Jury gets case of a N.J. boss

NEWARK, N.J. - The defense yesterday rested its case in the federal corruption trial of Joseph Ferriero, leaving it up to a jury to decide whether the North Jersey political boss illegally withheld information about his and a partner's involvement in a consulting business.

As the government wrapped up its cross-examination of Ferriero, the former Bergen County Democratic Organization head reiterated that he was not obligated to disclose his co-ownership of Government Grants Consulting, even though he used his political influence to solicit business for the company in towns in the county.

"In four years, you never told anyone that you owned the company, and that was intentional?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig asked.

"Yes, that's correct," Ferriero said.

While Ferriero was not employed by any of the towns he approached on behalf of GGC - and therefore was not legally required to disclose his ownership of the company, the defense has stressed - the prosecution appeared to be attempting to impugn his credibility by focusing on that point during cross-examination.

How that plays with the jury may be affected by U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler's instruction to the panel on Monday, said Alan Zegas, a New Jersey defense attorney whose clients have included former Mayors Sharpe James of Newark and Joseph Vas of Perth Amboy.

"At the end of the day, the judge will instruct the jury, and I would expect he would tell them that a private citizen does not have an obligation to disclose a conflict as either an elected official or a paid official of a municipality would," Zegas said.

Ferriero faces conspiracy and mail fraud counts from his involvement with GGC, a business he started in late 2001 with lawyer Dennis Oury, who worked for Ferriero in the county Democratic organization and also was borough attorney for Bergenfield.

GGC earned about $135,000 from Bergenfield for helping the town secure more than $1 million in grants to buy a historic part of its downtown for preservation. Oury was Bergenfield's attorney at the time the town decided to use GGC but did not disclose his role with the company.

Oury pleaded guilty on Sept. 29 to mail fraud conspiracy and failing to file a 2006 tax return, and testified for the prosecution against Ferriero.