NEWARK, N.J. Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James pleaded not guilty today to federal corruption charges stemming from his 20 years in city hall.
James, 71, faces multiple fraud counts accusing him of using city-issued credit cards to pay for $58,000 worth of personal trips and expenses. He’s also accused of engineering the sale of city-owned properties at a cut rate to Tamika Riley, described by prosecutors as his companion on many of his trips.
Riley, 38, was indicted along with James and also pleaded not guilty Monday. She is charged with fraud, stemming from what authorities say was a scheme to profit from the resale of the land, and with tax evasion.
Neither answered questions from reporters before or after the 30-minute hearing, where federal prosecutors said their evidence included 40 boxes of documents and the hard drives from four computers, including Riley’s.
Prosecutors said they expected a 12-week trial with 60 witnesses.
U.S. District Judge William J. Martini set Feb. 4 as trial date, but defense attorneys said they wanted more time to prepare.
James could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the most serious counts.
James ran the city from 1986 to 2006.
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