by Ken Walker
New York Times: Former Mayor Guilty of Fraud in Newark Sales
April 17, 2008 in Uncategorized by Ken Walker
??New York Times??: “Former Mayor Guilty of Fraud in Newark Sales”:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/nyregion/17james.html
From City Hall to the city streets, the conviction of Mr. James disappointed some, vindicated others, and left some observers hopeful that it could end this city’s reputation as a trough for opportunistic public officials.
It is a reputation that has been well-earned. Mr. James’s predecessor, Kenneth A. Gibson, who was mayor from 1970 to 1986, pleaded guilty to tax fraud in 2002 but did not go to prison. Hugh J. Addonizio, who was mayor from 1962 to 1970, served five years in federal prison after being convicted in a scheme to take $1.4 million in kickbacks from city contractors.
As for Mr. James, David Bositis, a senior policy analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which studies public policy issues of concern to black Americans, said: “His time had clearly passed, in terms of Newark. The torch is gradually being passed, the old style of black leadership is increasingly being replaced by a younger generation.”
