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: Developer and political operative indicted in corruption probe 

: By JEFFREY GOLD 
: The Associated Press 
: 10/15/2003, 11:30 a.m. ET 

: NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A developer paid the ranking Hudson County politician and his operative nearly $140,000 in return for securing federal and state grants and loans for projects, federal authorities charged.

: A 16-count indictment was unsealed Wednesday with the surrender of Joseph Barry, president of Hoboken-based Applied Development Co., and Paul J. Byrne, an associate of the former top elected official in Hudson County, Robert C. Janiszewski.

: The bribery scheme provided $8.8 million in loans and grants for Barry and his company, according to the federal indictment, which was handed up Tuesday.

: The charges stem from video and audio recordings that Janiszewski made with Barry, Byrne and others as he assisted the government's continuing probe of Hudson County corruption, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

: Barry, 63, of Peapack-Gladstone, and Byrne, 57, of Jersey City, were to be formally told of the charges at a hearing late Wednesday morning.

: The charges against Barry include bribery, conspiracy and fraud, which each carry up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Byrne faces fraud and fraud charges, as well attempted extortion for an official, which carries up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

: Some of the schemes were outlined during testimony this spring from Janiszewski, the former Hudson County executive.

: Janiszewski, a prosecution witness in the corruption trial of six-term Hudson County Freeholder Nidia Davila Colon, said that he and Byrne agreed to accept kickbacks from Barry, whose Hoboken firm built and operates thousands of apartments there and in Jersey City.

: In return, they helped Barry win federal subsidies and county approval for his developments, Janiszewski said.

: In a statement issued by his lawyer's office, Barry said, "The facts in this case will prove my innocence."

: "For the past 35 years I have worked hard and honestly in the revitalization of Hoboken and other New Jersey urban communities. The redevelopment has benefited the families who had lived in the declining neighborhoods for generations and those who moved to the neighborhoods after revitalization," he said.

: His attorney, Joseph A. Hayden Jr., said the defense would attack the legality of using Janiszewski as an informant for more than two years "when he should have been removed immediately — in order to further a federal fishing expedition."

: "The truth is Robert Janiszewski is a convicted extortionist who, according to court testimony, habitually violated the public trust for years," Hayden said in a statement.

: Byrne has denied accepting payoffs.

: U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said the indictment "rounds out the picture of the depth of corruption in Hudson County and the atmosphere that made it business as usual."

: "This is damning evidence of a corrupt bribery scheme spanning years, in which Barry was able to grease the skids to help finance his considerable development of the Hudson County waterfront," Christie said. "It's galling that Mr. Barry, someone of considerable financial means, received public money through bribery, while other non-corrupted entrepreneurs could have gotten it legitimately."

: Colon was convicted of passing more than $10,000 in bribes to Janiszewski to help her boyfriend get county contracts. She resigned and awaits sentencing.

: Janiszewski, a longtime Democratic power broker, pleaded guilty in October 2002 to taking more than $100,000 in bribes and also awaits sentencing.

: Several other politicians and businessmen in Hudson County have also been charged, including for Hoboken Mayor Anthony J. Russo.


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