Former Assemblyman Carmelo Garcia (D-Hoboken) today pleaded guilty to taking bribes to help two businessmen secure lucrative redevelopment agreements with the City of Newark, where he served as deputy mayor and director of economic and housing development.
Garcia admitted to taking cash from former Springfield Board of Education President Irwin Sablosky and his partner in a Newark pawn shop and check cashing business, Frank Valvano, in a bid to help the two secure redevelopment agreements with the city.
In addition to cash, Garcia allegedly received jewelry from the pawn shop, William Rich and Sons.
“As he admitted in court, Carmelo Garcia set up a scheme to receive cash and jewelry in exchange for using his influence in favor of private business interests, defrauding the people of Newark of their right to his honest services,” U.S. Attorney Sellinger said. “In doing so, he violated the public trust to line his own pockets. Our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to make sure that the people of New Jersey are protected from public officials whose independent judgment is corrupted by greed.”
Garcia admitted to two conspiracy and honest services fraud charges that each carry a maximum prison sentence of twenty years, although that is likely to be heavily discounted as part of his guilty plea.
Sablosky and Valvano are awaiting trial; it’s not clear if Garcia has agreed to testify against them. His sentencing is scheduled for December 12, but that would get pushed if he’s a witness in the Sablosky and Valvano trials.
Garcia, who came to Newark at the request of Mayor Ras Baraka, was the co-conspirator in a bribery and kickback scheme involving Newark city councilman Joseph McCallum and real estate investor Malik A. Frederick
According to federal prosecutors, phone records and text messages obtained by law enforcement document extensive communications among the three and others about the scheme, “including text messages in which Garcia arranged to personally collect cash provided by Valvano and Sablosky.”
In June 2018, prosecutors claim Garcia received an envelope with $25,000 in cash given to him by Valvano through an intermediary in the restroom of a Newark restaurant. Five days later, Newark approved the designation of Valvano and Sablosky as the developers of two properties through limited liability companies they owned.
Garcia, 46, served as the executive vice president of the Newark Community and Economic Development Corporation from 2016 to 2017, and as Newark’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Development from 2017 to 2018.
Garcia served as head of the Hoboken Housing Authority until battling with then-Mayor Dawn Zimmer in 2014. He was fired by the commissioners.
Hudson Democrats refused to back Garcia for re-election and he then lost a race for Hoboken city council. He was ousted from his Newark post in 2018.