GalaxyFacts Chat Room

[Guest]

Is that you, Slava. Whoever it is we know that you support Scullus. The most idiotic thing you said here is that Gerry has not reduced our taxes. Tell me one local municipality that has reduced taxes. Oh you can't do that. Then find another town that raised taxes less. Cant do that either. Then you are lying again.

You known damn well if Mr. Christie had a shred of evidence against Drasheff that he would indict him. Della Donne was not convicted of anything he did in the town. He did not pay his income taxes and he took money from a dishonest woman. Neither had anything to do with Gerry.

Drasheff is a good man, and he will make a good mayor. Slava wants the job. He would be even a big disaster than he is as a board member.

[Guest]

Is that you Barry Appel defending crooked Drasheff? Of course you would. He got you a job in Town Hall - in the Tax Dept of all things. You're a tax evader; it's like giving a nursery to a pedophile.

Prime example of what we are to expect from the likes of Drasheff. He'll get in and eventually, history will repeat itself - Christie will establish, beyond doubts, incriminating evidence against Drasheff. Guttenberg will experience the shame and devastations of another corrupt mayor.

Amazing how these crooks hide behind the cloaks of God, going to church every Sunday.

[Guest]

Is that you Crooked Slava stealing from the Galaxy owners. It Melonzo ever decides to rat you out, you'll go to jail also.

[Guest]

[miked]

Delle Donnas to be sentenced tomorrow

Posted by sbichao October 22, 2008 21:05PM

Former Guttenberg Mayor David Delle Donna and his wife Anna are due to be sentenced in federal court tomorrow for conspiracy to commit extortion and filing false tax returns.

On April 28, a federal jury convicted the couple of extorting cash, gifts and campaign contributions, as well as failing to report about $30,000 in income on their federal taxes.

The former mayor faces 78 to 97 months behind bars, while his wife faces 63 to 78 months, officials said. They will be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Harold Ackerman in Newark at 11 a.m.

David Delle Donna, 50, resigned his position two days after the conviction and he is now barred for life from holding public office. He also gave up his $90,000-a-year position as coordinator of maintenance and custodial services at High Tech High School in North Bergen.

Damning testimony against the former mayor was given by his former friend, Javier Inclan, a former Guttenberg councilman and former treasurer of the Guttenberg Democratic Organization.

The conviction was also based in part on testimony from bar owner Luisa Medrano, who was charged with human trafficking in 2005 and pleaded guilty to lesser charges in a deal that compelled her to testify against the Delle Donnas.

[miked]

Legal wrangling delays sentencing of Delle Donnas
Posted by rzeitlin October 23, 2008 13:07PM

Former Guttenberg Mayor David Delle Donna and his wife, Anna, were supposed to be sentenced on their corruption convictions this morning at 11, but by by 1 p.m. their sentence still had not been handed down.

The former mayor's attorney, Ralph Lamparello, and his wife's attorney, Brian Neary, contested various legal points in an effort to reduce their sentences. The arguments were countered by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Calcagni. U.S. District Court Judge Harold Ackerman still had one issue to rule on when he called for a lunch break at 1.

On April 28, a federal jury convicted the couple of extorting cash, gifts and campaign contributions, as well as failing to report about $30,000 in income on their federal taxes.

The former mayor faces 78 to 97 months behind bars, while his wife faces 63 to 78 months, officials said.

[admin]

Delle Donnas win trims in sentences
Prosecutor: Corrupt pair not taking responsibility
Friday, October 24, 2008
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NEWARK - Hours of legal wrangling in court postponed the sentencing of former Guttenberg Mayor David Delle Donna and his wife, Anna, on corruption charges yesterday, but may have paid off in reduced sentences for the couple.

On April 28, the pair was convicted of extorting cash and gifts from bar owner Luisa Medrano, and failing to report about $30,000 in income. Their sentence hearing continues today at 11 a.m. before U.S. Judge Harold Ackerman.

Defense attorneys argued several legal points yesterday in an effort to reduce the sentencing ranges for their clients, but were successful in only one area.

The lawyers argued that the bribes related to the extortion conviction totaled far less than the $40,000 to $50,000 claimed by the government. Ackerman agreed, tallying up $10,000 and $30,000 in bribes, which reduces the penalties.

David Delle Donna faced 78 to 97 months, but based on the ruling now faces 63 to 78. Anna Delle Donna's sentencing range was reduced from 63 to 78 months to 51 to 63 months.

In an emotional statement read in court yesterday, David Delle Donna said: "It's true that I am going to jail, but I am not broken. I stand before you today with my conscious clear."

Then at a swipe at Luisa Medrano, a Guttenberg bar owner accused of human trafficking who testified of gifts she gave Anna Delle Donna to get law enforcement authorities to ease up on her establishment, Delle Donna said the woman "took advantage of my wife" so she "could take advantage of me."

Anna Delle Donna, who was a Guttenberg Planning Board member, said in court: "I am so ashamed for the first time in my life. Not because I did anything wrong, but because I trusted her (Medrano) without really knowing what kind of person she was."

Federal authorities accused Medrano of human trafficking and forcing women and girls, some as young as 14, to work in her bars. She faced 250 years in prison if convicted, but now faces 24 to 30 months after making a deal with authorities that compelled her to testify against the Delle Donnas.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Calcagni said yesterday the most troubling aspect of the Delle Donnas' statements yesterday was "their complete refusal to accept responsibility for their crimes

[Guest]

[miked]

Guttenberg's former first lady apologizes to court in moving statement
Posted by mschmidt October 24, 2008 06:17AM
Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey JournalFormer Gutterberg First Lady Anna Delle Donna takes a smoking break outside federal court in Newark yesterday where she read an emotional statement to the judge who is to sentence her today.

The former first lady of Guttenberg, Anna Delle Donna, read an emotional statement to federal Judge Harold Ackerman yesterday when she faced the court to apologize and ask for leniency before being sentenced.

However, Delle Donna continued to say she didn't do anything illegal.

Ackerman, sitting in Newark, appeared moved by the statement, which noted that the Delle Donnas' daughters are just 18 and 24 and that Anna Delle Donna's mother is starting to lose her memory.

The judge put off sentencing until today. Former Mayor David Delle Donna faces 78 to 97 years behind bars, while Mrs. Delle Donna faces 63 to 78 months behind bars.

They were convicted earlier this year of extorting cash, gifts and campaign contributions and of failing to report $30,000 on their income tax returns.

Here is the statement:

Your honor,

I know it may be too late to speak these words but for the past few months I tried to come up with the right words to say and the courage to face you under these circumstances. I apologize for the mistakes I have made and ask for a few moments to address you and your court.

I was born in Italy in 1949; I grew up working in a store in a small town. That is where I learned to be friends with everyone and how to put my trust in them. To me, trust is to believe in people and that people can believe in me too. On the other hand, maybe I was wrong about that, who would have thought that when I came to American and settled down in the little Town of Guttenberg in 1972 that I was wrong to rely on such qualities as trust and friendship. After my son Joseph was born, I went to work and placed my trust in my co-workers.

In 1979 I was lucky enough to meet my husband David and we had two beautiful daughters together, Stefanie and Dorothy. Before David was involved in politics, we were involved in civic activities in our little town and began helping many people.

Approximately 12 years ago I had to stop working due to my illness, which kept me at home. That is when I started to welcome people into my home and became friends with them and placed my trust in them also.

Many people come to our house seeking help form David and myself. Since I could speak Spanish and Italian fluently, I was able to assist them with problems they were having. I would often translate for people when they had business with town official on all levels.

During that time David got more involved in politics and government activities. After a while many people asked David to run for mayor, which he became in 2002. Once he became mayor we were overwhelmed with request for help by residents in our home. My house was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Around this time I became friends with Luisa Medrano. This turned out to be the worst mistake of my life and has destroyed my family. I placed my trust in Luisa because I believed that trust and she betrayed. I had no idea she was leading a double life as career criminal. she used to tell me I was her best friend and unfortunately I believed her.

She only spoke Spanish and would often ask me to translate for her when she needed help. However, that was all that I did. I never turned my back on a friend in need so I helped her whenever she asked.

Your honor, I swear to you as God as my witness, I never spoke to David about doing anything for Luisa or anyone that would have been illegal. I may have spoken to people as I would for anyone else, trying to help them with their problems -- legally, help them.

Anything I received from Luisa was based solely on our friendship; it had nothing to do with help in any town matters. Under no circumstances did I abuse her friendship. The fact is I gave her as many presents in return as she gave me. Never did she give me anything I n return for my help, she didn't have to, I helped anyone I can no matter what his or her position in life. We exchanged gifts on birthdays and holidays, as most friends do.

Your honor, I am so ashamed for the fist time in my life. Not because I did anything wrong but because I trusted her without really knowing what kind of person she was. Her betrayal is tearing my family apart.

My daughter Dorothy, who just turned 18 and is in her first year at college, will not have her parents to guide her through these formative years.

My older daughter Stefanie, who is 24 years old, will now have the responsibility of taking car of her sister if we are not around. My 88-year-old mother, who is losing her memory and becoming a child, needs my help. I thought I would become my mother's mother when she needed me.

However, what hurts the most is knowing my grandson Joseph, who is 2 years old, will grow up not knowing his grandparents. I love Joseph more than life itself.

I hope that God will forgive me for losing faith after all that has happened. I don't know what I believe any more. I ask for God's grace every day.

It pains me to know that I still am not able to recognize true friendship. I grew up being naive and believed that all people are sincere, trustworthy and friendly. I am still that way today.

Your honor, since I am the one who has to accept that the life I have built is evaporating and that I have destroyed all that I have achieved, I ask for forgiveness and compassion. There is no one else to turn to. Now that I need friends there are few left around.

Your honor, I put my faith in you. Please consider all that has occurred in this trial -- the fact from the fiction, what was proven and what was merely theory. The fate of our family is in your hands.

Thank you

[miked]

Guttenberg mayor gets four years for bribery
Posted by jryan October 24, 2008 11:24AM

A federal judge today sentenced a husband-and-wife political team from Hudson County to more than four years in prison each for accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from a local bar owner trying to fend-off town inspectors.

U.S. Senior District Judge Harold Ackerman sentenced former Guttenberg Mayor David Delle Donna and his wife, Anna, to each serve 51 months in prison.
Frank Conlon/The Star-LedgerFormer Guttenberg Mayor David Delle Donna and his wife Anna shown in September 2007.

Ackermsan said corruption is "pervasive" in New Jersey and that he hoped the sentence would send a message to other politicians.

"Public office is a public trust. That's the bottom line. This notion cannot be repeated often enough. It cannot be forgotten," Ackerman said.

A jury convicted the Delle Donnas in April of conspiracy to commit extortion and two tax charges. They were acquitted of two mail fraud counts accusing them of diverting campaign contributions.

While the couple join a long list of disgraced New Jersey politicians, the payoffs they were accused of accepting stood out: cosmetic breast surgery for Anna, a Yorkshire terrier named Toby, pet insurance for the dog and more than $10,000 in cash to gamble in Atlantic City.

Defense attorneys pleaded with the judge for leniency. David Delle Donna, a 50-year-old former pipefitter who led the four-block sliver of a town for six years, continued to maintain his innocence when he addressed the judge at his sentencing hearing, which started Thursday and was completed today.

"Your honor, some see me as a broken man. I have no money, I have no job, and I'm going to jail," he said. "I am not broken. Your honor, I stand before you today with my conscience clear."

The prosecution's star witness, bar owner Luisa Medrano, testified about a long list of gifts she gave to the couple to keep the local Alcohol Beverage Control board, of which the mayor is a member, from closing her business. She also hoped to gain planning board approval for a proposal to build apartments, and the mayor ordered a subordinate to "take care of" various municipal tickets issued to Medrano's bar, according to trial testimony.

Defense attorneys had portrayed the Delle Donnas as honest friends of Medrano who were duped and used by the bar owner. Medrano showered them with unsolicited gifts and never asked for, nor received, any favors in return, said the defense attorneys. Ralph Lamparello represented the former mayor and Brian Neary represented Anna Delle Donna.

Anna Delle Donna told the judge, "I trusted her, and she betrayed me."

Both defense attorneys urged the judge to sentence the defendants below the range recommended under federal sentencing guidelines, calling them too severe. The judge found that range was 51 to 63 months for Anna. He ruled that David had perjured himself when he took the stand in his own defense, increasing his range to 63 to 78.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Calcagni and Richard Constable urged the judge to impose a sentence within the guidelines. Calcagni criticized the couple for a "complete refusal to accept responsibility for their crimes."

"They stand before this court without shame," he said, while "shamelessly" pleading for leniency.

The guidelines are only advisory, and the judge has the discretion to depart from them.

U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said the punishment was suffice.

"I'm satisfied with the sentence. The judge took into consideration the seriousness of the crime," Christie said.

Medrano had been charged in a separate case in which prosecutors described her as the ringleader of a human trafficking network. But while others were sentenced to up to six years in prison, she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of harboring illegal aliens and could face up to 30 months in prison at her own sentencing.
Categories: Hudson County
Comments
PatPassaic says...

What a revolutionary comment!

"Corruption is pervasive in New Jersey and that he hoped the sentence would send a message to other politicians.

Public office is a public trust. That's the bottom line. This notion cannot be repeated often enough. It cannot be forgotten," Ackerman said.

We grow great tomatoes, sweet corn and thieving politicians in this State!
Posted on 10/24/08 at 12:46PM
ITCHic says...

Oh my god more corruption! This is the second article in a row about corruption. Since there is so much corruption maybe there should be a newspaper that publishes only articles on the corruption in NJ and while they're at it why not print about all the violience in Newark.
Posted on 10/24/08 at 1:02PM
PWN7777 says...

HEY SCUM-LEDGER WHERE IS THE FRIKKIN JACKASS(D)????????????? MY MY MY HOW DAMNED TRANSPARENT YOU LOSERS ARE.
Posted on 10/24/08 at 1:15PM
njbob49 says...

Based on that picture his wife should have skipped the boob job and gotten her nose fixed.

The only problem with this is that they both will wind up at some prison farm with no walls instead of serving hard time. If someone did the same crime with a gun they would have gotten 30 years of hard time.
Posted on 10/24/08 at 2:39PM
ezdo4 says...

Sad thing is if you wrote a book about all this they would only accept it as fiction. A state like NJ couldn't exist in real life, Or could it????
Posted on 10/24/08 at 2:47PM
nosofte says...

Another sad chapter in NJ politics. To bad Sharp James did not have the same Judge & Jury, maybe he too would be doing a longer sentence!
Posted on 10/24/08 at 2:51PM
lipso says...

A judge giving a 4 year sentence at a political corruption trial.....Will wonders never cease??????
Posted on 10/24/08 at 2:52PM
classof1968 says...

Wow! I just had a flash-back to the late 60's. Anyone remember when our ex-Mayor Kl*** was deposed, along with his own personal kidney dialysis machine? Not to mention my ex-NBHS Graphic Arts teacher who became the Mayor of Union City where he met a similar fate. It's almost as though it's a part of our heriatge.
Posted on 10/24/08 at 3:03PM
Gino55 says...

Okay wild guess here, Democrat????
Posted on 10/24/08 at 3:24PM
Footer

[miked]

[miked]

Bar owner in human smuggling ring gets probation
Add a Comment January 14, 10:28 PM
by Gerard (Jerry) DeMarco, Newark Crime Examiner
« PreviousNext »

A federal judge in Newark today gave a bar owner accused in a human smuggling ring probation in return for her help in convicting a local mayor on corruption charges.

Luisa Medrano, 53, of Cliffside Park, N.J., will have to spend six months under home confinement as part of her three-year probation for harboring illegal aliens and tax evasion.

Medrano, who owned several Hudson County bars, was connected to a network that snuck young women from Honduras into the country amid the promise of good jobs -- only to force them to pay off their supposed benefactors as virtual slaves.

The women danced and drank with bar patrons and were raped by their handlers, authorities said. Anyone who objected was beaten or told their loved ones at home would be hurt, according to a complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Medrano was treated differently after becoming federal prosecutors' star witness in a corruption case against Guttenberg Mayor David Delle Donna and his wife, Anna, a planning board member. She told jurors she gave the couple thousands of dollars in cash and gifts in return for preferential treatment from the borough, which sits atop the Palisades directly across from midtown Manhattan.

That meant obtaining building permits and zoning variances despite various infractions at her establishments.

The Delle Donnas last week surrendered to begin serving 51-month federal prison terms for extortion -- thanks, in large part, to Medrano's testimony, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Camelia Valdes.

The judge, meanwhile, noted that investigators found no independent proof that Medrano, a Salvadoran native, had a direct role in the smuggling ring.

Medrano could have been sentenced to 24 to 30 months in prison. She was required to pay more than $247,000 in back taxes and to forfeit two apartment buildings where the smuggled women kept. The judge also allowed her to leave home to work in a restaurant Medrano has opened with her husband.

[miked]

Zero jail time for alleged smuggler Medrano, who put Delle Donna away


It was determined by a judge yesterday that Luisa Medrano, the Guttenberg bar owner whose testimony resulted in jail terms for former small-town Guttenberg Mayor David Della Donna and his wife Anna, will not get any jail time for her own crimes, according to a newspaper story today.

Medrano, a friend of Anna, gave Anna gifts during their friendship, including cash and a dog, prosecutors said. Prosecutors alleged that the gifts were attempts to get favors regarding Medrano's bars and property she owned. Medrano was indicted in 2005 for allegedly helping sneak Honduran women into the country and then using the women in her bars to perform illegal acts. She and others allegedly threatened to harm them if they did not do so.

[miked]

Thanks for testimony
She helped convict Delle Donnas, gets 3-yrs probation for keeping 'sex slaves'
Thursday, January 22, 2009
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITERS
A bar owner who harbored illegal immigrants was sentenced to three years probation last week after testifying as a key witness in the federal corruption trial that brought down the former mayor of Guttenberg and his wife.

Luisa Medrano, 53, of Cliffside Park, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to three years probation with six months home confinement after pleading guilty to harboring women and girls, some as young as 14, who were allegedly smuggled to Hudson County from Honduras to dance in her Union City and Guttenberg bars.

Advertisement


Under the terms of the probation, Medrano can work at a restaurant she owns while confined to her home, reports said.

Her testimony helped convict former Mayor David Delle Donna, 50, and his wife Anna, 58, a former Planning Board member, of conspiracy to commit extortion and filing false tax returns, for which they recently began 41/2-year sentences in West Virginia and Kentucky.

A federal jury in April found the couple guilty of extorting cash and gifts from Medrano. They were also found guilty of extorting campaign contributions and failing to report about $30,000 in income on their federal taxes.

In September 2006, Medrano pleaded guilty to two counts of harboring illegal aliens and one count of tax evasion, for which she faced up to 30 months in prison. Had she been convicted of the original charges that included human smuggling and forced labor, she could have faced up to 250 years.

"It was quite a downward departure," said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio, referring to the probation sentence Medrano received.

At Medrano's sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge Joel Pisano noted that she had cooperated with federal prosecutors in the Delle Donna trial. While court papers said the victims were beaten, sexually abused, and forced to have abortions by their handlers, Pisano noted Medrano was not implicated in mistreatment.

U.S. Attorney spokesman Michael Drewniak said Medrano's testimony also helped with the convictions of eight other people convicted and sentenced to between three years probation and 78 months for their part in a human smuggling and slavery ring.

"She (Medrano) assisted greatly in the investigation we were undertaking, whereas the Delle Donnas fought tooth and nail, went to trial and took chances with a jury who found them guilty," Drewniak said.

As part of her plea agreement, Medrano also forfeited two apartments worth more than a half-million dollars and paid back taxes, interest and penalties totaling more than $500,000, he said.

Anna Delle Donna's son, Joe Tovano, a 36-year-old trader, defended his mother and stepfather Tuesday, saying his mother exchanged gifts with a former friend who "duped" her and that prosecutors relied on the word of a woman who had "everything to gain" from testifying against his parents.

"This is the greatest miscarriage of justice I have ever seen," Tovano said. "It still keeps me up at night."

Journal staff writer Michaelangelo Conte contributed to this story.

[Guest]

Crime pays. Medrano did worse things than the Delle Donnas and gets off with probation.