BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The judge in the bribery case against Bloomfield Councilman Elias Chalet agreed Friday, Jan. 20, to give the attorneys until next month to arrange a plea bargain.
In the Newark Superior Court hearing, Judge Martin Cronin made his decision after being told by NJ Assistant Deputy Attorney General Brian Falk that Chalet’s attorney, Peter Till, had given him Chalet’s medical records along with a plea request. Chalet had open-heart surgery April 2016. Till’s plea was rejected, but Falk said he was willing to give him more time for another request.
The hearing was short, only 20 minutes in length, with a sidebar taking just over 10 minutes.
Last month, Cronin had told the attorneys that he expected a decision at this hearing: either decide on a plea or a trial, he told the two parties. The judge began the Jan 20 hearing by asking the attorneys their plans. But instead, Falk told Cronin that he and Till had spoken in the hallway and he believed Till wanted a sidebar. The judge consented and the two attorney’s then approached the bench for a private conversation.
Chalet had been arrested November 2015 for allegedly accepting a $15,000 bribe from a Bloomfield property owner. He had allegedly promised the property owner his support on the council for the purchase of the property. The NJ Office of the Attorney General has said the property owner was wired and Chalet was recorded taking the money. He was indicted January 2016. During a previous hearing, Cronin said records show that Chalet solicited the bribe.
Also last month, Falk told Cronin that the current plea agreement offered to Chalet was seven years in state prison with three years parole ineligibility. Till had then said that the original plea agreement was for five years with two years parole ineligibility. Chalet had refused this offer. Falk also said Chalet would be required to pay the state $15,000. Cronin noted this was the amount Chalet had received from the property owner. The OAG has never publicly said if any of the money Chalet allegedly received was recovered.
Following the sidebar, Cronin said that although the hearing was suppose to be the cutoff date for Chalet’s decision, he understood that by mutual agreement the attorneys wanted a postponement. Falk said that was fine.
“Mr. Till is coming back with a new offer,” he said. “It takes time to run it up the ladder.”
Cronin set Feb. 24 for the new date.
But Till asked Cronin when a trial would be if it came to that.
“I’m trying to get a handle,” Till said.
Falk asked if he wanted to set a trial date, but Till said no. Cronin said a date would be problematic because of his own schedule.
“Ballpark,” Cronin said to indicate an estimate, “it would be in May.”
In the hallway outside the courtroom following the hearing, Till said he did not like the word “plea” and preferred to say “how the case will be managed.”
“Everyone in Bloomfield knows Mr. Chalet went through major open-heart surgery,” he said.
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