The Jersey City Independent "

On the morning of July 23, 2009, federal agents began knocking on doors all over Jersey City, arresting politicians and other public officials and taking them to the federal courthouse in Newark.

The process of bringing the accused to trial has progressed slowly throughout the last year; a year that has brought resignation, death, court and prison to some of those who were charged. Here’s an update on everyone from Jersey City caught up in the probe.

IN PRISON

Guy Catrillo

Catrillo, a former staffer in Mayor’s Action Bureau who in the spring of 2009 was Mayor Healy’s candidate to run against Ward E councilman Steven Fulop, was the first of those arrested to be sent to prison after pleading guilty last September to taking $15,000 in bribes. Today the 55-year-old longtime Jersey City resident is serving a sentence at the The Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, where he is known as Inmate 30121-050. He has a projected release date of July 5, 2011.

Phil Kenny

The former Ward B councilman was not among the Jersey City officials arrested in July of 2009, but he pleaded guilty in October 2009 to accepting $5,000 in bribes. On May 5 of this year, Kenny was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison and two years probation. He is serving his sentence as Inmate 30258-050 at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. His projected release date is May 4, 2011.

IN LIMBO

Leona Beldini

The former deputy mayor, who was Mayor Healy’s campaign treasurer for the 2009 election, is so far the only person arrested to go to trial. On February 11 of this year, she was found guilty on two counts of accepting $20,000 worth of illegal campaign contributions. On June 14, Beldini was sentenced to three years in prison and forced to pay a $30,000 fine. That same month, her attorneys filed an appeal of the sentencing.

Lou and Ron Manzo

In the spring of 2009, former Assemblyman and perennial mayoral candidate Lou Manzo was taking another run at the city’s top office. He was arrested in the July sweep and corruption charges were brought against him and his brother Ron; together they were charged with accepting $27,500 in bribes. But in May, a federal judge ruled that the Manzos couldn’t be charged under the Hobbs Act — the federal law that governs many public corruption cases — because the law only applies to public officials. Both Manzos was considered a private citizen at the time. The government is currently appealing the judge’s ruling. Meanwhile, Ron Manzo is also set to stand trial as a codefendant in the government’s case against former Secaucus mayor Dennis Elwell. That trial has a scheduled start date of February 1, 2011.

LaVern Webb-Washington

The low-income housing activist, who unsuccessfully challenged Viola Richardson for the Ward F City Council seat in 2009, pleaded guilty last October to accepting $15,000 in bribes. She was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison on March 18 of this year. But a federal judge indefinitely postponed the beginning of her sentence — initially set for June 7 — in the wake of his ruling on the Hobbs Act and the Manzo brothers.

Jimmy King

The former head of the Jersey City Parking Authority, who ran unsuccessfully for the Ward C City Council seat in 2009, pleaded guilty last September to accepting $10,000 in bribes. On June 13 of this year, King’s sentencing was postponed, pending the outcome of Lou Manzo’s appeal.

Maher Khalil

The former deputy director of the Jersey City Department of Health and Human Services pleaded guilty last September to accepting $30,000 in bribes. His sentencing date is pending.

Michael Manzo

The former arson investigator with the Jersey City Fire Department, who was running for the City Council’s Ward B seat in the spring of 2009, pleaded guilty last December to accepting $5,000 in bribes. His sentencing date is pending.

Edward Cheatam

The former Housing Authority commissioner and Board of Education vice president pleaded guilty on September 20, 2009 to corruption charges. In his plea, Cheatam said he took $70,000 and funneled $15,000 to the re-election campaign of Mayor Healy. His sentencing date is pending.

AWAITING TRIAL

Mariano Vega*

The former council president, who “stepped aside” to become an At-Large councilman after the corruption arrest, has maintained his innocence from the get-go, and he officially pleaded not guilty in January to the charge that he’d accepted $30,000 in bribes. He and his attorneys will get to make their case in court when his trial starts on October 12.

L. Harvey Smith

The trial of the former state Assemblyman, Jersey City councilman and unsuccessful 2009 mayoral candidate on charges he accepted $15,000 in bribes is set to begin November 22.

Joe Cardwell

The political operative, who pleaded not guilty in January to charges he accepted $30,000 in bribes, is set to stand trial beginning on November 8.

Lori Serrano

The former board member and chairwoman of the Jersey City Housing Authority, who ran unsuccessfully for an At-Large City Council seat in 2009, pleaded not guilty last December to accepting
$10,000 in bribes. On February 18 of this year, a grand jury brought new mail fraud charges against Serrano for not reporting the $10,000 in bribes she allegedly took during the 2009 campaign. Her trial has not yet been scheduled.

John Guarini

The former Jersey City housing inspector pleaded not guilty in January to charges he’d accepted $40,000 in bribes. In May, his attorney tried to have the charges against Guarini tossed out, but a federal judge declined to do so. His trial has not yet been scheduled.

ARRESTED BUT NOT INDICTED

Joseph Castagna

Castagna, a former city health officer, was arrested on charges of accepting a $5,000 bribe to pass along to political candidate Michael Manzo. Castagna was suspended from his position after his arrest. In late August of last year, it was revealed that Castagna also faced a probe from the city’s police department for possibly issuing more food vendor licenses than allowed by law. In light of all the charges, Castagna retired from his position and his request to receive early retirement benefits was approved pending the outcome of the police investigation.

Richard Greene

Greene, a former aide to L. Harvey Smith, was arrested on charges of accepting a $5,000 bribe to pass along to then-mayoral candidate Smith.

NO LONGER HERE

Jack Shaw

Longtime Jersey City political operative Jack Shaw was found dead in his Paulus Hook apartment just 5 days after being arrested on charges he’d accepted $10,000 in bribes. An autopsy later revealed that Shaw died of a valium overdose, but it did not answer the question of whether or not Shaw took his own life.

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