Samuel Rivera
Encyclopedia
Samuel Rivera was the Democratic
mayor of the U.S.
city of Passaic, New Jersey
, from 2001 until 2008. Rivera came to national attention on September 6, 2007, when he was indicted
and arrested on charges of accepting bribes in exchange for agreeing to direct municipal contracts to an insurance broker acting as a cooperating witness. Rivera pleaded guilty to attempt
ed extortion
and stepped down as mayor on May 9, 2008. Rivera was sentenced to 21 months in prison. He was succeeded in office by Gary Schaer
.
charges. He avoided trial by resigning and returning to Puerto Rico
, where he became a police officer as well. There, his law enforcement career ended when he was convicted of a felony and sentenced to either two or three years probation
for offenses including admittedly slashing himself to simulate having been attacked in order to protect his partner, who killed a narcotics suspect. Rivera returned to Passaic in 1981 and became a private investigator.
attempted to prevent Rivera from taking office due to his status as a Puerto Rican felon, but Superior Court judge Robert Passero allowed Rivera to be sworn in, finding that the state had failed to prove that Rivera's crime was a crime of "moral turpitude
".
Rivera is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
and, when he served as mayor, was a member of Hillary Clinton's Mayors Council and National Hispanic Leadership Council. During the course of his tenure as mayor, Rivera had the City Council nearly triple his salary from $40,000 to $117,000.
arrested 11 public officials and one civilian after a year-and-a-half long corruption investigation yielded grand jury
indictment
s, against Rivera and other elected officials, including Assembly
members Mims Hackett
and Alfred E. Steele
. Rivera was indicted for demanding and accepting money from John D'Angelo, an insurance broker acting as a cooperating witness for the FBI. D'Angelo pretended to be trying to get insurance coverage contracts from the City of Passaic. The indictment alleges that Rivera accepted a $5,000 bribe to steer insurance business with the City of Passaic and with the Passaic Valley Water Commission, bragging that "I can get four votes easy, easy, easy," to a witness about his ability to obtain approval from the Passaic City Council.
After appearing in front of a magistrate
in Trenton
and posting bail, Rivera resumed his duties the following day, Friday, September 7. State law permits elected officials to retain their offices even after they are convicted and sentenced; they can only be removed if they are formally impeached
. Rivera had stated that he did not intend to resign. Nevertheless, he pleaded guilty to attempted extortion and resigned on May 9, 2008. In 2008, Rivera was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
After serving 16 months at a Federal prison in Ohio, Rivera was transferred to a halfway house in New York, to serve the remainder of his 21 month felony sentence.
farm into a family of 14 children, where he lived until he moved to Passaic in 1963. Shortly thereafter, at age 17, he dropped out of 11th grade and married for the first time. Rivera has suffered five stroke
s and been married four times.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
mayor of the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
city of Passaic, New Jersey
Passaic, New Jersey
Passaic is a city in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 69,781, maintaining its status as the 15th largest municipality in New Jersey with an increase of 1,920 residents from the 2000 Census population of 67,861...
, from 2001 until 2008. Rivera came to national attention on September 6, 2007, when he was indicted
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
and arrested on charges of accepting bribes in exchange for agreeing to direct municipal contracts to an insurance broker acting as a cooperating witness. Rivera pleaded guilty to attempt
Attempt
Attempt was originally an offence under the common law of England.Attempt crimes are crimes where the defendant's actions have the form of the actual enaction of the crime itself: the actions must go beyond mere preparation....
ed extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
and stepped down as mayor on May 9, 2008. Rivera was sentenced to 21 months in prison. He was succeeded in office by Gary Schaer
Gary Schaer
Gary Schaer is an American Democratic Party politician who serves in the New Jersey General Assembly where he represents the 36th legislative district, having taken office on January 10, 2006, and on the Passaic, New Jersey City Council where he is the council president...
.
Early life
Rivera began his career by joining the Passaic Police Department in 1968. In 1970, Rivera was brought up on police brutalityPolice brutality
Police brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....
charges. He avoided trial by resigning and returning to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, where he became a police officer as well. There, his law enforcement career ended when he was convicted of a felony and sentenced to either two or three years probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
for offenses including admittedly slashing himself to simulate having been attacked in order to protect his partner, who killed a narcotics suspect. Rivera returned to Passaic in 1981 and became a private investigator.
Political career
Rivera ran for Passaic City Council in 1993 and 1995, losing both times. Later in 1995 he won a special election to the Council by 11 votes. He then ran a losing campaign for mayor in 1997, and then again in 2001, winning the race. New Jersey Governor Donald DiFrancescoDonald DiFrancesco
Donald Thomas DiFrancesco was the 51st Governor of New Jersey from 2001 to 2002 by virtue of his status as President of the New Jersey Senate, the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature....
attempted to prevent Rivera from taking office due to his status as a Puerto Rican felon, but Superior Court judge Robert Passero allowed Rivera to be sworn in, finding that the state had failed to prove that Rivera's crime was a crime of "moral turpitude
Moral turpitude
Moral turpitude is a legal concept in the United States that refers to "conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty or good morals." It appears in U.S. immigration law from the nineteenth century...
".
Rivera is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
Mayors Against Illegal Guns is a coalition of over 600 mayors who support a number of gun control initiatives that the group calls "commonsense reforms" to fight illegal gun trafficking and gun violence in the United States...
and, when he served as mayor, was a member of Hillary Clinton's Mayors Council and National Hispanic Leadership Council. During the course of his tenure as mayor, Rivera had the City Council nearly triple his salary from $40,000 to $117,000.
Indictment and felony conviction
On September 6, 2007, the FBIFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
arrested 11 public officials and one civilian after a year-and-a-half long corruption investigation yielded grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
s, against Rivera and other elected officials, including Assembly
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
members Mims Hackett
Mims Hackett
Mims Hackett is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002-2007, where he represented 27th Legislative District, which covers the western portion of Essex County....
and Alfred E. Steele
Alfred E. Steele
Alfred E. Steele is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly starting in 1996, where he represented the 35th legislative district...
. Rivera was indicted for demanding and accepting money from John D'Angelo, an insurance broker acting as a cooperating witness for the FBI. D'Angelo pretended to be trying to get insurance coverage contracts from the City of Passaic. The indictment alleges that Rivera accepted a $5,000 bribe to steer insurance business with the City of Passaic and with the Passaic Valley Water Commission, bragging that "I can get four votes easy, easy, easy," to a witness about his ability to obtain approval from the Passaic City Council.
After appearing in front of a magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
in Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
and posting bail, Rivera resumed his duties the following day, Friday, September 7. State law permits elected officials to retain their offices even after they are convicted and sentenced; they can only be removed if they are formally impeached
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
. Rivera had stated that he did not intend to resign. Nevertheless, he pleaded guilty to attempted extortion and resigned on May 9, 2008. In 2008, Rivera was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
After serving 16 months at a Federal prison in Ohio, Rivera was transferred to a halfway house in New York, to serve the remainder of his 21 month felony sentence.
Personal
Rivera was born on a tobaccoTobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
farm into a family of 14 children, where he lived until he moved to Passaic in 1963. Shortly thereafter, at age 17, he dropped out of 11th grade and married for the first time. Rivera has suffered five stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
s and been married four times.
Sources
- The criminal complaint against Rivera, United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
, September 5, 2007.