Mar 4, 2008 11:37 am US/Eastern
Testimonies Begin In Sharpe James Corruption Trial
Former Newark Mayor Faces 1st Of 2 Cases
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ―
Testimony began Tuesday in the land fraud case against former Newark Mayor Sharpe James, with a self-described "mentor" of co-defendant Tamika Riley describing Riley's efforts at real estate deals.
The witness, Diane Fuller Coleman, the president and CEO of Building and Empire Inc., a nonprofit that provides community development and social services in Jersey City, described how she helped Riley prepare a "proper proposal" to purchase city land after hitting initial snags.
"She came to me to make her dreams happen," said Coleman, who said she met Riley -- also a Jersey City resident -- in the late 1980s and Riley eventually came to call her "mom."
James is accused of abusing his office by steering nine city properties to Riley, who bought them for $46,000 and then quickly sold them for $665,000.
During Monday's opening statements, James lawyer Thomas Ashley said an honest desire to rebuild his struggling city, not any favoritism toward a girlfriend, motivated James.
"Sharpe James was not corrupt. He was not a crook," Ashley told a jury at the federal courthouse just a block from City Hall, the seat of James' power during his 20-year tenure as leader of the state's largest city.
No laws were broken by the relationship between James, a married man, and co-defendant Tamika Riley, a woman nearly half his age, Ashley said. Riley "was treated the same way as everyone else," Ashley said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Kwon, however, told the jury on Monday, "The only people who didn't benefit from these land deals were the people of Newark."
The case could send James to prison and tarnish his reputation. While mayor, he was a fiery advocate for Newark, and championed a number of large public projects, including the Prudential Center, a pro hockey arena that opened in October.
Other witnesses, including members of James' security detail, will testify about trips and gifts exchanged between Riley and James, Kwon said.
The defense lawyer for Riley, Gerald Krovatin, insisted that Riley, who worked in public relations and ran a fashion shop, is exactly who they would want to help revitalize the city.
"She was as qualified as anyone else who got that opportunity," Krovatin said, adding that prior redevelopment experience was not required.
Her "intimate personal relationship" with the mayor began in late April or early May 2002, and lasted to November 2002, Krovatin said.
"These things happen sometimes between people," he said.
"Their brief relationship, such as it was, had nothing to do with her getting the properties in Newark."
Prosecutors, however, charged that the relationship spanned 2000 to 2006, and that the sales took place from 2001 to 2005.
The trial is expected to last several months. Afterward, James is to be tried on charges he used city-issued credit cards to pay for $58,000 worth of personal expenses while he was mayor, including trips with several women other than his wife to Martha's Vineyard, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Rio de Janeiro.
The charges for both trials came from an indictment July 12. James, 72, and Riley, 38, pleaded innocent and are free on bail.
James was mayor from 1986 to 2006 before deciding not to seek a sixth term. He also served as a state senator from 1999 to January 2008, when he left office after not seeking re-election. James faces five charges, including fraud and conspiracy. Riley faces those charges and eight others, including tax evasion.
Under federal advisory guidelines, James could face seven to eight years in prison if he is convicted on all counts. But a judge could impose a much stiffer penalty -- as much as 20 years on some individual counts.
James is one of the best-known figures snared in a series of corruption cases brought by the U.S. Attorney's office. In the past several years, federal prosecutors garnered more than 100 public corruption convictions statewide of elected and appointed officials and people doing business with them, such as contractors.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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