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Brick City Backhander: Feds Charge Newark Councilman With Taking Payoffs For Influence
Federal agents caught a sitting Newark City Council member pocketing payoffs in exchange for influence, authorities said Tuesday.
West Ward Councilman Joseph A. McCallum Jr., 65, was charged with soliciting and collecting bribes and kickbacks at the same time that a consultant from the city, 60-year-old Malik Frederick, was pleading guilty to his role in the scheme, they said.
McCallum “schemed to receive concealed bribes and kickbacks from Frederick, funded by developers, contracting companies, and other businesses seeking contracts and approvals principally related to development, constru…