Ex-Newark mayor appeals guilt for steering land deals to mistress; feds seek more prison time

Ex-NJ mayor appeals guilt in mistress’s land deals

PHILADELPHIA — Prosecutors want to send the longtime mayor of Newark, N.J., back to prison to serve more time for steering sweetheart land deals to a mistress.

But a lawyer for 74-year-old Sharpe James asked a U.S. appeals court to reverse his conviction.

James is in a halfway house finishing up a 27-month sentence after leaving prison this month. A jury convicted him of helping mistress Tamika Riley get the redevelopment deals.

Prosecutors say Riley flipped the $46,000 land for $665,000. They say a federal judge ignored those profits in calculating James’ sentence. They had sought a 20-year term.

An appeals court hearing arguments Tuesday in Philadelphia asked if either side really wants to revisit the case.

James served as Newark’s mayor from 1986 to 2006.