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 The would-be developers were, in fact, government informants.
Under the scheme, the developers would buy city property for the
garage for $100,000 less than the value of the land, and the
Democratic mayor of New Jersey's capital city would receive money in
exchange, prosecutors said.
A jury convicted Mack, 48, on all six charges of bribery, extortion
and wire and mail fraud after eight hours of deliberation. He has
remained in office during the trial.
City Council President George Muschal, a retired police officer, is
expected to be sworn in as the new mayor.
The mayor's brother Ralphiel was accused of acting as a bag man to
pick up the bribe money and also was on trial. Prosecutors said the
informants offered a bribe of $119,000, about $54,000 of which
changed hands.
He was found guilty of extortion and bribery charges.
Judge Michael Shipp set sentencing for May 14 and continued bail for
both men. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mack faces a
maximum sentence of 110 years behind bars.
Arrested in September 2012, Mack has been accused by critics of
nepotism and mismanagement since taking office in 2010 in the
crime-plagued, economically depressed city of 85,000 people. He was
reportedly deeply in debt at the time of his arrest.
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His defense attorneys said there was no proof produced at the trial
that Mack ever took a bribe.
"I'm disappointed," Mack's lawyer, Mark Davis, said after the
verdict. Neither the Mack brothers nor jurors made any comment as
they left the courthouse.
Mack's defense laid the blame on a third man, Joseph Giorgianni, who
has pleaded guilty and is a cooperating witness awaiting sentencing.
Prosecutors said the many wire-tapped telephone conversations in the
case showed solid evidence of Mack's guilt.
They contended that Mack used other people — his brother and
Giorgianni — in an attempt to shield himself from culpability.
(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst, Edith Honan, Gunna Dickson and Lisa
Shumaker)
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