Cape May County Man Sentenced in CRDA Bribery Scheme

A Cape May County man has been sentenced to five years in state prison for paying a bribe to an official of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) in an attempt to get a higher purchase price from the agency for his property in Atlantic City, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said on Friday. The official immediately reported the crime.

Anthony J. Christaldi, 70, of Cape May Court House, was previously found guilty of second-degree bribery by a jury following a four-day trial. He was convicted of paying $10,000 as a bribe to an official who handles real estate purchases for the CRDA’s voluntary land bank program.

“This sentence sends a strong message that any corrupt attempt to buy or sell official action in New Jersey will be met with harsh punishment,” Hoffman said. “In this case, Christaldi got a response of ‘no sale’ and a lengthy prison sentence. I commend our trial team and detectives for this result, as well as the CRDA official who reported this.”

“Christaldi believed in a culture of corruption in public agencies, so he cynically thought his bribe would be eagerly accepted,” Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice said. “Fortunately, the honest CRDA official he approached had a different view, and so do we. We’re working to enforce a culture of integrity in government by aggressively prosecuting cases such as this one.”

Christaldi contacted the CRDA in January of 2014 about his desire to sell a property at 204 Atlantic Avenue to the agency for its redevelopment program. He submitted paperwork proposing a $157,500 purchase price, which was rejected by the official involved in the case.

Christaldi, who spoke to the official by phone, told her he would reduce the price to $75,000 and would submit new paperwork seeking an expedited sale.

Christaldi subsequently delivered an envelope to the official containing the required paperwork, along with $1,000 in cash. He also included a note indicating that if a sales price of $105,000 were approved for the lot, representing $30 per square foot, he would pay her an additional $9,000 in cash, or if a price of $40 per square foot were approved, he would pay her $15,000.

The official immediately alerted the legal department of the CRDA, which alerted the Division of Criminal Justice. In a subsequent undercover investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice, Christaldi allegedly delivered $9,000 on Jan. 16 to a man who he believed was the brother of the CRDA official, but who in fact was an undercover detective. Detectives stopped Christaldi’s car and arrested him after he left the convenience store where he delivered the cash.

The attached image of Anthony Christaldi was provided by the Attorney General’s Office