State denies early prison release for Paterson’s convicted mayor

PATERSON — Former Mayor Joey Torres’ application for early release from prison has been rejected, a state spokesman confirmed this week.

Torres had applied for New Jersey’s Intensive Supervision Program, a state official said. At the time of Torres’ sentencing last November, one of his lawyers said the former mayor could be released in about six months if he was approved for the supervision program.

“I can confirm that Mr. Torres applied and his application was denied,” Peter McAleer, communications director for the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts, wrote in an email on Tuesday.

McAleer did not say why or when Torres’ application was rejected. Nor did he say whether Torres could appeal the decision or re-apply for the program.

As part of the supervision program, Torres would have been allowed to return home as long as he complied with certain restrictions, which could have included the use of an electronic device to monitor his whereabouts.

Now it appears that the earliest Torres could be released is 2019. Torres would become eligible for parole on Feb 23, 2019, according to Samuel Plumeri Jr., chairman of the New Jersey State Parole Board.

Torres admitted in court last year that he had directed three city employees in 2014 and 2015 to perform renovation work at a business owned by his daughter and nephew while the men were being paid overtime by Paterson taxpayers.

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Torres made those admissions as part of an agreement with the state Attorney General’s Office under which the former mayor pleaded guilty to one charge, conspiracy to commit official misconduct. He was sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison, but the sentence did not set a minimum amount of jail time for Torres.

The employees — Joseph Mania, Timothy Hanlon and Imad “Eddie” Mowaswes — had agreed to testify against Torres and were placed on probation as part of their guilty pleas.

The two lawyers who represented Torres in the criminal case, John Azzarello and Ricardo Solano Jr., did not respond to multiple phone messages seeking their comments for this story.

At Torres’ sentencing, Azzarello asked that Torres serve his time at Bayside State Prison, a minimum-security facility in Cumberland County. Azzarello said Torres should not be in prison with killers and other violent offenders.

Torres has been incarcerated for the past three months at the state’s Central Reception and Assignment Facility in Trenton, a processing facility that holds all types of offenders.