Former Jersey City Board of Education President Sudhan Thomas has pleaded guilty to taking bribes and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office is recommending a five-year prison sentence, authorities said.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“This defendant placed personal profit ahead of fulfilling his duties and doing what was best for the people who elected him,” Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a statement.
“This case shows that my office takes fighting public corruption seriously. We will continue to prioritize reassuring taxpayers that their elected representatives are serving the public good, not using public resources for their own benefit.”
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in official and political matters, a third-degree crime. The plea was entered earlier today during a hearing before Somerset County Superior Court Judge Peter J. Tober.
Under a plea agreement with Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), the State will recommend that the defendant be sentenced to a five-year New Jersey state prison term, while Thomas is permitted to seek a lesser sentence.
As part of the plea agreement, Thomas has agreed to forfeit $10,000 in funds illegally received as a result of the crime, and to pay a $30,000 public corruption profiteering penalty.
He will also forfeit all public employment and be subject to permanent disqualification from public office or employment. Additionally, the defendant will be debarred from doing business with the State or any of its subdivisions for five years.
“As today’s guilty plea reflects, anyone who uses their public office to illegally line their own pockets will be held accountable,” added OPIA Executive Director Drew Skinner.
During the plea, Thomas acknowledged that he took thousands of dollars in cash bribes from a tax attorney.
Thomas pleaded guilty to accepting $35,000 in cash from cooperating witness Matt O’Donnell in two payments between June 2019 and July 2019, agreeing to use his official position on the Jersey City Board of Education and city council, if successful, to provide public contracts or work to the tax attorney’s law firm.
Thomas was stopped immediately after accepting the second $25,000 payment, which was recovered by law enforcement. His sentencing is scheduled for October 17th.
Thomas was charged along with several other defendants who allegedly likewise received separate bribe payments from O’Donnell, who was cooperating with the State.
They included former Morris County Freeholder John Cesaro, former State Assemblyman and former Bayonne mayoral candidate Jason O’Donnell, former candidate for Morris County freeholder Mary Dougherty, and John S. Windish, a former member of the Mount Arlington Borough Council.
Also a former acting executive director of the now defunct Jersey City Employment and Training Program, Thomas served a two-month prison sentence last year for embezzling more than $45,000 from the agency, as HCV first reported.
Ward E Councilman James Solomon, a mayoral candidate, said Thomas’ antics are a prime example of the “corruption tax” he’s spoken about during his campaign.
“When we talk about the corruption tax that people in Jersey City pay, this is exactly what we mean. The entire political machine backed Thomas, and I was one of the only leaders willing to stand up to his corruption,” he said in a statement.
“This is yet another sad example of why we need to turn the page on the political machines that have held Jersey City back. Sudhan Thomas pleading guilty is yet another reminder that Jersey City needs top to bottom change … The corrupt political machine only wants to take care of the corrupt political machine as rent and property taxes soar. As Mayor, the people can trust that I will always and only be on their side.”