Kiburi Tucker joined state and city officials at a groundbreaking for the 42-unit Tucker View apartment and commercial project he is developing in the Weequahic neighborhood of Newark's South Ward on July 17, 2017. (Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

By Karen Yi | NJ Advance Media

Under a hot July sun last year, Kiburi Tucker – the son of late political icon Donald Tucker and state Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker – stood in a sharp blue suit before a coterie of the state's political brass and announced the culmination of a six-year effort: A 42-unit apartment complex bearing his family name that would transform Newark's South Ward.

This was a chance to tell a different narrative of the neighborhood, his close friend, Mayor Ras Baraka said that day.

And in many ways, it was a turning point for Tucker, too.

More than 20 years ago, Tucker served four years in prison for his involvement in a drive-by shooting. In the years since his release in 2001 and the death of his father in 2005, Tucker had begun to rebuild on the heels of his family's legacy. He started a political consulting business, headed his father's nonprofit community center and hoped to inch the city closer to its comeback.

"Your father is looking down," Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker, D-28th Dist., told her son that day. "He had high hopes for you, and on this day, you have brought them to fruition."

But the new chapter written at the corner of Bergen Street and Lehigh Avenue that July would soon be tainted. Less than a month later, Tucker signed a federal plea agreement, admitting he embezzled $332,116 from The Centre, Inc., a nonprofit started by his father, and lied about his six-figure consulting income, gleaned in part from political campaigns in Newark and Orange.

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Kiburi Tucker leaves the courthouse with his wife after being sentenced for tax evasion and wire fraud at the Federal Courthouse in Newark on April 18, 2018. (Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media)

Now Tucker, 44, is going back to prison. He will turn himself in on Monday and serve more than three years behind bars.

"I'm extremely embarrassed and ashamed of what I've done," Tucker said in court during his April sentencing. "I'm so sorry."

Sentencing court documents in Tucker's recent case, obtained through a public records request, tell a story of a man who was born into political prominence – and the favors that come with it – but was tempted by the streets he called home.

The records, which included letters from his mother, wife and friends in the community, as well as additional details from prosecutors and Tucker's defense attorney, reveal that the son of Newark royalty appeared to find redemption, only to break the law again.

Federal prosecutors said Tucker siphoned money from The Centre, a childcare nonprofit, to fund his "extravagant" lifestyle and gambling and alcohol addictions. They said Tucker flaunted his material possessions on social media and acted with a consistent "contempt for the law," court documents show.

Tucker used portions of The Centre funding to pay for his penthouse apartment in East Orange, furnish the apartment with a $2,991 white sectional sofa, a $2,600 60-inch TV and entertainment system, and fund his travels to Hawaii and Puerto Rico, federal prosecutors said.

"The bank accounts for The Centre were running amok, the bank had to shut down the account, the books were not being managed. Money was flying out the door," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacques Pierre said during Tucker's sentencing.

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On March, 18, 2006, The Centre was named the Donald K. Tucker Complex in honor of the late councilman Donald Tucker. Then Newark Mayor Sharpe James spoke as Cleopatra G. Tucker (C), then-Gov. Jon Corzine and other officials listen. (Mitsu Yasukawa / The Star Ledger)

The Centre closed in 2015, he said.

Despite his financial crimes, friends and family who know Tucker described him as a kind, compassionate and loving man who fell off the tracks and felt the pressure to fill the void left by his father's death. Tucker, they say, is taking responsibility for his actions and getting help for his addictions.

"Although I am disappointed and saddened by my son's (sic) conduct what I'm witnessing today is exactly what I witnessed 20 years ago," Assemblywoman Tucker wrote in a letter to Judge Jose Linares, according to a court memorandum. "He has accepted responsibility for his actions and has realized something about himself that he may have never realized if this didn't happen."

Her office did not respond to a request for comment.

"Kiburi is an individual with rare talents and unlimited potential," former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., wrote to Linares in another letter. "The community is best served by returning him to the community as a leader and investor as soon as possible."

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(Source: Federal court records)

The pressure and perks of political prominence

Born the same year his father was elected to the Newark City Council, Tucker attended St. Benedict's Prep and grew up among the city's political elite.

But as he transitioned to young adulthood, Tucker found himself "too often in the wrong company," a close friend wrote to Judge Linares.

He began dealing drugs as a teenager, court records show.

Tucker's father, who would become the city's longest-serving councilman, was also elected to the state Assembly in 1997.

"As a young man, we began to notice him trying to distance himself from the overwhelming pressure and expectations of being a prominent politician's (sic) son," Assemblywoman Tucker wrote.

But growing up in the upper echelons of political power afforded Tucker opportunities.

His father was a commissioner on the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, a taxpayer-funded agency for wastewater treatment, and secured a $25,218-a-year job for then 20-year-old Tucker in 1994, as a "helper" for the agency.

''They knew it was my son. That's the way people get hired at Passaic Valley,'' Tucker Sr. told The Star-Ledger in 1995. ''The entry-level jobs are where you find patronage jobs.''

The position wasn't enough to keep away trouble.

Three years later, in 1997, Kiburi pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and drug possession charges. He served four years in prison.

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Newark 06-01-91. (LEFT TO RIGHT) Kiburi Tucker, Donald Tucker, and Mrs. Cleopatra Tucker. (Wally Hennig for The Star-Ledger)

'The sky was the limit'

Redemption for Tucker, despite his conviction, appeared within reach.

After his release from prison in 2001, he became active in his community and created various businesses, his attorney said in court documents.

He opened a clothing store catering to executive men and women and sponsored jazz events on city sidewalks, his friends recalled in letters. He also talked publicly about recidivism and the importance of helping convicted felons transition back into society, his mother said.

"His father and I were extremely proud, and to be honest, amazed at how fast he managed to get his life back on track," Assemblywoman Tucker wrote. "The sky was the limit and he was proving that everyday."

He eventually returned to work at the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission after his conviction. He worked there until last November – a week before his first court appearance – when he resigned from his $113,000 job as a senior external relations representative.

The death of Kiburi's father in 2005 only propelled him further, as he fought to preserve his family's legacy, the Assemblywoman said.

Kiburi was listed as a board member at The Centre as early as 2006, eventually rising to executive director shortly after his father's death, records show. The Centre received a portion of its funding from federal grants.

Tucker even considered running for Newark City Council and took out petitions, but couldn't clear his criminal record.

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J. who was then New Jersey's Assembly Majority Leader, asked outgoing Gov. Richard Codey to pardon Tucker in 2006. At the time, Codey told The Star-Ledger the pardon application arrived too late to be vetted before he left office.

There's no record that Tucker was ever pardoned – and he never ran for council.

But he continued working behind the scenes.

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Partnering with Linda Jumah, Tucker launched Elite Strategies, a political consulting firm, in 2013.

By 2015, the money started coming in.

Orange Mayor Dwayne Warren's campaign committee paid Elite Strategies $10,000 in November 2015 for planning fundraising events, campaign finance records show. A spokesman for Warren confirmed the company was paid in full but said the contract was unrelated to Tucker's plea.

Assemblywoman Tucker paid the company $600 that year for "event planning," Newark paid $26,500 for marketing services, the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (the city's redevelopment agency) hired Elite Strategies for $111,500 and Baraka's re-election committee coughed up $95,000 between April 2015 and April 2017 for consulting services and coordinating a fundraiser.

A Baraka spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment for this story. But the Mayor earlier this year told NJ Advance Media that Tucker's actions were his own and unrelated to the city, despite Elite Strategies' work for the administration.

He previously said he's known Kiburi and his family for decades.

"It obviously has an impact on me as if it were my own brother," Baraka said earlier. "My father (Amiri Baraka) married Kiburi's mother and father."

Tucker profited $102,157 from Elite Strategies in 2015, according to court records. Combined with the $74,883 he embezzled from The Centre that year and his roughly $90,000 job at the PVSC, he raked in $268,000 in 2015.

His federal tax return, however, only reported $91,000 in income, court records show.

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(Source: Federal court records)

A better man

Over the last few years, Tucker began rising into his own prominence through his businesses and political involvement.

But his success only masked his addictions, his defense attorney said.

"The more successful he became, the more he drank," attorney Timothy Donohue wrote in a memo to the judge. "And the more he drank, the more he gambled."

Tucker drank every day at bars and clubs – it was a part of his life as he entertained clients, Donohue wrote. He spent a lot of money drinking and subsequently, on gambling. That's when the embezzlement scheme began, Donohue wrote.

Prosecutors argued Tucker's financial crimes weren't fueled by his addictions. He was living a "lavish lifestyle that he could not afford," they wrote in court documents.

"The fact that this organization was in financial chaos begs the question: What were the conditions of this organization?" assistant U.S. Attorney Pierre said at sentencing. "The Centre did have children in that building during the crime."

Pierre pointed to one particularly damning incident: In January 2012, an 8-year-old child at The Centre was found with a dead mouse inside her mouth, according to media reports. The child's grandmother, who worked there, found the rodent in the girl's mouth.

Tucker at the time told ABC News he was hurt by the incident and vowed to increase the frequency of exterminations.

In court, Donohue said there was no proof Tucker's actions had contributed to the incident.

But the nonprofit was operating with less money, Judge Linares said during Tucker's sentencing.

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(Source: Federal court records)

Between 2012-2015, Tucker embezzled $332,116 from The Centre and underreported his income by $434,272.

By the end of 2017, Tucker's deeds had caught up with him – and his businesses.

His consulting partner, Jumah, was sentenced in March to three years probation for underreporting her income. A month later, she was cited for violating the terms of her supervision. Her July hearing was postponed until October – about a month before she's relieved of home confinement.

Jumah works as an aide for Assemblywoman Tucker.

Tucker, meanwhile, will serve a 38-month sentence.

Though he was supposed to turn himself in on May 30, his attorney sought an extension to give him time to find alternate housing for his wife and young child.

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Newark Mayor's Ball in Newark on Sunday, July 1, 2018. Kiburi Tucker (left) and Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (right). (Andrew Miller | For NJ Advance Media)

Tucker has since continued to remain a presence in Newark. He attended Baraka's election victory party and the Mayor's Ball this month. And still has the community's support.

"One of the things that is central to Newark politics is loyalty and being from Newark," said Matthew Hale, a political science professor at Seton Hall University. "That’s the duality of Newark, if you’re in it, you’re in it and you're loyal to it ... that sticking together is really important."

Tucker said he has accepted responsibility and the consequences of all of his actions.

"Today, I'm looking forward to the day when I can return to my family, friends and community a better and wiser man," he said in a statement on Thursday. "I appreciate the outpouring of love and support that I've received and I intend to make all of my supporters proud of me once again."

Only time will tell how whether Tucker will use this as a turning point to shed his addictions and fix his mistakes, as his friends and family insist.

The Centre, Inc. is defunct, as is Elite Strategies, his political consulting business. Tucker has also divested from the $10 million Tucker View apartments that broke ground last year.

The project is still moving forward without him.

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Read more:

Newark developer admits tax evasion, wire fraud involving his nonprofit

Assemblywoman's son will spend 3 years behind bars

Mayor's friend gets slap on the wrist in tax fraud scheme

Shopping and parties? Mayor's friend accused of violating probation

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Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.