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Former Assemblyman and Perth Amboy Mayor Joe Vas gets 6 years in fed pen for corruption

Former Assemblyman and Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas was sentenced to 6 years in federal prison, while his longtime aide, Melvin Ramos, got a little over three years, for corruptly misusing Vas’ position as mayor to steal affordable housing funds and for committing federal election fraud.

Photo Credit: NJSDBC

Joe Vas (Courtesy: NJSDBC)

“The lengthy prison sentence the defendants will serve is an appropriate punishment for abusing the power of Vas’ office,” said U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, the top-ranking federal official in New Jersey.

Jurors convicted Vas, 56, and Ramos, 55, both of Perth Amboy, of mail fraud following a three-week trial in Newark in which federal prosecutors proved that they illegally steered $360,000 in affordable housing funds to a contractor.

Vas also was convicted of diverting $90,000 in low-income housing funds, lying to FBI agents, and accepting campaign contributions using other people’s names. Jurors also convicted Ramos of making those contributions and of lying to the Federal Election Commission.

In addition to the prison terms, U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton sentenced Vas and Ramos to three years of supervised release and ordered them to pay $90,000 in restitution to Perth Amboy. Vas was also ordered to pay a $73,200 fine.

Federal agents uncovered a scheme in which Vas bought a 12-unit Perth Amboy apartment building for $660,000 — roughly two-thirds of its appraised value — and then flipped it to a contractor for $950,000.

As an inducement to buy the property, the government said, Vas and Ramos assured the contractor that a significant amount of affordable housing funding would be available to offset the cost of renovating the building.

After selling the property, Vas directed city employees to submit a resolution to the Perth Amboy City Council to authorize $360,000 in funds to rehabilitate the site.

Vas sat there — not disclosing his involvement — as City Council members approved the move on June 14, 2006.

Jurors also believed that Vas misused his authority to direct city employees to make a $90,000 advance payment, even though state officials hadn’t approved the project yet.

Vas and Ramos also “concealed material aspects of the arrangement and used mail and a courier service in furtherance of the scheme,” federal prosecutors said.

In a subsequent interview with FBI agents, Vas reportedly denied everything.

In the end, federal prosecutors said, Vas used $75,000 of his $290,000 profit from the building sale to fund his 2006 congressional primary campaign for the Democratic nomination in New Jersey’s 13th District.

Ramos, who was Vas’ campaign treasurer, gave four straw donors from $2,000 and $2,100 each in cash to contribute to the campaign through checks, the government said. He then filed bogus reports with the FEC.

Fishman credited FBI special agents with making the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian R. Howe (the deputy chief of Fishman’s Special Prosecutions Division) and Jenny R. Kramer (the acting deputy chief of his Office’s General Crimes Unit).

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