Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James is released from Virginia prison

Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James is released from Virginia prison

By David Giambusso/The Star-Ledger

April 06, 2010, 9:34AM

Sharpe James — a former state senator, Democratic party broker and Newark’s mayor for 20 years — was released this morning from Petersburg Correctional Complex in Virginia.

James rode out of the prison in a white Chevy van, and is expected to return to Newark later today on a Greyhound bus. He will continue to serve his sentence in a halfway house in Newark and work as a mentor at the Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington.

James arrived at the greyhound terminal in Richmond, VA wearing a blue pin striped suit. Barred from talking to reporters until he is in custody in Newark, the former Newark mayor carried three boxes, one of which contained his 17 chapter opus tentatively titled “A Sharpe View.”

The mayor was in good spirits as he purchased his ticket and stowed his luggage for the trip. Next item on the mayor’s agenda: breakfast.

Two years ago, a jury found James guilty of depriving Newark of honest services by selling city property for $46,000 to his former girlfriend, who then sold it for roughly $660,000. James, sentenced to serve 27 months in prison and pay a $100,000 fine, was sent to a low-security prison. Prosecutors from U.S. Attorney Chris Christie’s office sought a nearly 20-year sentence for the man who had served as the face of Newark for decades.

While in prison, James said he made beds, drove buses and coached fellow prisoners working toward their high school equivalency diplomas. In a recent interview with The Star-Ledger, James said, “It’s a great federal correctional facility. I’ve adjusted, I attend chapel. It’s been a new experience,” he said.