Samuel Rivera (1946 – May 1, 2020) was an American politician, the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

mayor of the U.S. city of

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,78 ...

, from 2001 until 2008. Rivera came to national attention on September 6, 2007, when he was indicted and arrested on charges of accepting bribes in exchange for agreeing to direct municipal contracts to an insurance broker acting as a cooperating witness. Rivera pleaded guilty to

attempt An attempt to commit a crime occurs if a criminal has an intent to commit a crime and takes a substantial step toward completing the crime, but for reasons not intended by the criminal, the final resulting crime does not occur.''Criminal Law - ...

ed extortion, stepped down as mayor, and was sentenced to 21 months in prison.Former Passaic mayor sentenced to 21 months
/ref> He was succeeded in office by

Gary Schaer Gary Steven Schaer (born September 11, 1951) is an American Democratic Party politician who serves in the New Jersey General Assembly where he represents the 36th Legislative District. He took office on January 10, 2006, and remains on the Pas ...

Early life

Rivera began his career by joining the Passaic Police Department in 1968. In 1970, Rivera was brought up on

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

charges. He avoided trial by resigning and returning to Puerto Rico, where he became a police officer as well with the Puerto Rico Police Department. There, his law enforcement career ended when he was convicted of a felony and sentenced to either two or three years probation for offenses including admittedly slashing himself to simulate having been attacked in order to protect his partner, who killed a narcotics suspect. Rivera returned to Passaic in 1981 and became a private investigator.

Political career

Rivera ran for Passaic City Council in 1993 and 1995, losing both times. Later in 1995 he won a special election to the Council by 11 votes. He then ran a losing campaign for mayor in 1997, and then again in 2001, winning the race. New Jersey Governor

Donald DiFrancesco Donald Thomas DiFrancesco (born November 20, 1944) is a retired American politician who served as the 51st governor of New Jersey from 2001 to 2002. He succeeded Christine Todd Whitman after her resignation to become Administrator of the Enviro ...

attempted to prevent Rivera from taking office due to his status as a Puerto Rican felon, but Superior Court judge Robert Passero allowed Rivera to be sworn in, finding that the state had failed to prove that Rivera's crime was a crime of "

moral turpitude Moral turpitude is a legal concept in the United States and prior to 1976, Canada, that refers to "an act or behavior that gravely violates the sentiment or accepted standard of the community". This term appears in U.S. immigration law beginning ...

". Rivera was a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition and, when he served as mayor, was a member of Hillary Clinton's Mayors Council and National Hispanic Leadership Council. During the course of his tenure as mayor, Rivera had the City Council nearly triple his salary from $40,000 to $117,000.

Indictment and felony conviction

On September 6, 2007, the FBI arrested 11 public officials and one civilian after a year-and-a-half long corruption investigation yielded

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

indictments, against Rivera and other elected officials, including

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

members

Mims Hackett Mims Hackett (born September 28, 1941) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002 to 2007, where he represented the 27th Legislative District, which covers the western portion of Essex Co ...

and

Alfred E. Steele Alfred E. Steele (born January 22, 1954) is an American Baptist clergyman and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly starting in 1996, where he represented the New Jersey's 35 ...

. Rivera was indicted for demanding and accepting money from John D'Angelo, an insurance broker acting as a cooperating witness for the FBI. D'Angelo pretended to be trying to get insurance coverage contracts from the City of Passaic. The indictment alleges that Rivera accepted a $5,000 bribe to steer insurance business with the City of Passaic and with the Passaic Valley Water Commission, bragging that "I can get four votes easy, easy, easy," to a witness about his ability to obtain approval from the Passaic City Council. After appearing in front of a magistrate in Trenton and posting bail, Rivera resumed his duties the following day, Friday, September 7. State law permits elected officials to retain their offices even after they are convicted and sentenced; they can only be removed if they are formally

impeached Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

. Rivera had stated that he did not intend to resign. Nevertheless, he pleaded guilty to attempted extortion and resigned on May 9, 2008. In 2008, Rivera was sentenced to 21 months in prison. After serving 16 months at a Federal prison in Ohio, Rivera was transferred to a halfway house in New York, to serve the remainder of his 21-month felony sentence.

Personal

Rivera was born on a tobacco farm into a family of 14 children, where he lived until he moved to Passaic in 1963. Shortly thereafter, at age 17, he dropped out of 11th grade and married for the first time. Rivera suffered five

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

s and married four times. He died at the age of 73 on May 1, 2020.

Sources

The criminal complaint against Rivera
United States Department of Justice, September 5, 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Samuel 1946 births 2020 deaths American politicians of Puerto Rican descent People from Cayey, Puerto Rico Politicians convicted of extortion under color of official right 21st-century American criminals American prisoners and detainees Puerto Rican people in New Jersey politics Hispanic and Latino American mayors in New Jersey Hispanic and Latino American politicians Mayors of Passaic, New Jersey New Jersey city council members New Jersey politicians convicted of crimes Puerto Rican law enforcement personnel Puerto Rican police officers New Jersey Democrats