Former mayor of Perth Amboy was convicted in October on counts of mail fraud, illegal campaign contributions, misappropriating city funds
Joseph Vas, center, enters the Federal Courthouse in Newark this morning. Vas was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison.PERTH AMBOY — Joseph Vas, the once-powerful state assemblyman and Perth Amboy mayor, was sentenced today to serve six-and-a-half years in federal prison for corruption charges.
U.S. District Court Judge Susan D. Wigenton also ordered Vas to pay $90,000 in restitution for city redevelopment funds allocated for an apartment building that Vas bought and quick sold for a $290,000 profit.
Vas' attorney Alan Zegas said under federal regulations the former four-term mayor could be released from prison after serving slightly more than five years, with time off for good behavior.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Howe had requested a longer sentence of up to 108 months.
Zegas, however, said he will appeal the conviction and the sentence, arguing there was no loss the city.
Zegas said the developer who bought the building from Vas and received the redevelopment money had made more than $90,000 in improvements to the building.
Vas' longtime aide Melvin Ramos was also convicted in the corruption scheme and sentenced today to 37 months in prison. His attorney said he could be released after 30 months.
Vas was convicted in October on five of nine counts relating to his quest for funds for his 2006 congressional campaign.
A jury found that while he was mayor, Vas bought a 12-unit apartment in Perth Amboy for $660,000, then quickly flipped it for $950,000, closing the deal with a promise to give the buyer $360,000 in city redevelopment funds. Only $90,000 was actually allocated.
Vas illegally funneled $80,000 from the sale to his unsuccessful congressional campaign, jurors found.
Vas was convicted of two counts of mail fraud in the real estate deal. He was also convicted of single counts of accepting illegal campaign contributions, lying to FBI agents and misappropriating city funds.
The fraud charges, which carried maximum 20-year sentences for each count, involve his mailing documents from the building purchase and sale.
Following his federal court conviction, Vas in November pleaded guilty in Superior Court in Freehold to state corruption charges of money laundering to receive illegal campaign donations.
Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend Vas receive an eight-year prison term to run concurrent with the federal sentence. He will have to serve five years before he is eligible for parole. Prosecutors waited until the federal sentencing was complete to seek the state sentence.
Vas admitted conspiring with former city employee Anthony Jones to rig a lottery that gave Jones the chance to purchase a house built with federal funds. Vas also admitted he received $25,000 in landscaping for his home from a construction company doing business with Perth Amboy.