– Passaic Mayor Samuel "Sammy" Rivera pleaded guilty today to attempted

extortion, admitting that he accepted a bribe from a government cooperating witness who

was representing an undercover insurance brokerage company in return for his official

assistance in steering public contracts to the undercover company, U.S. Attorney

Christopher J. Christie announced.

Samuel "Sammy" Rivera, 61, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson

to one count of extortion under color of official right. Judge Wolfson continued Rivera’s

release on a $200,000 bond pending his sentencing, which is scheduled for Aug. 15.

Rivera was arrested on Sept. 6, 2007, along with 10 other public officials and one private

citizen. The arrests were part of a public corruption investigation that progressed from

southern to northern New Jersey.

"By his own conduct, Mr. Rivera added himself to the growing roster of corrupt public

officials in New Jersey," said Christie. "The citizens of Passaic deserved better."

At his plea hearing, Rivera admitted that on Aug. 13, 2007, he accepted a $5,000 corrupt

cash payment from a government cooperating witness. Rivera acknowledged that the

payment was in exchange for using his official influence in attempting to designate the

undercover company as the City of Passaic’s insurance broker of record.

Rivera admitted that he agreed to use his official influence to assist the company in

obtaining additional insurance brokerage business with the Passaic Housing Authority,

Passaic Board of Education and the Passaic Valley Water Commission.

Rivera also admitted that on Aug. 29, 2007, he arranged and attended a meeting between

key Passaic officials and members of the undercover company, where he advocated in

favor of the undercover company’s business ventures.

The charge to which Rivera pleaded guilty carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20

years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In determining the actual sentence, Judge Wolfson will consult the advisory U.S.

Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into

account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant’s criminal history, if

any, and other factors, including acceptance of responsibility. The judge has wide

discretion and is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial

terms must serve nearly all of that time.

Christie credited Special Agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in

Charge Weysan Dun. He also credited prosecutors and investigators with the Atlantic

County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Theodore F.L. Housel, for

their assistance in the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Gramiccioni

and David A. Bocian of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in

Newark and Criminal Division in Trenton , respectively.

Defense counsel: Henry E. Klingeman, Esq. Newark