DeLisa sentenced to prison term, $5K fine
Former councilman pleaded guilty to taking cash bribe
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

WEST LONG BRANCH - Former Borough Councilman Joseph DeLisa was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison last week for accepting a cash bribe in 2003.

U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martini also ordered DeLisa, 50, to pay a $5,000 fine and to serve three years on supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Martini also continued DeLisa's $50,000 unsecured appearance bond pending his surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on a date to be determined.

DeLisa pleaded guilty before Martini Nov. 15 to one count of extortion under color of official right.

At his plea hearing, DeLisa, a borough councilman from January 1998 through February 2005, admitted that on Nov. 19, 2003, he met a man he believed to be a demolition contractor in an Atlantic City hotel room and accepted $1,500 in cash from him, according to the release.

The release stated that DeLisa believed the demolition contractor to be a corrupt contractor seeking business with the borough.

DeLisa admitted that former West Long Branch Mayor Paul Zambrano introduced him to the contractor, who was actually an FBI cooperating witness, in October 2003.

DeLisa admitted that he and Zambrano agreed that DeLisa would assist the contractor in obtaining demolition and other public contracts from the borough.

Zambrano pleaded guilty to the same charge on Aug. 24, 2005, and admitted that he accepted cash payments totaling $15,000 from a confidential FBI informant.

Zambrano's sentencing remains unscheduled.

The guilty pleas arose from Operation Bid Rig, the investigation that led to charges filed against 13 officials and two contractors in February, March and April 2005, including the mayors of Hazlet and Keyport, as well as councilmen from Asbury Park, Far Hills, Keyport, Neptune Township, Middletown and West Long Branch.