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West Ward Councilman Joseph A. McCallum Jr., 66, schemed to receive under-the-table bribes and kickbacks from consultant Malik Frederick, an FBI complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says.
The kickbacks were "funded by developers, contracting companies, and other businesses seeking contracts and approvals principally related to development, construction, and real estate projects and deals in Newark,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Frederick solicited the developers to hire his company for “access” to McCallum as the city leader “behind the particular project or deal of interest to them,” Sellinger said on Tuesday, March 15.
Frederick then kicked up a percentage of the “access” payments to the Democrat councilman, the U.S. attorney said.
McCullum, who was also on the Board of Directors of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC), not only used his juice to help those who ponied up, federal authorities said.
He also kept those who refused or hesitated to pay from getting contracts from the city or the NCEDC -- now known as Invest Newark! -- they said.
McCallum and Frederick “used interstate emails and phone calls to further this scheme and took significant steps to conceal these bribes and kickbacks,” Sellinger said.That brought the feds in.
A pair of unindicted co-conspirators, one of whom was believed to be Frederick, helped them make their case.
Among the bribes and kickbacks sought and/or received by McCallum through Frederick, Sellinger said, were:
- a $16,000 bribe that came from a contracting company;
- a $25,000 bribe and kickback that came from a developer’s company;
- $500 in cash to cover travel expenses for an out-of-country trip came from a second developer, along with “an attempt to receive part of a $50,000 payment."
McCallum took a deal from the government rather than face trial. He pleaded guilty on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Newark to wire fraud and subscribing to a false personal tax return for calendar year 2018.
U.S. District Judge William J. Martini scheduled sentencing for July 21.
Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General with the investigation leading to the guilty plea by Frederick and charges against McCallum.
Both were handled for the government by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jihee G. Suh and Elaine K. Lou of his Special Prosecutions Division.
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