Robert Charles Janiszewski (born September 18, 1945) is an American former Democratic Party politician who served as

County Executive A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...

of Hudson County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

from 1988 to 2001. In 2002 he pleaded guilty to taking more than $100,000 in bribes, and in 2005 was sentenced to 41 months in prison, despite cooperating with federal investigators. He was the highest-ranking elected official in state history ever to work undercover for the FBI.

Early life

Janiszewski was born in 1945 in

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, of paternal Polish heritage. He attended St. Joseph's School in Jersey City and St. Michael's High School in Union City. He went on to attend Jersey City State College (now New Jersey City University), receiving a B.A. degree in 1967 and an M.A. degree in sociology in 1975. He taught social sciences at Westwood High School and

Hudson County Community College Hudson County Community College (HCCC) is a public community college in Hudson County, New Jersey. Locations The school's main campus is located in Jersey City, with several institutions tapered throughout Journal Square and nearby Bergen Squa ...

Political career

In 1977, Janiszewski was elected to the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

, serving from 1978 to 1984. In 1987 he was elected

of Hudson County, after winning the Democratic primary against incumbent Edward J. Clark Jr., who had served in the position for 12 years. He was later appointed a commissioner of the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...

and chairman of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority. He entered the race for the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1997 but withdrew before the election.

Indictment and conviction

Beginning in 1999, as Janiszewski later testified, he accepted more than $20,000 from Union City psychiatrist Oscar Sandoval in exchange for renewing contracts to provide psychiatric services to the Hudson County jail, juvenile detention facility, and psychiatric hospital. Sandoval funneled some of the payments to Janiszewski through Hudson County Freeholder Nidia Dávila-Colón, who was romantically involved with Sandoval. Cooperating with the FBI, Sandoval arranged a meeting with Janiszewski in November 2000 to deliver another payment at an

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

hotel room. After the meeting, FBI agents confronted Janiszewski with a videotape of him receiving a bribe from Dávila-Colón in 1999 and asked him to cooperate with their corruption investigations. Janiszewski was allowed to remain in office for nearly a year, secretly recording conversations with his associates as part of the FBI's undercover operation in Hudson County. He resigned abruptly on September 6, 2001 and disappeared from public life. It was later revealed that he was moved out of the state of New Jersey under FBI protection. In February 2002, a reporter from ''

The Jersey Journal ''The Jersey Journal'' is a daily newspaper, published from Monday through Saturday, covering news and events throughout Hudson County, New Jersey. ''The Journal'' is a sister paper to ''The Star-Ledger'' of Newark, ''The Times'' of Trenton an ...

'' located Janiszewski working at a ski shop near Hunter Mountain in the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where he and his wife had a second home. The FBI moved Janiszewski again soon thereafter. On October 3, 2002, Janiszewski pleaded guilty to taking more than $100,000 in bribes, testifying that he accepted two bribes of $5,000 each from Dávila-Colón in 1999. Dávila-Colón was indicted later that month, and her trial was held in May and June 2003, with Janiszewski as a key witness. She was convicted on five counts of extortion and mail fraud. On March 24, 2005, U.S. District Court Judge Joel A. Pisano sentenced Janiszewski to 41 months in prison, the maximum sentence allowed under his plea agreement, despite his cooperation with investigators. Before sentencing he had been living in hiding, most recently working as a construction worker in New York. Janiszewski was released on April 25, 2008 after serving the last four months of his sentence at a halfway house in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...

References

External links

Biographical information for Robert C. Janiszewski
from

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Janiszewski, Robert C. 1945 births Living people Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey New Jersey City University alumni Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Hudson County, New Jersey executives American politicians of Polish descent Politicians convicted of extortion under color of official right New Jersey politicians convicted of corruption New Jersey politicians convicted of crimes