The Associated Press

Fri, May 9, 2008 (8:07 p.m.)

The mayor of Passaic City resigned Friday after he pleaded guilty to attempted extortion and admitted he accepted $5,000 in cash to influence government contracts.

Samuel Rivera, a former police officer, is the latest of about 130 public officials to be found guilty of corruption in New Jersey since 2002 in a federal probe.

"By his own conduct, Mr. Rivera added himself to the growing roster of corrupt public officials in New Jersey," U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said. "The citizens of Passaic deserved better."

Rivera, 61, admitted taking $5,000 in exchange for using his official influence to make a company Passaic's insurance broker. The company turned out to be an FBI front.

His attorney, Henry Klingeman, said Rivera faces 18 to 24 months in prison at sentencing, set for Aug. 15.

"He's terribly sorry to the people of Passaic who have supported him for many years," Klingeman said.

Christie's office has convicted about 130 public officials on corruption charges since 2002.

Passaic is a densely populated city of about 70,000 residents about 15 miles west of New York City. Rivera had been mayor since 2001.