Trenton Mayor Tony Mack, Mack's brother and Joseph 'JoJo' Giorgianni are indicted

Tony Mack has previously declined to discuss the case in public but has proclaimed his innocence in past remarks.

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TRENTON — Bribery, extortion, mail fraud.

The waiting game ended for Tony Mack yesterday as the Trenton mayor was indicted on six federal criminal counts after a nearly two-year investigation in which the FBI found he co-engineered “a stream of concealed bribes and kickbacks” using the powers of his office, according to the indictment.

The full, eight-count indictment handed up yesterday also charges Mack’s brother Ralphiel Mack and campaign donor Joseph “JoJo” Giorgianni with acting as “buffers” for the mayor in a scheme to defraud taxpayers by helping developers sidestep the law in the construction of a parking garage.

Giorgianni also is charged with extortion for securing a city contract for an auto-detailing business, which then kicked back $1,300 to him, the indictment claims.

“In exchange for these corrupt cash payments and other things of value, defendant Tony F. Mack agreed to, and did, exercise official authority and influence … in acquiring and developing the East State Street lot” where the parking garage would have been built, the indictment reads. The garage project was actually fictitious and part of an FBI sting.

Tony Mack has previously declined to discuss the case in public but has proclaimed his innocence in past remarks. Ralphiel Mack has also claimed innocence. Giorgianni’s lawyer has dismissed the charges against his client as a “story” that will require the burden of proof.

The Macks and Giorgianni were arrested on Sept. 10 after a wide-ranging investigation in which the FBI ran the parking garage sting using informants, cooperating conspirators, wiretaps and planted bugs. Federal officials allege the men actually took possession of $54,000 out of $119,000 in bribe money they were promised by men posing as developers.

The indictments bring to an end the FBI investigation that began just weeks after the mayor took office on July 1, 2010, and became public knowledge with search warrants executed at Mack’s home and City Hall in July of this year.

Mack, who is allegedly to have concealed himself behind such aliases as “Honey Fitz,” “the Little Guy” and “Napoleon” during the extortion scam, made no public appearances yesterday and was not seen around City Hall.

He was at home yesterday afternoon, but Ralphiel Mack answered the door to decline comment on behalf of both of them.

The government alleges that Ralphiel Mack and Giorgianni received “corrupt cash payments” on the mayor’s behalf on seven separate occasions.

“As a public official for the city of Trenton, defendant Tony F. Mack owed the city and citizens of Trenton a duty to refrain from receiving bribes and kickbacks in exchange for defendant Tony F. Mack’s official actions and influence,” the indictment reads.

Tony Mack’s lawyer, Mark Davis, said that based on the indictment yesterday, it doesn’t seem as though the government has been able to strengthen its case against Mack since the original charges.

“I think if they had an ace up their sleeve they probably would’ve played it by now,” he said. “This is the best they have.”

Davis said he spoke to Mack after the indictment was filed around 12:30 p.m., and said his client was not surprised by the charges. “We’re going to enter an emphatic not-guilty plea,” Davis said.

Five Star Auto Detailing was paid $4,911 to power wash an outdoor amphitheater at Trenton's Mill Hill Park in April, according to this purchase order obtained by The Times of Trenton through an Open Public Records Act request.

The seven counts against Giorgianni include a new allegation that was not presented in the original complaint. A single count of extortion accuses Giorgianni of accepting a $1,300 kickback after steering a nearly $5,000 power-washing city contract to a Franklin Township company, Five Star Auto Detailing.

Giorgianni and a man identified as former Trenton Water Works employee Charles Hall III were both involved in getting Five Star the job, the government alleges.

“Using his authority as a city of Trenton employee, (Hall) caused this inflated invoice to be approved by shepherding the invoice through the city of Trenton approval process,” the indictment reads. Hall, who allegedly received $500 of Giorgianni’s take and has turned government informant, has not been charged.

Even with the new charge, Giorgianni’s lawyer, Jerome Ballarotto, yesterday dismissed the indictment as mostly old news.

“It’s not a surprise,” he said. “We knew the indictment was coming, it has no more force of law than the complaint. It’s just the story the government wants to tell.

“The test for the grand jury is probable cause, which is defined as a scintilla more than mere suspicion,” he added.

Ralphiel Mack also faces six charges in the indictment, including attempted extortion and agreeing to accept bribes.

Both Mack brothers are free on $150,000 unsecured bail, while Giorgianni — also identified by aliases “The Fat Man” and “Mr. Baker” — remains under house arrest as a condition of his $250,000 bail.

Giorgianni faces additional charges of drug distribution for his role in an alleged prescription pill-dealing ring operating out of JoJo’s Steakhouse on Martin Luther King Boulevard. None of the charges against Tony Mack address any wrongdoing outside the parking garage scheme, despite two years of alleged corruption and cronyism in City Hall, whistleblower lawsuits and repeated allegations of misusing city funds.

Gov. Chris Christie’s office declined comment on Mack’s indictment yesterday afternoon.

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Most of the charges against Mack carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The jury in his trial will likely be drawn from Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney said yesterday.

While the total bribe was expected to be $119,000, FBI agents raided Mack’s house and City Hall in July after the first $54,000 was paid, authorities said. No money was found in Mack’s home, though $2,500 in marked, $100 bills was discovered at Ralphiel Mack’s house.

Ralphiel Mack, who was a school counselor and the head coach of the Trenton Central High School football team at the time of his arrest, remains suspended with pay from his job.

“My client has spent his entire life in Trenton; he’s a pillar of his community,” his attorney, John Hartmann, said. “He’s done nothing wrong here, he did nothing wrong, and he’s looking forward to having his day in court.”

The Speedy Trial Act mandates a maximum of 70 days between indictment and trial in federal cases, but Ballarotto said the corruption case may warrant an exception.

“In this case, because of a wiretap, it will probably be substantially longer than 70 days,” he said.

In the run-up to a trial, the lawyers will have the opportunity to comb through the government’s evidence, which will include the hours of wiretaps. Ballarotto had no firm idea of when a trial would start, but the volume of the tapes means it could take as long as six months, he said.

In the meantime, Mack will stay in power, his attorney said.

“I see people clamoring for Tony Mack to step down,” Davis said. “Why? He’s been indicted, nothing more than being arrested and charged for me.”

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