Parsippany Mayor 'Disappointed' By Prospective Candidate's Arrest

PARSIPPANY, NJ - Republican political operative and prospective Parsippany mayoral candidate John Cesaro was arrested in a sweeping corruption bust on Thursday and current Parsippany Mayor Michael Soriano shared his thoughts on his possible political rival in a statement.

"I’m disappointed in today’s news regarding former Parsippany Councilman, Township Prosecutor, Morris County Freeholder, and Parsippany Republican Committee Vice Chair John Cesaro’s indictment on bribery charges," Soriano said. "These alleged bribes were solicited in preparation for his 2021 Parsippany Mayoral campaign. Uncovering that this behavior occurred within our township makes this a sad day for his family and for Parsippany residents."

Cesaro is one of five defendants were charged with taking thousands of dollars in bribes from the cooperating witness in the form of campaign contributions, all part of a "major investigation" into political corruption conducted by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, according to a release from the Office of Attorney General.

The defendants allegedly promised the cooperating witness, who is a tax attorney, that they would vote or use their official authority or influence to hire or continue to hire his law firm for lucrative government legal work, according to the release.

The cooperating witness offered checks from illegal "straw donors" – individuals reimbursed to write checks to the defendant's campaign in amounts that complied with the legal limit on individual donations, according to the release.

Cesaro, who was a sitting county freeholder at the time of the alleged criminal conduct, solicited contributions from the cooperating witness for his 2021 campaign for mayor of Parsippany-Troy Hills, the release said.

Cesaro allegedly accepted bribes from the cooperating witness, in return for which he promised to secure more tax work from Morris County for the cooperating witness and make him tax counsel for Parsippany-Troy Hills if elected, the release said.

Cesaro allegedly accepted an envelope containing $10,000 in cash and $2,350 in checks from the cooperating witness, but later returned the cash, asking the cooperating witness to replace it with checks, the release said.

The two allegedly discussed using "straw donors." Under New Jersey election law, it is illegal for a person to provide money to another person, known as a "straw donor," to make a political contribution to a specific candidate.

At a later fundraiser, Cesaro accepted two checks for $2,600 each – the individual limit for contributions per election per candidate – which the cooperating witness described as "my straws," along with another check for $150 the release said.

During a conversation about the contributions before they were delivered, the cooperating witness and Cesaro allegedly had the following exchange:

CW: Johnny, listen, all I want to do is the tax work. That's all I'm looking to do.
Cesaro: I become mayor, I got your back.

The alleged criminal conduct occurred between April and May 2018.

Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. The second-degree charges against those who held public office at the time of the alleged conduct – Cesaro being one – carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison without eligibility for parole under New Jersey's enhanced penalties for official corruption.

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