`JR' Rivera, key witness, to talk today

By CLINT RILEY
Courier-Post staff
CAMDEN

Long-silent drug lord Jose ``JR'' Rivera is scheduled to testify for the government today against Mayor Milton Milan.

A boyhood friend of the Camden mayor, Rivera was convicted in February of helping oversee a ruthless drug syndicate that poured tons of cocaine into the region during the 1990s.

Rivera, 40, of Cherry Hill, is facing life in prison. He has agreed to cooperate with the government in hopes of earning a reduced sentence.

For weeks, Rivera has remained one of the most anticipated witnesses in the mayor's federal corruption trial.

His testimony on the trial's 15th day will follow two tedious days during which jurors heard from a dozen FBI surveillance agents assigned to follow former local mob boss Ralph Natale, his associate Daniel Daidone and the mayor. On Wednesday, jurors also listened to 55 secretly recorded conversations - primarily about failed mob plans in Camden.

While the mayor's alleged ties to the Mafia have grabbed headlines, Milan's longtime relationship with Rivera is central to the government's case.

Prosecutors hope to prove that Milan knew a $65,000 cash loan he received from Rivera in late 1994 came from illegal drug proceeds.

Among the 19 charges Milan is facing is an accusation that he tried to hide the source of the loan by scheming with his former business partner, Gholam H. Darakhshan, to evade IRS bank reporting requirements.

Milan and Darakhshan ran Atlas Contracting Inc. from 1992 to 1996. The firm dissolved after Milan's selection as city council president in January 1996.

Darakhshan pleaded guilty earlier this year to taking part in the scheme to launder the money from Rivera. As part of a plea agreement, Darakhshan testified against Milan two weeks ago.

Darakhshan said he and Milan turned to Rivera at the mayor' s suggestion when Atlas needed to provide a performance bond to secure work at an East Camden housing project known as Arthur's Court.

Darakhshan also testified about an alleged scheme to launder the Rivera loan, saying that he, Milan and several of their family members and friends broke down the $65,000 into a series of deposits at four banks. All of the deposits were less than the $10,000 amount that triggers an automatic report to the Internal Revenue Service.

Darakhshan testified the cash transactions were meant to conceal the loan and its repayment to Rivera.

At Rivera's drug trial earlier this year, five admitted dealers claimed Milan was a mid-level North Camden drug dealer before he became mayor. One testified that Rivera bragged he ``put up the money'' to finance Milan's mayoral win in 1997.