Carmelo Garcia, 51, a former New Jersey Assemblyman and Newark Deputy Mayor, stood before U.S. District Court Judge Madeline Cox Arleo at a hearing Wednesday that ran nearly an hour. Along with the prison term and fine, the judge imposed mandatory alcohol testing, mandatory mental health treatment, new restrictions on taking on debt, and ongoing financial disclosure obligations as conditions of the supervised release period.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey, under U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer, confirmed the sentencing Wednesday evening through a press release and declined to comment further.
Key Takeaways
- Carmelo Garcia, 51, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison, fined $30,000, and ordered into three years of supervised release for accepting bribes while serving as a Newark city official.
- Garcia accepted cash and luxury jewelry from two Newark businessmen in exchange for using his official influence to steer city property redevelopment contracts in their favor.
- The case, filed in November 2020, accumulated at least 20 continuances and six sentencing postponements before Garcia faced the judge Wednesday.
A Career Built Across Hudson County and Newark
Garcia served in the New Jersey State Assembly from 2014 to 2016, representing the 33rd Legislative District, which covered Hoboken and Jersey City. Before his Assembly term, he directed the Hoboken Housing Authority until 2014, when the commissioners voted to fire him following a dispute with then-Mayor Dawn Zimmer. Garcia had also previously served as housing authority executive director in Irvington…