TRENTON, NJ — A former Mount Arlington councilman admitted Thursday to accepting a $7,000 cash bribe in exchange for backing an attorney’s reappointment as municipal counsel, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced.
John S. Windish, 72, of Landing, pleaded guilty to third-degree conspiracy to commit bribery in official and political matters during a virtual appearance before Judge Peter Tober in Somerset County Superior Court. Windish, who appeared from a nursing facility, agreed to forfeit the bribe and accepted a permanent ban from holding public office in New Jersey.
The Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) stated that Windish solicited an unlawful campaign donation in 2018 in exchange for promising to support a lawyer’s reappointment. The payment was made in cash during a hotel meeting in Hanover. Windish later lost the primary election and has not served in office since.
“Elected officials who can be bought violate the law and are not worthy of the trust given by the electorate,” Platkin said in a statement issued Friday.
The plea agreement includes a recommended sentence of noncustodial probation. Sentencing is scheduled for July 17 at 9 a.m.
Investigation linked to multiple New Jersey political figures
Windish is one of several officials caught in a broader investigation into public corruption involving bribes offered by a cooperating witness, a tax attorney seeking government legal work.
Other defendants include Sudhan Thomas, former president of the Jersey City Board of Education; Jason O’Donnell, a former assemblyman and Bayonne mayoral candidate; John Cesaro, former Morris County freeholder; and Mary Dougherty, a former candidate for Morris County freeholder.
All four allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for promising to steer legal work to the attorney’s firm. Dougherty pleaded guilty in 2021 and received probation and was ordered to forfeit $10,000. The other cases remain pending.
According to state prosecutors, the payments were made in violation of state election law, which limits cash donations to $200 per election cycle from a single donor.
