SJ’s Bryant pleads not guilty to latest charges

Wayne Bryant, the once-powerful Camden County state senator who is serving four years in federal prison on corruption charges, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a series of charges in another case in which he is accused of selling his office.

Bryant and North Jersey lawyer Eric D. Wisler entered not guilty pleas at separate hearings before U.S. District Court Judge Faith Hochberg.

They were charged in a 40-count indictment handed up by a federal grand jury on Sept. 27. Wisler will remain free on $150,000 bail.

For Bryant, who appeared in court in handcuffs, ankle shackles and a canary-yellow prison jumpsuit, bail was not an option. He is currently being housed at the Federal Detention Center in Manhattan.

His lawyer, Carl Poplar, hopes to have him transferred to the Detention Center in Philadelphia as he prepares for trial.

Bryant, a state senator from 1995 until he resigned under indictment in 2008, appeared thinner than he did during his trial last year. He said little during the brief court appearance.

The new indictment alleges that between 2004 and 2006, Wisler paid Bryant $192,000 to ensure that the then-senator would use his legislative influence to aid development projects proposed by Wisler's clients.

The projects were a residential development and golf course in the Cramer Hill section of Camden; a golf course and residential development in Pennsauken on Petty's Island in the Delaware River, and a proposed $1 billion golf course-luxury hotel-residential development on the site of a former landfill in the Meadowlands in North Jersey.

Wisler was a member of the politically connected Bergen County law firm of DeCotiis, FitzPatrick & Cole at the time. His clients included Cherokee Investment Partners, the potential developer of the projects cited in the indictment.

Currently battling cancer, Wisler moved with difficulty around the courtroom Wednesday. His lawyer, Michael Critchley, said he intends to file a motion to have Wisler severed from the case, arguing that he is physically and mentally unable to take part in preparation for trial.

Officials at the DeCotiis law firm were apparently unaware of the deal authorities allege Wisler struck with Bryant on behalf of Cherokee.

The indictment alleges that Wisler agreed to pay Bryant, who is a lawyer, an $8,000-a-month retainer for legal work.

In fact, the indictment alleges, Bryant performed no legal work, but used his influence in the State Senate to shepherd legislation that would aid the Cherokee projects and scuttle legislation that might hurt them.

The Cramer Hill project generated strong community opposition because the plan called for the displacement of many long-time residents through eminent domain. It was eventually abandoned.

The Meadowlands project, known as Encap, and the Petty's Island project also were scuttled.

Difficult economic times have been cited as a major reason for Encap's failure. The Petty's Island project was strongly opposed by environmentalists who successfully argued that it was detrimental to the island's natural habitat.

Bryant, who turns 63 on Sunday, was sentenced to four years in prison in July 2009 after a jury found him guilty of funneling millions of dollars in state aid to the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey in exchange for a "low-show" job in which he appeared occasionally, but did not work. He also was convicted of padding his state pension through other appointed positions in which he did little or no work.

Bryant's latest indictment comes following the recent theatrical debut of a documentary on political corruption in New Jersey. (The film has not yet reached the Philadelphia region.)

The documentary, a tongue-in-cheek account told through a stand-up comic, is based on the 2008 book The Soprano State, New Jersey's Culture of Corruption. Bryant's first case is one of dozens of investigations highlighted in the movie.

Poplar, who defended Bryant in that first case, asked Hochberg to consider making him and co-counsel Lisa A. Mathewson court-appointed for the pending trial, indicating that Bryant could not afford to hire them.

Hochberg said she would consider the request after Bryant fills out financial disclosure and request forms.