Eye on corruption

A federal judge in Trenton today sentenced Daniel Van Pelt to 41 months in prison for bribery and attempted extortion. The former lawmaker from Ocean County must turn himself in after the holidays.  You may remember Van Pelt from his conviction this year on charges of accepting a bribe from a corrupt developer to rubber stamp environmental permits for a new development. Van Pelt tearfully told the judge today he was a trustworthy guy and never believed anyone would try to bribe him.  Prosecutors said the 46-year-old accepted $10,000 in cash in exchange for his assistance in securing government approvals for purported real estate projects in Waretown. Van Pelt testified he considered the payment from government informant Solomon Dwek to be a consulting fee.