Court affirms sentence for former Bergen Democratic chairman in bribery case

A federal appellate court rejected an appeal by the former Bergen County Democratic Organization chairman on Friday of his 35-month prison sentence for bribery, fraud and racketeering charges, authorities announced.

Joseph A. Ferriero, 60, was convicted for accepting bribes while Democratic chairman to get five municipalities to hire a Nutley software company, C3, that had developed an emergency notification system, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Ferriero argued that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of bribery and fraud but the court disagreed and upheld his prison sentence, the Attorney’s Office said. His attorneys argued that prosecutors applied several statutes too broadly, including New Jersey's state law against bribery.

The former county Democratic chairman served in the role from 1998 until January 2009.

Read more: http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/crime/2017/08/04/court-affirms-sentence-former-bergen-democratic-chairman-bribery-case/541496001/