N.J.'s Bryant gets 4 years on corruption charge

TRENTON - Former State Sen. Wayne Bryant, convicted last year on political-corruption charges, was sentenced yesterday to four years in federal prison and ordered to return more than $100,000 in salary he received in exchange for political influence.

Bryant's sentencing in U.S. District Court was the latest chapter in New Jersey's long history of corruption. It came a day after authorities conducted a sweep in which 44 politicians and others were arrested on a new round of indictments.

Bryant, 61, faced up to 10 years in prison, but Judge Freda L. Wolfson gave consideration to the once-powerful Camden County Democrat's contributions to the community and his work as a legislator.

"There is no doubt there are many good things that you have done," the judge said, looking at Bryant. "More the pity."

Bryant sat quietly in the packed courtroom and showed little emotion as he heard his sentence. His attorney, Carl Poplar, seemed more shaken, bowing his head.

"I'm very disappointed," Poplar said later.

Defense attorneys are likely to appeal and asked that Bryant remain free pending that action. The judge allowed Bryant to leave with his family until a date is set to surrender to federal authorities.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra said the government would not appeal the sentence.

"The judge issued a very fair sentence," he said.

The courtroom was overflowing with supporters who described Bryant as a pillar of the community.

There were notable figures: the first African American judge elected to Superior Court in Delaware, two ministers from Camden, and the former chief operating officer of Camden, up from South Carolina. Mark Bryant, mayor of the family's hometown, Lawnside, was there as well to support his big brother.

While imposing sentencing, Wolfson called Bryant an excellent legislator who would be remembered for what had become of him.

"All those good deeds are overshadowed by what has happened in the last couple of years," the judge said.

Bryant, as chairman of the state Budget and Appropriations Committee, solicited a job at the School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford, where he did little work for a $35,000 salary.

He made a short statement to the judge in which he apologized for his actions and said that if he could turn back time, he would unquestionably exercise different judgment.

"Hindsight is a great teacher," Bryant said. "I cannot express how deeply sorry I am."

Prosecutors convinced a jury during a two-month trial last year that Bryant's salary - $113,167 over three years – constituted corrupt payment. Bryant will have to repay that amount, as well as $25,000 in fines.

Prosecutors showed that Bryant received a steady flow of cash for securing $11 million in state funding for the school and was rewarded with at least one raise and a $5,000 bonus.

Bryant was also convicted of pension fraud for his job at the school and a second public job for which he did little work.

Bryant's co-defendant, R. Michael Gallagher, the medical school's former dean, was convicted of rigging the hiring process to favor Bryant. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and also ordered to pay $113,167 in restitution and $15,000 in fines.

Before sentencing, Marra told the judge that Bryant sold his political influence and was paid for doing nothing.

"What kind of a mentor is that?" Marra asked, referring to earlier comments about Bryant's positive influence on others.

"He talked and acted like a criminal," Marra said. "Rather than change the corrupt system, Mr. Bryant profited from that over and over again."

Before sentencing, the judge noted the many letters she had received supporting Bryant, and heard from seven character witnesses. All described him as a dedicated public servant. After graduating from Rutgers law school, Bryant provided free legal advice for the poor in Camden.

He was elected a Camden County freeholder in 1980 and was later elected to the Assembly before he became a senator. Throughout, his focus was on Camden and the poor.

"Camden is not a political problem; it is a moral problem," said the Rev. John A. Jones, who added that Bryant "took it on."

Bryant sponsored controversial legislation reforming welfare that required recipients to get job training or education, insisting that those in poverty needed to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

Years later, Bryant authored the 2002 recovery law that brought $175 million in state funding to Camden but gave oversight of the financing to state-appointed authorities. He is also well-known for creating educational opportunities to help poor and middle-class students who could not afford college.

His attorneys noted that when Bryant's son died suddenly a couple of years ago, during the corruption investigation, he asked that donations be made to a scholarship fund.

"Even when he lost his child, he was there for others," said Bryant's minister, the Rev. Douglas A. Goldsborough of Mount Zion United Methodist Church in Lawnside.

Former Delaware Superior Court Judge Joshua W. Martin III told Wolfson that he had known Bryant for nearly 40 years, since they met at Rutgers, where Bryant took him under his wing.

"This man has done so much good for so many people," Martin said.

Camden's former mayor and former chief operating officer Melvin R. "Randy" Primas Jr., came from South Carolina with an injured back to tell the judge that Bryant was a good person who was "trying to improve the quality of lives for people in Camden . . . He went beyond the call of duty."

The judge remained attentive and acknowledged Bryant's work as a legislator.

"Mr. Bryant, you were good at it. That's the shame of it," Wolfson said. "You were excellent."

In addition to the four-year sentence, Wolfson imposed two years of supervision. Bryant, who lost his law license upon conviction, cannot seek public work upon his release.

A look at the case against former State Sen. Wayne Bryant:

February 2006: Bryant steps down from his post at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey without explanation. He later leaves a part-time teaching/mentoring post at Rutgers University-Camden as many adjuncts are eliminated amid budget cuts.

April 17: Records on Bryant are subpoenaed as part of a federal investigation into UMDNJ.

Sept. 18: A federal monitor investigating possible Medicaid fraud at UMDNJ reports that Bryant earned $35,000 in a job for which he was paid essentially to lobby himself for extra university funding.

Sept. 25: Bryant resigns as chair of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Sept. 30: A Rutgers trustee claims that Bryant pressured the university to give him a job.

Jan. 4, 2007: Bryant applies to begin collecting a pension of more than $85,000 per year even as he earns $49,000 per year as a state senator.

Feb. 12: Bryant says he will retire from his law firm, Zeller & Bryant, in March.

Feb. 28: The Governor's Office is subpoenaed as part of the U.S. attorney's widening investigation into how the state budget had been developed since 2004, when Bryant was head of the budget committee.

March 9: Bryant announces he will not seek reelection to the Senate in November.

March 11: A report shows Bryant seldom taught at Rutgers-Camden though he collected $30,000 per year to do so.

March 29: Bryant is named in a 20-count federal indictment along with R. Michael Gallagher, the former dean of UMDNJ's School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Nov. 18, 2008: Bryant is convicted on 12 counts of selling his influence for personal gain. The jury deliberated for 13 hours over three days. Gallagher was convicted on six counts of rigging the hiring process that secured Bryant's job.

July 24, 2009: U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson sentences Bryant to 48 months in prison. Gallagher is sentenced to 18 months.

Staff and wire reportsEndText