Hackett faces jail for second time
By Wally EdgeYesterday was not the first time Mims Hackett saw the inside of a courtroom. In the 1970’s, he was sentence to thirty years in a state prison following his conviction on assault and kidnapping charges.
In August 1975, Hackett, a school teacher and community activist, was accused of kidnapping Larry Moss from the front porch of his Orange home and hitting him with a gun after questioning him about neighborhood break-ins.
The following year, he was became a candidate for North Ward Councilman. One week before the May election, the Essex County Prosecutor, Joseph Lordi, announced that he would prosecute Hackett for kidnapping and assault. Hackett, who claimed his prosecution was political, lost that election.
Hackett began serving his sentence at Trenton State Prison in November 1978. In February 1979, Governor Brendan Byrne -- at the urging of State Senator Frank “Pat” Dodd, newly-elected Essex County Executive Peter Shapiro, and a group of African American clergymen – commuted Hackett’s sentence to 2-3 years. He was released from prison in June of that year.
In 1988, Hackett won a Council seat, and became Mayor in 1996. In 2001, he ran off the Essex Democratic organization line and won the nomination for Assembly – with the support of Senator Dick Codey – against Essex County Freeholder Linda Lordi Cavanaugh, the daughter of the man who prosecuted him 25 years earlier.
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Should we be surprised?
I really like a kidnapper represntin me.
Not Surprised, Pulaski
This is New Jersey, home of the Sopranos. I am happy to see that efforts are being made to end corruption, but the job is almost impossible with a majority of corrupt, untouchable judges ruling at their whim rather than the law.
"If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" ~ Psalm 11:3
What value a man's soul?
Considering how little a price these guys sold themselves for, one cannot help but conclude they are nothing more than Broad Street hookers soliciting their integrity for the political equivalent of a mere rock of crack, a dirty needle, or a dimebag of mostly stems and seeds. Where's your sense of self worth?
Since when do felons get to
Since when do felons get to run for office?
If you're going to dredge up an old story get the facts straight
Hackett was completely exonerated on those kidnapping charges. A federal judge in NJ found the prosecution to be groundless and abusive. His case was the subject of a 60 minutes segment back then. So for the record he isn't a felon as the conviction was erased.
Jumo - YOU need to get it right!
Hackett's conviction stood up in court (Zulima Farber was the prosecutor), but he was PARDONED by Governor Byrne amid all the publicity caused by the "60 Minutes" profile.