Wayne Bryant
Prosecutors say State Sen. Wayne Bryant got a no-show job through former UMDNJ Dean R. Michael Gallagher.For the more than 20 years as a New Jersey legislator, state Sen. Wayne Bryant was credited with steering millions of dollars to South Jersey, reinvigorating the City of Camden. On March 29, 2007, Bryant, the former chairman of the powerful Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, was indicted on 13 corruption-related counts. He pleaded not guilty. Bryant was later found guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison for bribery and fraud. The Inquirer takes a look at the controversy and allegations surrounding Bryant in this special topic.
Read the indictment.
On its face, there is nothing too unusual about the March 2002 letter that State Sen. Wayne Bryant signed in support of R. Michael Gallagher’s promotion to dean of the School of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
After his latest court appearance in Trenton yesterday, State Sen. Wayne R. Bryant gave his characteristic blank stare to reporters asking him about the charges of fraud and political corruption facing him.
TRENTON – New Jersey Sen. Wayne Bryant pleaded not guilty to fraud, bribery and pension-padding charges this morning as his odyssey as criminal defendant continues.
The region’s two recently indicted state senators were – and are – rich and powerful men. The personal wealth of Pennsylvania Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, a banker, lawyer and licensed electrician, has been estimated at $20 million, and his stock and options from the bank his grandfather founded are worth an additional $13 million.
4/06/2007 Bryant faces tough reception in hometown
In one of his last acts before he was indicted last week, New Jersey State Sen. Wayne Bryant attended a Borough Council meeting in his hometown of Lawnside and helped steer a $10,000 “incentive” bonus to a woman who holds three borough jobs.
As State Sen. Wayne Bryant made his way from the parking lot to the federal courthouse in Trenton yesterday morning, a swarm of cameramen and reporters descended on him. The reporters asked repeatedly whether he wanted to respond to the public corruption charges lodged against him last week, while he was on vacation in Mexico.
4/04/2007 Few faculty knew of Bryant’s status
TRENTON – Few professors at Rutgers University-Camden knew that State Sen. Wayne Bryant was a part-time instructor there for five years, and most told the FBI they never asked him to teach their classes because they didn’t know he was on the payroll.
TRENTON – State Sen. Wayne Bryant made his initial court appearance on corruption charges today, offering no comment in a case that started with the Camden County Democrat and broadened into a statewide investigation.
3/31/2007 Bryant indictment has emboldened GOP
TRENTON – A day after a leading Democratic lawmaker was indicted on federal corruption charges, Republicans yesterday asked the governor to call a special legislative session to pass anti-corruption bills.
3/31/2007 Charges ‘very ugly’ for Bryant
The corruption case against State Sen. Wayne Bryant (D., Camden) may not have the sex appeal of wiretaps, paramours, opulent spending, or old-fashioned cash bribes.
3/30/2007 N.J. Sen. Bryant charged with corruption
Wayne Bryant’s web of no-show jobs made him rich for today and extremely secure for tomorrow, according to the charges.
After nearly 30 years on the New Jersey political scene, State Sen. Wayne Bryant had climbed his way to the top.
3/30/2007 Mixed emotions over Bryant charges
For decades, Wayne Bryant wielded his most powerful influence in two drastically different South Jersey communities. His indictment yesterday on corruption charges shook the political landscape in both places: Lawnside, his hometown, and nearby Camden, where he built his power base.
3/30/2007 Doctor accused of Bryant ties
R. Michael Gallagher was a world-renowned expert on headaches who had his eye on a leadership job at UMDNJ’s School of Osteopathic Medicine when he became professionally entangled with Sen. Wayne Bryant.
TRENTON – State Sen. Wayne Bryant, until recently one of New Jersey’s most influential lawmakers, was charged today with abusing his power and the public trust.
TRENTON – This is where Wayne Bryant would have been. If not for the scandal, he would have been sitting here, front and center in Committee Room 4 of New Jersey’s Statehouse annex, presiding over state budget hearings.
TRENTON – As federal authorities continue to expand their investigation into Statehouse budget practices, serving subpoenas on three North Jersey legislators this week, the probe that started it all – into State Sen. Wayne Bryant – appears to be coming to an end.
3/24/2007 Council race could test Bryant effect
Eight candidates qualified yesterday for Camden’s May 8 City Council election, which may test whether voters are affected by the corruption investigation of State Sen. Wayne Bryant.
3/17/2007 Rutgers-Camden asks about Bryant
TRENTON – An administrator at Rutgers University’s Camden campus e-mailed all 440 faculty members asking for information about embattled Sen. Wayne Bryant, which the school said it planned to share with the FBI.
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3/13/2007 Editorial | Wayne Bryant
It would be a dreadful oversight to allow state Sen. Wayne Bryant (D., Camden) to retire without a few appropriate remarks.
3/11/2007 Colleagues assess Bryant’s legacy
He was the man who put the poverty of Camden on the public agenda and gained national attention for sponsoring landmark welfare legislation.
3/10/2007 Bryant says he won’t seek reelection
TRENTON – Under a cloud of state and federal criminal probes, State Sen. Wayne Bryant yesterday announced the end of his 25-year legislative career, saying he would not seek reelection this fall.
TRENTON – Dogged by state and federal criminal probes, State Sen. Wayne R. Bryant announced today that he will not seek reelection this fall to the State Senate seat he has held since 1995.
So I guess I don’t have Jim McGreevey to kick around anymore, now that the infamous former governor finally submitted to his public hanging. Given our history, I was a little hurt not to be invited to the portrait-unveiling at the Statehouse last week. I would have happily held the nail.
2/14/2007 Possible successor to Bryant emerges
Camden City Councilwoman Dana Redd, as tight-lipped as ever, strode through yesterday’s snow and whirling speculation that she might succeed embattled State Sen. Wayne Bryant.
TRENTON – State Sen. Wayne Bryant, who has been dogged by state and federal criminal investigations into taxpayer-funded jobs, is retiring from the law firm he helped found more than three decades ago.
1/05/2007 Bryant seeks pension from 4 jobs
State Sen. Wayne Bryant has applied to collect a pension from the four public jobs he held until last year, even though federal and state investigators are probing his work in two of those positions.
10/17/2006 Investigation of Bryant is expanded
TRENTON – Federal investigators have subpoenaed financial records from the state Department of Children and Families and the Office of Legislative Services as part of a growing investigation of State Sen. Wayne Bryant, the former chairman of the powerful Senate budget committee.
Camden Civil Rights Project 