Bencivengo, Mayor John - Former Hamilton mayor ...

Start of former Hamilton Mayor John Bencivengo's federal prison term is delayed

Mike Davis/The Times  -  April 25, 2013

HAMILTON—Former Mayor John Bencivengo’s 38-month prison term for taking bribes was scheduled to start Monday but has been delayed, according to court records.

U.S. Judge Anne Thompson set the April 29 date at Bencivengo’s sentencing last month, but an order filed in federal court today said the federal Bureau of Prisons has yet to notify him which prison to report to.

It is now up to the bureau to decide when and where Bencivengo will have to report, with no time frame specified.

A person awaiting notification usually receives a letter but sometimes a probation officer will give notice, Bureau of Prisons spokesman Chris Burke said.

“It really depends on the nature of the case,” Burke said. “Usually, it’s as soon as possible, to give him enough time to make plans. It’s on a case-by-case basis, because there are a lot of different factors that would impact it.”

As a policy, the Bureau of Prisons does not release assigned prison locations for pending inmates.

Bencivengo was convicted in November of soliciting bribes from the school district’s insurance broker in exchange for influencing a school board vote.

He is already listed in the bureau’s system as inmate 64435-050, along with former community planning director Rob Warney — inmate 64598-050 — who pleaded guilty to money laundering for his role in the case and testified against Bencivengo.

Warney is set to report to prison on May 3.

At their sentencing hearings, both defendants requested they be placed in a federal prison as close to home as possible.

“I could look around me and blame other people in certain circumstances for my misfortune, but I just won’t do that because I take full responsibility for my actions,” Bencivengo said on March 13. “As mayor, I took responsibility for the actions of those who I appointed. The buck will be stopped with me.”

Jerome Ballarotto, Bencivengo’s attorney, did not return calls seeking comment.

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2013/04/former_mayor_john_bencivengos.html