08-24-05 -- Zambrano, Paul R. -- Guilty Plea -- News Release

Former Mayor of West Long Branch Admits Accepting Bribes for Himself and Others

NEWARK - The former mayor of West Long Branch pleaded guilty today to extorting bribe payments for himself and others, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Paul R. Zambrano, 49, of West Long Branch, a former mayor and councilman in West Long Branch, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to a one-count Information charging him with extorting cash payments for himself and other public officials, in exchange for agreeing to exercise official action and influence in connection with their public positions.

Zambrano pleaded guilty to one count of extortion under color of official right, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

At his plea hearing, Zambrano admitted that, during his tenure as mayor in West Long Branch, from September 2003 to November 17, 2004, he accepted cash payments totaling $15,000 dollars from a confidential FBI informant and an undercover FBI agent, to reward him for helping obtain public contracts in West Long Branch and other places.

Zambrano stated that he accepted the payments believing that the cooperating informant was an individual involved in the contracting and demolition business and that the undercover agent was one of his employees. Zambrano also admitted that he accepted the cash payments knowing the payments were intended to reward him for helping the cooperating informant and the undercover agent to obtain public contracts in West Long Branch and in other municipalities where Zambrano introduced the cooperating informant and the undercover agent to public officials.

Specifically, Zambrano stated that of the $15,000 dollars in corrupt payments he accepted, he turned over $1,500 dollars to an unnamed fellow West Long Branch councilman in exchange for the unnamed councilman's efforts in helping to secure public contracts for the cooperating informant and the undercover agent. Zambrano admitted further that he turned over another $1,000 dollars to an unnamed elected official from another municipality in exchange for that official's assistance in securing public contracts for the cooperating witness.

The guilty plea of Zambrano arises from Operation Bid Rig, the same investigation which led to charges being filed against 13 officials and two contractors in February, March and April of this year, including the mayors of Hazlet and Keyport, as well as councilmen from Asbury Park, Far Hills, Keyport, Neptune Township, Middletown and West Long Branch.

Zambrano and others were extensively recorded on video and audio tape in discussions with undercover FBI agents whom they believed were employees of the cooperating witness, and who were purportedly involved in the laundering of loansharking proceeds as well as paying off local officials. In some cases, the defendants, the cooperating witness and undercover agents were recorded interacting with various named and unnamed Monmouth County public officials, according to criminal Complaints and Zambrano's Information.

In determining an actual sentence, Judge Martini will consult the 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 of the FBI's Red Bank Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leslie Wiser, Jr. in Newark, for their work in the ongoing Monmouth County corruption investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark J. McCarren, the Chief of the Public Protection Unit, and Marc D. Larkins of the Special Prosecutions Division.

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Defense Counsel: John J. Fahy, Esq., Newark