Loken
01-30-2010, 11:53 AM
N.J. corruption trial unfolds through hidden cameras, secret recordings
By Joe Ryan/The Star-Ledger
January 29, 2010, 8:30PM
The video, shot from a tiny hidden camera, was remarkably clear.
There, in black and white, was Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, talking real estate and political contributions at a diner in April with Solomon Dwek, the government informant at the center of last year’s sprawling FBI sting. Amid sips of coffee and clattering dishes, Dwek asks Beldini about $10,000 in tickets he had surreptitiously bought for a dinner benefiting Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy’s re-election bid.
"The mayor knows, you know, where the tickets came from? ... He appreciates the way I do business, right?" Dwek asks.
"Absolutely," Beldini answers.
All told, the 74-year-old Democrat is charged with accepting $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions from Dwek, a former real estate developer who began secretly working for the FBI after being charged with bank fraud in 2006. In exchange, authorities say, Beldini agreed to help secure permits for condominiums Dwek claimed to be building.
At her trial today in federal court in Newark, prosecutors showed a series of videos Dwek shot last year during meetings in diners in Hudson County. The images — shot with a camera apparently hidden, roughly at chest level, in Dwek’s clothing — offer the first public glimpse into how the prodigious informant with a gift for chatter worked his targets.
Dwek does most of the talking on the tapes. He brags of his real estate endeavors. He talks as if he has unlimited money. He stammers. And he bluntly mentions payoffs.
"Let me know how much she wants. You know I’m a generous guy," Dwek says, referring to Beldini, during a conversation with two political consultants: Jack Shaw and Edward Cheatam. They, too, were charged. Shaw died of a Valium overdose days after his arrest last summer; Cheatam pleaded guilty and is expected to testify against Beldini.
They were among 46 people charged in the probe, which was the largest FBI sting in New Jersey history. Beldini is the first to stand trial.
Authorities say Dwek funneled the bribes to Beldini through Shaw and Cheatam, who converted them into donations for Healy’s campaign. Beldini, Healy’s campaign treasurer, never took money directly from Dwek. But on prosecutors’ videos, it appears she may have known who was actually donating.
"I’ll do everything through Jack and, ah, Ed," Dwek says.
"Of course," says Beldini, a Realtor who also agreed to be the exclusive broker for the condominiums, prosecutors say.
Amid talk of real estate and payoffs, Dwek’s videos include images of a meal shot by a camera positioned roughly at table level. Jurors saw Dwek pick at muffins with a fork. And they laughed as Healy shook a copious amount of pepper on potato salad.
Healy, who was not charged, never bit on Dwek’s lines in the videos. At one point, the informant tells the mayor he wants his permit applications on the "top" of the pile.
"Make sure I’m on top, that’s all I ask," Dwek says.
Healy simply laughs.
"He’ll flip it, don’t worry," Beldini says.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/nj_corruption_trial_unfolds_th.html Video content seen here on the website.
Arrogance causes such slip ups.
By Joe Ryan/The Star-Ledger
January 29, 2010, 8:30PM
The video, shot from a tiny hidden camera, was remarkably clear.
There, in black and white, was Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, talking real estate and political contributions at a diner in April with Solomon Dwek, the government informant at the center of last year’s sprawling FBI sting. Amid sips of coffee and clattering dishes, Dwek asks Beldini about $10,000 in tickets he had surreptitiously bought for a dinner benefiting Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy’s re-election bid.
"The mayor knows, you know, where the tickets came from? ... He appreciates the way I do business, right?" Dwek asks.
"Absolutely," Beldini answers.
All told, the 74-year-old Democrat is charged with accepting $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions from Dwek, a former real estate developer who began secretly working for the FBI after being charged with bank fraud in 2006. In exchange, authorities say, Beldini agreed to help secure permits for condominiums Dwek claimed to be building.
At her trial today in federal court in Newark, prosecutors showed a series of videos Dwek shot last year during meetings in diners in Hudson County. The images — shot with a camera apparently hidden, roughly at chest level, in Dwek’s clothing — offer the first public glimpse into how the prodigious informant with a gift for chatter worked his targets.
Dwek does most of the talking on the tapes. He brags of his real estate endeavors. He talks as if he has unlimited money. He stammers. And he bluntly mentions payoffs.
"Let me know how much she wants. You know I’m a generous guy," Dwek says, referring to Beldini, during a conversation with two political consultants: Jack Shaw and Edward Cheatam. They, too, were charged. Shaw died of a Valium overdose days after his arrest last summer; Cheatam pleaded guilty and is expected to testify against Beldini.
They were among 46 people charged in the probe, which was the largest FBI sting in New Jersey history. Beldini is the first to stand trial.
Authorities say Dwek funneled the bribes to Beldini through Shaw and Cheatam, who converted them into donations for Healy’s campaign. Beldini, Healy’s campaign treasurer, never took money directly from Dwek. But on prosecutors’ videos, it appears she may have known who was actually donating.
"I’ll do everything through Jack and, ah, Ed," Dwek says.
"Of course," says Beldini, a Realtor who also agreed to be the exclusive broker for the condominiums, prosecutors say.
Amid talk of real estate and payoffs, Dwek’s videos include images of a meal shot by a camera positioned roughly at table level. Jurors saw Dwek pick at muffins with a fork. And they laughed as Healy shook a copious amount of pepper on potato salad.
Healy, who was not charged, never bit on Dwek’s lines in the videos. At one point, the informant tells the mayor he wants his permit applications on the "top" of the pile.
"Make sure I’m on top, that’s all I ask," Dwek says.
Healy simply laughs.
"He’ll flip it, don’t worry," Beldini says.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/nj_corruption_trial_unfolds_th.html Video content seen here on the website.
Arrogance causes such slip ups.