When are Political Contributions considered bribes?

[Harley]

It looks like Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini's lawyers may have actually "won" her case yesterday by getting the four more serious charges against her dismissed. As the article says, Beldini was convicted of accepting bribes, but not demanding them. She apparently intends to continue fighting the two remaining charges, possibly on jurisdictional grounds, and is expecting an eventual full dismissal of the charges against her. Here's the article from the Star Ledger:

First N.J. corruption trial in FBI sweep ends in split verdict, leaves future uncertain
By Bob Braun/Star-Ledger Columnist
February 12, 2010, 6:29AM

Jersey City deputy mayor, Leona Beldini, was convicted yesterday of two of six counts involving illegal campaign contributions in Newark. This was supposed to be the bellwether case. The outcome of the trial could determine whether dozens of other defendants in last summer’s big federal sting operation would cave in and plead guilty or stand their ground and take their chances at trial.

But the split verdict levied by the jurors in the conspiracy, bribery, and extortion trial of suspended Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini may have only confused things for the accused and their lawyers.

And everyone else.

"Interesting verdicts—but it’s hard to see how they fit together without knowing what the jury was thinking and they’re not going to tell us,’’ says John Azzarello, a former federal prosecutor representing former state Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph Doria.

Doria has not been charged but, when the feds busted 46 people last July, they raided his home and office, apparently looking for bribe money that they never found. The fallout from the raid led to his resignation from state office and hurt Gov. Jon Corzine’s campaign.

The verdicts made sense to the eight men and four women on the jury, most of whom are not talking. But it’s hard for those not in the jury room to understand how it happened:

In this, the first trial emerging from last summer’s sting, Beldini was convicted of accepting bribes — but not of demanding bribes. Demanding them would be extortion and she was acquitted of the two counts of that.

The deputy mayor of Jersey City did not actually receive any money herself. The bribes from government informant Solomon Dwek took the form of $20,000 in campaign contributions, although Beldini was running for nothing, and they were allegedly funneled through two bagmen, one of whom is now dead.

Funneled to the campaign of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy who, while attending some of the same videotaped meetings with Dwek that Beldini did, was never charged.

And, despite all the characters involved in this funneling operation, the scam apparently did not, according to the jury, amount to an illegal conspiracy, because Beldini also was acquitted of the one count of conspiracy against her.

Finally, when she apparently did have the chance to obtain something valuable for herself — real estate commissions on a fictitious development promoted by serial con artist Dwek - she didn’t. Beldini was acquitted of that charge as well.

Those who believe all politicians — especially Democrats from Hudson County -- are guilty until dead or proven innocent will probably cheer the two guilty verdicts. But at least one defense lawyer saw reason for hope in the four acquittals.

"I think other defendants will take comfort in the split verdict," says Henry Klingeman, who is representing Jersey City political consultant Joseph Cardwell.

"The federal government is accustomed to winning all its cases. I think you will see more trials coming, not fewer because of the verdict.’’

There were indications the verdicts were related to jurors’ concerns about campaign law violations, not an issue in the case. On their first day of deliberations, they sent a note to Judge Jose Linares asking how many tickets one person could legally buy to a $500-a-plate fund-raiser for the Jersey City Democratic Committee. The question appeared to surprise Linares and lawyers on both sides and the judge refused to answer it—because it really didn’t have anything to do with the case.

Michael Cuppari of Cranford, one of the jurors, said after the verdict that he believed the campaign contributions did amount to "bribes." He said "she"—Beldini—"knew they went over the limit’’ and knew they were "illegal."

Violations of campaign laws are usually handled as civil matters in New Jersey."

Cuppari called Dwek "a bad guy who did a lot of bad things," but he said that did not necessarily make him an incredible witness. ``I don’t think he lied," Cuppari said.

But, despite what Klingeman—and others—have said about the ambiguity of the videotaped comments, Cuppari said he voted to convict, not on what Dwek said, but what was on the tape.

``I think it was clear," the juror said.

Beldini's attorney: 'Political contributions are not bribes'

http://blog.nj.com/njv_bob_braun/201...rial_in_f.html

And, more from the Jersey Journal:

Beldini attorney will attack 'inconsistent' verdict, says campaign contribution 'can't be a bribe'
Friday, February 12, 2010
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
NEWARK - The attorney representing Leona Beldini said the jury's verdict was inconsistent and told U.S. District Court Judge Jose Linares that he intends to file a motion seeking to have the verdict dismissed.

"A campaign contribution cannot be a bribe," said defense attorney Brian Neary at a news conference in front of the Federal Courthouse after the suspended Jersey City deputy mayor was convicted yesterday on two of the six counts she faced.

Beldini, who owns Charles B. Swensen Inc. Realtors in the Jersey City Heights, stood at Neary's side at the news conference wearing in a long purple coat. She studiously kept up her chin, but she refused to comment.

Neary said it is inconsistent for jurors to find his client not guilty of participating in a conspiracy to get illegal campaign contributions, and not guilty of extorting illegal campaign contributions, but to somehow find that those same contributions were bribes.

Responding to Neary's assertion, juror Michael Cuppari, 25, of Cranford, said: "I think campaign contributions can be bribes.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman declined to speculate on the jury's thinking in finding Beldini guilty on two counts and not guilty on four, but called the verdict a "victory."

At the news conference, Neary said: "This day is not over."

[Sonia]

Now there's going to be motions filed and appeals; and the other two counts may possibly be dismissed, but unless it's as a matter of law, it's unlikely. We'll have to wait and see. This is a terrible thing to happen to a woman of her age, and it should be expected the court will take into consideration her circumstances when sentencing her.

[Lenin]

I think most people know clearly that the crime is ACCEPTING bribes, not demanding them.


The crimes are typically OFFERING bribes and TAKING bribes.

This is a terrible thing to happen to a woman of her age

What is so terrible about a politician paying for a crime. Being OLD or a WOMAN does not mitigate the fact that this criminal belongs behind bars. She has abused the public trust to assuage her greed. The same would be true if she were a 35 year old man.
She's a slimy, duplicitous, criminal politician...and Jersey City has always had too many of them, young men AND old women.

[Sonia]

Lenin,

Sentencing a 70+ woman to serve 20 years in jail is the same as a death sentence. For this reason, I don't believe the court will order her to serve much jail time. I think the court will take into consideration her health and age, as well as the severity of her crime. We'll have to wait to see what happens at sentencing.

BTW, demanding a bribe is extortion, and she was acquitted of that charge.