TRENTON - Although he has proclaimed his innocence since FBI agents raided his home and City Hall, Trenton Mayor Tony Mack was found guilty today.

A jury returned the verdict after seven and a half hours of deliberations, saying that the first-term mayor is guilty of all counts in his corruption trial.

Mack stood trial beside his brother Ralphiel Mack who was found guilty of three of the six counts against him.

“The jury’s verdict solidly affirms what we first charged more than a year ago – that Tony Mack, with the helping hands of his brother and their cohorts, sold the mayor’s office and sold out the people of Trenton,” U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said. “We are very grateful to the members of the jury for their service.”

The trial, which began on Jan. 6, consisted of 14 days of testimony including one defense witness who testified for only 10 minutes. Neither the mayor nor his brother took the stand in his own defense.



Tony Mack, elected in 2010, took bribe money from the purported developers of a parking garage downtown. The jury found that Mack used his official influence as mayor to agree to sell the city-owned lot where the developers sought to build the garage at below market value in exchange for cash.

The developers – Harry Seymour and his local representative Lemuel Blackburn – were working in cooperation with the FBI for the sting operation targeting Mack. On several occasions either Seymour, a residential and commercial developer from North Jersey, or Blackburn, a former city attorney who worked as former Mayor Douglas Palmer’s personal counsel, met with Mack supporter Joseph “JoJo” Giorgianni and others to discuss the particulars of the deal. During those meetings, Seymour and Blackburn were wearing hidden FBI recording devices, capturing every moment on audio and video.

The FBI also had a wiretap recording phone calls made and received by Giorgianni, the mayor and admitted co-conspirator Charles Hall III, who at the time was working in City Hall put in charge of running the recreation department, even though he was hired to be a meter reader for the city’s water utility.

Mack accepted cash for the project through Giorgianni, who gave the money to Ralphiel Mack to give to his brother.

In recordings played in court, Giorgianni said the buffers insulated the mayor from suspicion about accepting illicit cash.

Both Mack brothers and Giorgianni were arrested on Sept. 10, 2012, and a six-count indictment followed.

Tony and Ralphiel Mack were both convicted of conspiracy to obstruct and affect interstate commerce by extortion under color of official right, attempted obstructing and affecting interstate commerce by extortion under color of official right, and agreeing to accept bribes.

Tony Mack also was found guilty of two counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud.

Just weeks before the trial was set to begin, Giorgianni pleaded guilty, admitting he handed cash to the mayor at his sandwich shop in the spring of 2012, shortly before the FBI made public its investigation.

Tony and Ralphiel Mack maintained their innocence and sought to stand trial to be exonerated. During the trial, their attorneys cross-examined several government witnesses including Hall, Giorgianni’s caretaker and former city housing director Carmen Melendez. Tony Mack’s attorney Mark Davis did not call any witnesses of his own, but Ralphiel Mack’s attorney Robert Haney called one witness – Terry Birchenough -- a friend of Mack’s to testify that the mayor’s brother, who at the time was working as a guidance counselor and football coach, asked him for a loan.

Tony Mack has previously said he would not step down as mayor. Now that the jury has found he is guilty, if Mack does not resign his post, the state office of the Attorney General may seek to have a state judge force Mack to forfeit the office. City Council will select an interim mayor to serve until a new mayor is elected this May.

"This protracted case has resulted in an unfortunate and unfair distraction for the City of Trenton for far too long. It has put a dark cloud over Trenton, and frankly, the entire region," said Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes. "Justice has been served and now it is time to move on, and to look forward to a brighter future.”

Senate President Steve Sweeney called it "a sad day for the people of Trenton. With the city tackling so many difficult issues, they could not afford to have their trust violated by their elected leader.



"Both Democrats and Republicans throughout New Jersey must come together to aid the City of Trenton. Its residents deserve nothing less."

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