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Scarpelli's Sentencing Pushed Back To September
By Catherine Snipe
The end of May was going to signal the sentencing of former Mayor Joseph Scarpelli. Not anymore. Scarpelli will now have to wait until September to see how strongly the courts come down on him for his crimes.
Pushed back four months, the sentencing date was postponed for the first time since Scarpelli pled guilty in January to accepting bribes from an unnamed developer in exchange for influencing projects.
Originally scheduled for May 29, his sentencing will now take place on September 7.
Scarpelli resigned as mayor of Brick Township in December 2006, citing "personal reasons." Those personal reasons, long a source of rumor, were revealed in January when he pled guilty in Newark Superior Court to extortion.
The charges, filed by U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie, state that Scarpelli accepted more than $5,000 in cash payments from an unnamed real estate developer in exchange for using his influence as mayor between 1998 and 2003.
His position as mayor allowed him interaction with the township council, planning board, board of adjustment and the township budget and contracts as avenues for influence. According to the charges, this is called "extortion under color of official right," when an official agrees to accept cash payments in exchange for agreeing to exercise official action.
Scarpelli also admitted accepting an additional $500 in cash.
Scarpelli, 67, could face 30 months in prison. The maximum sentence is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Scarpelli served as mayor of the 80,000- plus residents of Brick for almost 13 years. The Democrat began his involvement in Brick politics during the 1970s on the board of education before moving on to the township council.
When Scarpelli stepped down, he was replaced by Dan Kelly, who was appointed by the township council in January. An elecnew tion will be held in November to determine who will be Brick Township's next elected mayor. Republican Stephen Acropolis will square off against Kelly in that race.
The ex-mayor's sentencing is not the only case of a corrupt Brick official's ultimate fate being delayed. Former Brick Public Works Director John H. Nydam pled guilty to accepting a payment from a contractor and to stealing township equipment. The plea came in April 2006, but Nydam is still awaiting sentencing, facing up to five years for each count. That sentencing is now scheduled for June 15.
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