08-30-06 -- Callaway, Craig -- Guilty Pleas -- News Release

Atlantic City Council President, Camden Councilman Plead Guilty to Extortion; Contractor Admits Drug Charges

CAMDEN – A three-year South Jersey corruption investigation today netted guilty pleas to extortion from City Council president Craig Callaway and Camden Council member Ali Sloan El, both of whom admitted that they accepted bribes from a contractor, in exchange for municipal contracts; the contractor pleaded guilty to an unrelated drug conspiracy charge, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

The three guilty pleas took place before U.S. District Judge Joseph Rodriguez. During his guilty plea, Callaway, 47, of Atlantic City, admitted to taking approximately $36,000 in six different payments between 2003 and 2005, in exchange for using his position to assist a contractor, Terry Jacobs of Pleasantville, in obtaining construction work in Atlantic City projects. Those projects include development of the Garwood Mills site, a 6.4-acre waterfront site on the northeast inlet of Atlantic City, named for a department store that once occupied the land.

Sloan El, 52, of Camden admitted during his guilty plea to taking approximately the same amount, $36,000, in six different payments between 2003 and 2005, in exchange for steering Camden redevelopment work to the contractor. The promised projects included concrete, sidewalk and other construction work including regarding Camden’s Cooper’s Ferry project and parking for the New Jersey Aquarium.

Jacobs, 42, a contractor in Atlantic City, Camden and elsewhere, pleaded guilty to an unrelated drug offense, admitting to conspiring to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine in Gloucester County on Jan. 30, 2004. During his guilty plea, Jacobs further admitted to paying bribes – independently and later as a cooperating witness for federal authorities – to public officials including Callaway and Sloan El in exchange for preferential treatment on city contracts.

“Unfortunately, this is just more of the same of what we see all over New Jersey, north and south,” said Christie. “Public officials selling their offices, lining their pockets and making a mockery of their service to the public. This investigation is continuing and we will be vigorous in our pursuit of anyone who betrayed the public trust bestowed on them when they took their oaths of office.”

Sentencing for all three defendants is scheduled for Dec. 12. All of the defendants were released on unsecured personal recognizance bonds.

The extortion charges (Callaway and Sloan El) carry a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater. The drug distribution charge (Jacobs) carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, as well as a fine of up to $4 million or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater.

Today was each defendants’ first appearance in court. None of the three was charged previously and each waived indictment by pleading guilty to an Information.

In determining an actual sentence, Judge Rodriguez will consult the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence. Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Christie credited Special Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leslie G. Wiser, in Newark, with the investigations of Callaway, Sloan El and Jacobs.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas J. Eicher and Judith H. Germano, both of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.

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Defense Counsel:
Callaway: Jeremy Frey, Esq., Philadelphia
Sloan El: Rocco Cipparone, Jr., Esq., Haddon Heights
Jacobs: Christopher O’Malley, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Camden