Mayor of Trenton arrested in sting

TRENTON, N.J. – Federal agents arrested the mayor of New Jersey’s capital Monday on corruption charges, alleging he agreed to accept bribes in connection with a proposed parking garage – actually a fake project created by authorities trying to snare him.

Trenton Mayor Tony Mack, his brother Ralphiel and convicted sex offender Joseph Giorgianni, a Mack supporter who owns a Trenton sandwich shop, were each accused of conspiring to extort the undercover informants who pulled them into the scheme.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said at a news conference Monday that the city-owned land blocks from City Hall for the garage was assessed at $271,000. He said Mack and Giorgianni agreed to accept $100,000 for the land for the city coffers – as long as the purported developers paid $100,000 to be split between the two alleged conspirators.

A federal magistrate Monday ordered Mack released on an unsecured $150,000 bond but ruled that he cannot leave the state while free on bail. Mack left the courthouse without commenting.

Mack has been accused of hiring unqualified cronies to city positions, made deep cuts in the police department and overseen a chaotic City Hall as officials fled their jobs soon after he took office in 2010.