A former Newark deputy mayor who admitted accepting cash, jewelry, and other benefits in exchange for helping developers secure city-owned properties has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison.
Carmelo Garcia, a former Newark Deputy Mayor and Director of the Newark Department of Economic and Housing Development, was sentenced Wednesday to 12 months and one day in federal prison for his role in a corruption scheme involving bribes and kickbacks tied to redevelopment projects in New Jersey’s largest city.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer following Garcia’s guilty plea to charges including conspiracy to defraud the City of Newark and the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC) of honest services, honest services wire fraud, and receiving bribes in connection with the business of a federally funded local government and organization…