Ex-state N.J. Sen. Bryant guilty of fraud, bribery

Former state Sen. Wayne Bryant, the one-time Senate Budget Committee chairman, was convicted Tuesday of bribery and fraud. He faces more than 24 years in prison. Bryant had been accused of fraudulently

News 12 Staff

Nov 19, 2008, 12:24 AM

Updated 5,803 days ago

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Former state Sen. Wayne Bryant, the one-time Senate Budget Committee chairman, was convicted Tuesday of bribery and fraud.
He faces more than 24 years in prison.
Bryant had been accused of fraudulently tripling his state pension with a no work job at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in exchange for securing funding.
In exchange for Bryant's $35,000 job, the state senator got the school more than $10 million in grants.
The former politician was convicted on all 12 counts of bribery and fraud levied against him. Bryant is the 131st New Jersey official convicted of corruption in the past seven years.
The guilty verdict comes after an eight-week trial and on the third day deliberations.
R. Michael Gallagher, the former dean at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's School of Osteopathic Medicine, was also convicted. Gallagher had been accused of creating Bryant's no work job and devising phony profits on financial statements to receive bonuses.
Gallagher was convicted of five counts of mail fraud.
Both men are scheduled to be sentenced on March 20.
AP wires contributed to this article.