A Kearny resident is one of two to be charged in connection to a wild bribery scheme, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity & Accountability said today.
Whitney DaSilva, 38, of Kearny and Steven Carr, 54, of Staten Island have been charged with bribery and conspiracy while Carr has been additionally charged with theft by deception as a result of an investigation by the OPIA Corruption Bureau that revealed they allegedly pursued a bribe from a Union Township business owner, representing they had a connection to a Union Township official and falsely claiming the official was requesting the bribe.
As alleged in the complaint, Carr claimed he could use a personal connection with a Union Township official to assist a business owner entangled in legal issues with the township — if the owner paid the official over $10,000, with Carr purportedly acting as the intermediary.
DaSilva, knowing about the scheme, offered to pass the bribe money from the business owner to Carr.
It is alleged Carr falsely represented to the business owner the bribe amount and payment details had come directly from the township official. In truth and in fact, the investigation did not reveal any evidence the township official was part of the scheme.
“As alleged, these defendants tried to get a business owner to pay a bribe. Instead, the owner did the right thing and reported it to law enforcement,” Platkin said. “As evidenced by these charges, my office takes such allegations seriously, and we call upon other members of the public to come forward when they learn of potentially improper influence over, or bribery of, government actors.”
“As the charges in this case show, bribery schemes don’t pay,” Drew Skinner, executive director of the OPIA, said. “They will only earn you a criminal case.”
Based on documents filed in the case, the crimes allegedly occurred between February and May 2024, as the owner of an establishment in Union was involved in administrative proceedings with the municipality related to the business.
Based on information learned during the investigation, DaSilva introduced the business owner to Carr, who said he knew a township official and, if the business owner paid him a large sum — at various times quoted as between $10,000 and $15,000 in cash — to deliver to the official, the owner’s legal issues purportedly would be “resolved.”
DaSilva, knowing of and acting in concert with Carr in the bribery scheme, offered to pass the bribe money from the business owner to Carr and encouraged the business owner to pay the claimed bribe.
Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Third-degree charges can result in a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.