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Jury Hears Closing Arguments In Mayor James Trial

Accused Of Arranging Sale Of 9 City-Owned Properties

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ― Closing arguments began Monday in the corruption trial of former Newark Mayor Sharpe James and his one-time mistress with a prosecutor saying that the politician betrayed his city.

James is accused of arranging for the sale of nine city-owned properties at a discounted rate of $46,000 to Tamika Riley from 2001 to 2005. Riley quickly sold them for $665,000 without ever starting required rehabilitation work on most of them, prosecutors said.

"We are here because Sharpe James betrayed the people of Newark," Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith A. Germano told jurors at federal court in Newark, just a block from City Hall, where James led the state's largest city for 20 years.

"What happened here with Tamika Riley is Sharpe James acted in his own interest," Germano said.

Germano maintained that testimony from the 33 witnesses called by prosecutors proved that James took a close interest in Riley's efforts to acquire city land despite public assertions that the mayor had no role in the process.

"He not only put her in the system, but when it suited him, he cut her off," Germano said, reminding the jury that other would-be developers with better qualifications and finances were thwarted.

"It's fraud, it's favoritism, it's fraud," Germano said.

The defense for James, whose summations are scheduled for Tuesday, has stressed that the Newark City Council, not the mayor, had final approval over the sales. His defense presented only two witnesses, both members of the council, who said James never tried to influence their decisions.

Riley's defense attempted to shift blame to her real estate lawyers, which Germano ridiculed on Monday, pointing to evidence that Riley was involved in details of the transactions. "Tamika Riley was calling the shots," Germano said.

The 41 witnesses heard over five weeks did not include James, 72, or Riley, 39, a publicist who once ran a clothing boutique near City Hall.

James ruled from that building from 1986 to 2006, promoting a city struggling with crime, unemployment and decay. He championed a number of large public projects, including the Prudential Center, a pro hockey arena that opened in October.

He has said little since his indictment in July, and has displayed little emotion during the trial.

Defense lawyers did not dispute that their clients had an intimate relationship, although Riley lawyer Gerald Krovatin sought to show that the affair ended sooner than prosecutors say it did.

Aside from that, much of the testimony came from a parade of Newark bureaucrats who described the city's redevelopment protocols.

James faces five charges, including fraud and conspiracy. Riley faces those charges and eight others, including evading taxes and cheating to obtain subsidized housing assistance for herself.

While some of the charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years, prosecutors have said that according to federal advisory guidelines for sentencing he's likely to get seven to eight years if convicted on all counts.

Riley faces a similar exposure. James could also be stripped of pensions that provide a six-figure annual income.

James, who served as a Democratic state senator from 1999 to January 2008, is one of the most powerful figures snared in a series of corruption cases brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office, but is one of the few who has not plead guilty.

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.

A verdict in his favor would not end James' legal issues. He still faces a federal trial 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.

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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