospital after suffering a massive heart attack tonight. Daughter Cheryl stated that the owner of Neon Lights advertising began complaining of chest pain after returning from court in the afternoon. “He was furious at the court’s decision,” she said. “He was doubled over with pain but refused to go to the hospital.” She called for an ambulance after her father collapsed, but it was too late.
“He was in ventricular arrhythmia upon arrival,” a hospital spokesperson said. “He never regained consciousness.”
Blande’s infamous daughter Destiny, almost universally thought to be the Satin Strangler, was unavailable for comment.
-----
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“Like” TSSB on Facebook.
Start TSSB from the first blog post.
See links to all 105 posts in TSSB.
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Court Denies Blande Again
Trenton, NJ.
Sinclair Blande may be out of cards to play.
The advertising executive has been in battles with his daughter’s criminal defense attorney, Horace Krouch, during the last year. First Blande sued Krouch for libel over the book, If She Did It, a presumably fictitious depiction of the Satin Strangler. Blande claimed that the lead character too closely resembled his daughter, Destiny Blande, who was acquitted of criminal charges but lost a civil case involving the Satin Strangler murders.
When Blande’s libel suit failed, he began fighting Krouch over the rights to the name “Satin Strangler.” He claimed the rights to all of Krouch’s Satin Strangler related ventures, vowing to halt all further book sales and prevent the opening of the Broadway play this weekend. A federal court ruled against Blande today, however, deciding that the Satin Strangler is now part of the public domain and “cannot be owned by either individual or anyone else.”
“This was an easy one,” Krouch commented while exiting the courtroom today. “Hopefully Mr. Blain is finished playing games. Come visit us on Broadway for the premiere on Friday night. Let the show begin.” We are not sure whether the reference to Blain, Krouch’s supposedly fictitious character, was a Freudian slip or an added dig at the defeated plaintiff.
For the first time in months of battling Krouch, Sinclair Blande was not available for comment. A family friend who wished to remain anonymous reported that the advertising executive has been under great stress from these legal battles and is suffering from severe fatigue.
That’s the dirt from the state capital.
-----
This is post #92 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
If you are enjoying this free and unique online reading experience, please tell your friends.
Sinclair Blande may be out of cards to play.
The advertising executive has been in battles with his daughter’s criminal defense attorney, Horace Krouch, during the last year. First Blande sued Krouch for libel over the book, If She Did It, a presumably fictitious depiction of the Satin Strangler. Blande claimed that the lead character too closely resembled his daughter, Destiny Blande, who was acquitted of criminal charges but lost a civil case involving the Satin Strangler murders.
When Blande’s libel suit failed, he began fighting Krouch over the rights to the name “Satin Strangler.” He claimed the rights to all of Krouch’s Satin Strangler related ventures, vowing to halt all further book sales and prevent the opening of the Broadway play this weekend. A federal court ruled against Blande today, however, deciding that the Satin Strangler is now part of the public domain and “cannot be owned by either individual or anyone else.”
“This was an easy one,” Krouch commented while exiting the courtroom today. “Hopefully Mr. Blain is finished playing games. Come visit us on Broadway for the premiere on Friday night. Let the show begin.” We are not sure whether the reference to Blain, Krouch’s supposedly fictitious character, was a Freudian slip or an added dig at the defeated plaintiff.
For the first time in months of battling Krouch, Sinclair Blande was not available for comment. A family friend who wished to remain anonymous reported that the advertising executive has been under great stress from these legal battles and is suffering from severe fatigue.
That’s the dirt from the state capital.
-----
This is post #92 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
Read the next post in TSSB.
tart TSSB from the first blog post.
See links to all 105 posts in TSSB.
“Like” TSSB on Facebook.
tart TSSB from the first blog post.
See links to all 105 posts in TSSB.
“Like” TSSB on Facebook.
If you are enjoying this free and unique online reading experience, please tell your friends.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Beldini Found Guilty
Newark, NJ.
Leona Beldini, a Jersey City deputy mayor arrested in last summer’s epic FBI sting, was convicted today on two of six corruption counts for taking bribes from a government informant who traversed the state with cash-filled envelopes and a gift for talking his way into meetings with powerful officials.
The 74-year-old Democrat stood impassively with her hands folded as a jury of eight men and four women in federal court in Newark announced she was guilty of accepting $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions from the informant, who posed as a developer offering bribes in exchange for building approvals.
Beldini was acquitted of four counts, including the three most serious: conspiracy to commit extortion and two counts of attempted extortion. She faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the two bribery counts, but could be sentenced to much less time under federal guidelines. Sentencing is scheduled for June 1.
The one-time burlesque dancer was charged last July in the money-laundering and corruption sting that netted five rabbis, three mayors, two assemblymen and one man accused of conspiring to sell a human kidney. Beldini was the first to face a jury.
"Every case like this that we bring is designed to send a message. And the message is that public service is about something other than enriching yourself and enriching your friends and your colleagues," U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said.
Beldini’s lawyer, Brian J. Neary, denounced the verdict, saying it was "inconsistent" for jurors to acquit her of extortion, yet convict her of bribery. Both the extortion and bribery counts accused her of accepting the same $20,000 in campaign donations on behalf of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, who has not been charged. And they both accused her of agreeing to help the informant secure zoning changes for a 750-unit luxury condominium complex he claimed to be building.
Leona Beldini, a Jersey City deputy mayor arrested in last summer’s epic FBI sting, was convicted today on two of six corruption counts for taking bribes from a government informant who traversed the state with cash-filled envelopes and a gift for talking his way into meetings with powerful officials.
The 74-year-old Democrat stood impassively with her hands folded as a jury of eight men and four women in federal court in Newark announced she was guilty of accepting $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions from the informant, who posed as a developer offering bribes in exchange for building approvals.
Beldini was acquitted of four counts, including the three most serious: conspiracy to commit extortion and two counts of attempted extortion. She faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the two bribery counts, but could be sentenced to much less time under federal guidelines. Sentencing is scheduled for June 1.
The one-time burlesque dancer was charged last July in the money-laundering and corruption sting that netted five rabbis, three mayors, two assemblymen and one man accused of conspiring to sell a human kidney. Beldini was the first to face a jury.
"Every case like this that we bring is designed to send a message. And the message is that public service is about something other than enriching yourself and enriching your friends and your colleagues," U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said.
Beldini’s lawyer, Brian J. Neary, denounced the verdict, saying it was "inconsistent" for jurors to acquit her of extortion, yet convict her of bribery. Both the extortion and bribery counts accused her of accepting the same $20,000 in campaign donations on behalf of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, who has not been charged. And they both accused her of agreeing to help the informant secure zoning changes for a 750-unit luxury condominium complex he claimed to be building.
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