Former mayor gets 366 days behind bars
FBI says Zambrano helped take down former Sen. Lynch, others
BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer
After apologizing to the residents of West Long Branch for accepting bribes to feed his gambling addiction, former Mayor Paul Zambrano, 51, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in a federal penitentiary Tuesday.

ERIC SUCAR staff Paul Zambrano, former West Long Branch mayor, was sentenced on Oct. 23 to 12 months and one day in a federal penitentiary.

Zambrano was arrested back in Feb. 22, 2005, during the first round of Operation Bid Rig. He confessed in August 2005 to accepting $15,000 from undercover FBI witness Robert "Duke" Steffer in exchange for his official influence.

"It's not right what I did," Zambrano said on the courthouse steps after the proceeding. "I really feel bad for the people of West Long Branch … My faith got me through this. My gambling addiction is what it is."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark McCarren noted that Zambrano cooperated with the FBI almost immediately upon his 2005 arrest and was instrumental in bringing about former N.J. state Sen. John A. Lynch's 2006 confession to accepting bribes from consulting companies. Zambrano's assistance came about mainly by helping to obtain a search warrant of John "Jack" Westlake's consulting office in Red Bank.

"He told us everything right from the start," McCarren said. "There was no tooth pulling."

According to McCarren, Zambrano was also significant in bringing about guilty pleas from several other Operation Bid Rig members, including former West Long Branch Councilman Joseph DeLisa and Matthew Appolonia, co-owner of International Trucks of Central Jersey. Appolonia was charged in 2006 on seven counts of offering and giving bribes to public officials, among other corrupt behavior, while DeLisa is currently serving time for accepting bribes.

"We really have no defense," Zambrano's attorney, John Fahy, told U.S. District Judge William J. Martini. "Since February 2005, he's done everything the right way."

The judge noted that Zambrano has undergone 80 sessions of an extensive anti-gambling program at Riverview Medical Center.

"He had this monkey on his back," Fahy said, "and that monkey was gambling."

For his efforts to cooperate with the federal government, Zambrano was issued a 5K letter, a legal document that allows a judge to offer a reduced sentence. Martini accepted the 5K letter, saying it was one of the strongest he's ever come across. Also considered in the sentencing were some three dozen character letters, written in support of the former mayor.

"The FBI agents are here not only to see the end of their case but also in support of him," Fahy said of his client. "He's been able to become friends with the FBI people."

In addition to apologizing to the residents of West Long Branch, Zambrano apologized to his wife and children.

He is expecting to surrender to authorities on Dec. 28. Following his 12-month sentence, Zambrano will undergo three years' probation and is required to join Gamblers Anonymous. He was also issued a $2,500 fine.