Former Passaic, New Jersey Councilman Jonathan Soto has been convicted on bribery and extortion charges stemming from an FBI sting operation that netted 11 public officials in towns across New Jersey.
A federal jury in Trenton returned the verdict Thursday, finding Soto guilty of all 23 counts against him.
Prosecutors say the 33-year-old Soto accepted more than $44,000 in bribes for himself and two other Passaic city officials from representatives of an undercover FBI insurance company. The payments were in exchange for their assistance in securing contracts.
U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson set sentencing for June 5.
Soto faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on the extortion and conspiracy counts. He faces up to 10 years and a similar fine on the bribery counts.
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Hedge Fund Money Is Reshaping a 180-Year-Old Insurance Model 
IBM Agrees to Pay Government $17 Million in DEI Settlement 
Here’s a List of Gulf Energy Infrastructure Damaged in Iran War 
Viewpoint: Why Brokers Have Little to Fear and Everything to Gain From AI 
