Daniel M. Van Pelt (born September 4, 1964) is an American

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, who served in the

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from January 8, 2008, until July 31, 2009, when he resigned after being arrested in connection with

Operation Bid Rig Operation Bid Rig was a long-term investigation into political corruption in New Jersey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2002 to 2014 ...

on federal corruption charges for allegedly accepting a $10,000 bribe. He was later convicted and sentenced to 41 months in prison. In the Assembly, he represented the 9th legislative district.

Education and career

Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Van Pelt graduated in 1982 from

Toms River High School East Toms River High School East is a comprehensive four-year public high school, the third high school built in Toms River in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as part of the Toms River Regio ...

. He received a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

from

The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, or ...

with a major in Criminal Justice and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from

Regent University Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University, and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offe ...

in Public Policy and Government. He was the Township Administrator of Lumberton Township, New Jersey, a position that paid him an annual salary of $85,000. The Lumberton Township Committee fired him on July 25, 2009, in the wake of his arrest on federal corruption charges.

Government service

Van Pelt served on the governing body of Ocean Township from 1998 until February 2009, most of those years as the township's mayor. He simultaneously held a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly and as Mayor in 2008. This dual position, often called

double dipping A dual mandate is the practice in which elected officials serve in more than one elected or other public position simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain and ''cumul des mandats'' in France; not to be confused ...

, is allowed under a grandfather clause in the state law enacted by the New Jersey Legislature and signed into law by

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

in September 2007 that prevents dual-office-holding but allows those who had held both positions as of February 1, 2008, to retain both posts. Van Pelt had served on the Assembly's Environment and Solid Waste Committee and the Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee.Assemblyman Van Pelt's legislative web page
, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 22, 2008. Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts removed him from those positions the day of Van Pelt's arrest.Procida, Lee
"Van Pelt met five times with FBI witness"
''

The Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The newspaper designated market runs from Ware ...

'', July 24, 2009. Accessed July 27, 2009.

Operation Bid Rig

Van Pelt was one of 44 individuals arrested on July 23, 2009, as part of

, a joint operation of the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

, and the

United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey is the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey. On December 16, 2021, Philip R. Sellinger was sworn in as U.S. Attorney. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has juris ...

into corruption and money laundering that began with investigations into counterfeit merchandise and international money laundering. Van Pelt was charged with accepting a $10,000 bribe.Bloomberg.com

Bloomberg L.P. Bloomberg L.P. is a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan, Charles Zegar, and a 1 ...

Accessed July 23, 2009. Van Pelt resigned from the Assembly on July 31, more than a week after his arrest. He maintained his innocence, but said that his "current situation would only serve as a distraction, and I would do a disservice to those who elected me to do a job." Van Pelt also withdrew from his re-election bid. On August 12, Republican county committee members selected Long Beach Township Commissioner DiAnne C. Gove to fill the remainder of Van Pelt's term and to take his spot on the ballot. Van Pelt was convicted on May 19, 2010, of accepting a $10,000 bribe to provide environmental permits for an Ocean Township development project. On November 19, 2020, he was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison. He was released in December 2013.

References

External links

*''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
20082007

Van Pelt criminal complaint

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

, July 23, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Pelt, Daniel 1964 births Living people Politicians convicted of extortion under color of official right Politicians convicted of program bribery Politicians from Ocean County, New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Mayors of places in New Jersey New Jersey city council members Politicians from Elizabeth, New Jersey People from Ocean Township, Ocean County, New Jersey Regent University alumni The College of New Jersey alumni Toms River High School East alumni Operation Bid Rig New Jersey politicians convicted of corruption New Jersey politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century American politicians