Ex-New Jersey Politician Sentenced to Prison for Insurance Fraud

A former New Jersey Assemblyman who is also a Baptist minister has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.

Alfred E. Steele pleaded guilty in October 2007 to accepting $15,500 in bribes in exchange for steering public contracts to an insurance brokerage that was really a front for the FBI.

Steele was arrested with 10 other public officials and one private citizen in a bribery scandal from northern New Jersey to the shore.

At his sentencing on Monday, the 54-year-old Steele also was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and serve two years of supervised release after completing his prison term.

Steele, a Paterson resident, was once one of Passaic County’s most prominent political leaders.

Ex-Passaic County politician sentenced to prison