Joey Torres pleads guilty, faces probation

Former Paterson Mayor Joey Torres pleaded guilty today for knowingly disobeying a forfeiture order that prevented him from holding any office again and now faces probation.

Torres was charged fourteen months ago for violating a court order that banned him from seeking public office again when he filed petitions to challenge Mayor Andre Sayegh in the May 2022 mayoral election and filed a lawsuit after the city clerk rejected his petition.

He resigned as mayor in 2018 after being convicted of using municipal workers to do construction projects at his home and a warehouse leased by family members.  He was sentenced to five years in prison.

While Torres agreed to a plea agreement with the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability that includes a non-custodial term of probation, Superior Court Judge Marilyn Clark will make the final decision when she sentences him.

Earlier this month, Clark declined to toss the indictment.

“After his first conviction, the defendant had fair warning that any future attempt to return to public office or employment would result in a criminal charge. But he tried to run for his old seat anyway,” said Attorney General Platkin. “The conviction secured by OPIA’s Corruption Bureau sends the message that, when state law and the court say a disqualification is forever, they mean it. And those who don’t take forfeiture orders seriously will see us in court again.”

Torres’ court appearance came four days after the death of his brother, Samuel, a former Paterson police officer.

The guilty plea represents a big win for OPIA Deputy Chief Frank Valdinati and Co-Director Jeffrey Manis.