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September 13, 2012

Trenton, N.J., Mayor Tony F. Mack and his brother, Ralphiel
Trenton, N. J. , Mayor Tony Mack and his
brother, Ralphiel

Trenton Mayor Tony F. Mack Gets Hit by an FBI Truck

by Frederick H. Lowe
FBI agents on Monday arrested Trenton, N.J., Mayor Tony F. Mack, his brother Ralphiel and an associate, Joseph “JoJo” Giorgianni, and charged them in a criminal complaint for  allegedly trying to extort $119,000 from undercover agents posing as developers.

The agents said they wanted to develop a parking garage in New Jersey’s capital, according to a statement issued by Paul J. Fishman, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

The complaint charges that Mack, 46, and his associates negotiated with two individuals who were cooperating with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  

Mack, his brother, and Giorgianni agreed to expedite approvals and sell city-owned property for a fraction of the land’s value in return for cash, charged Fishman, who added that the property was assessed at $217,000. The three allegedly wanted $100,000 for themselves and $100,000 for Trenton’s coffers.

The undercover agents paid the three a total of $54,000. The first payment of $3,000 was made Oct. 27, 2011, and last payment of $10,000 was made June 28, 2012. Prosecutors said a  total of seven payments were made. The largest payment was for $25,000, which was made on June 8, 2012.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office also charged Giorgianni in a separate complaint , along with eight others, including a 70-year-old man, with conspiracy to distribute oxycodone pills, which goes by the street name  “hillbilly heroin.”

Neither Mack nor his brother Ralphiel, 39, are charged with the drug-distribution conspiracy. Ralphiel is employed by the Trenton Board of Education and is Trenton Central High School’s head football coach. Giorgianni owns JoJo’s Steakhouse, a Trenton sandwich shop. At one time, Giorgianni reportedly weighed 500 pounds.

The FBI arrested the Mack bothers and Giorgianni, 63, following a two-year investigation that involved wire taps and consensual conversations. If convicted on the conspiracy charges, the three face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted of the drug charges, Giorgianni faces $20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

All three appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Arpert in Trenton federal court. Judge Arpert released the Mack brothers on $150,000 unsecured bail. The judge did not release Giorgianni.

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