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Appeals court upholds corruption conviction of ex-deputy
mayor of Jersey City
NorthJersey.com Tuesday,
September 6, 2011
BY KAREN SUDOL STAFF
WRITER The Record
http://www.northjersey.com/news/Appeals_court_upholds_corruption_conviction_of_ex-deputy_mayor_of_Jersey_City.html
A federal appeals
court has upheld the convictions of a former Jersey City deputy mayor who was found guilty
of accepting $20,000 in bribes while serving as campaign treasurer for Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy.
It’s not clear
whether Tuesday’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd
Circuit will affect Leona Beldini’s three-year prison
sentence. She had been permitted to remain free on bail pending the outcome of
her appeal.
Typically, the
next step would be for a federal judge to order her to surrender.
“We’re pleased
that this court of appeals shares our confidence that Leona Beldini’s
conviction was appropriate,” said Rebekah Carmichael,
a spokeswoman for the U.S.
Attorney’s Office.
Beldini’s lawyer, Brian J. Neary, could not be reached for comment.
Beldini, a onetime burlesque dancer,
was convicted in federal court in Newark in February, 2010 on two bribery
counts in a scheme to take illicit contributions from Solomon Dwek, an FBI informant. Dwek
posed as David Esenbach, a developer eager to dole
out tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to Beldini
and other Jersey City officials to clear the way for a purported luxury
high-rise project.
Healy was never
charged in the sting.
U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares sentenced Beldini to three years in prison and fined her $30,000 in
June 2010. The judge said at the time that while Beldini
had contributed to her community, she had not walked away when approached by Dwek, who made it clear he was looking to buy influence.
Beldini told the judge at her
sentencing that she was facing “one of the most terrifying moments of my entire
life. I am afraid I will not survive.”
Among the
arguments Beldini made in her appeal were that the
district court had erred by: failing to correctly instruct the jury on charges;
and that the judge did not declare a mistrial due to alleged prosecutorial misconduct
during rebuttal summations.
“The district
court’s rulings were not in error,” the appellate court ruled.
E-mail:
sudol@northjersey.com