CHRIS LaCHALL/Courier-Post Camden City Council President Gwendolyn Faison talks with family and friends in her office Friday, moments before she was sworn in as Camden's interim mayor. Councilman Angel Fuentes was elected to replace Faison as council president.

Milan stripped of office

By CLINT RILEYand KIM MAIALETTI
Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN

A state judge stripped Camden Mayor Milton Milan of his job Friday, ruling his conviction for 14 federal crimes a day earlier warranted his immediate removal from public office.

Within hours of the court order, the city council convened an emergency session and unanimously named council President Gwendolyn Faison as the city's interim mayor.

Faison, 75, will serve out the remainder of Milan's term, which ends June 30. She also officially announced on Friday night that she will run for the mayor's seat in the May 8 election.

Councilman Angel Fuentes was elected council president to replace Faison, whose council seat was filled by a political unknown, the Rev. Ismael Hilerio.

"Milton Milan is no longer the mayor. He no longer has any powers as mayor," Deputy Attorney General Robert Bonpietro declared following Friday afternoon's court hearing in Trenton.

First Assistant Attorney General Paul Zoubek said state officials asked Superior Court Judge Neil H. Shuster to promptly yank Milan's elected powers because ``the corruption that was proven by the U.S. Attorney's Office is unparalleled.''

Milan, 38, is the third of the last five Camden mayors to be convicted of a federal crime, but the first forced from office.

Remnants of Milan's administration were further erased Friday night when the council voted to replace acting city Attorney Marc Riondino with longtime assistant city Attorney Dennis Kille.

"You always have to expect this when there is a change in administrations. I am extremely confident in my record," Riondino said before Friday's council meeting. "I'm willing to work in whatever capacity is in the city's best interest."

Kille said he will allow Riondino to continue working in the law department.

Riondino was one of three top officials from the Milan administration who stood with the former mayor until federal marshals escorted him away Thursday.

That day, a jury in U.S. District Court in Camden convicted Milan of committing an array of serious crimes before and after he became a public official, first as a city councilman in 1995, and later mayor in 1997.

Jurors found Milan guilty of accepting payoffs from the Philadelphia/South Jersey Mafia, taking kickbacks from city contractors, laundering $65,000 in illegal drug profits and playing a role in an insurance fraud scheme less than two months after citizens elected him to city council. The jury auitted Milan of two charges and were deadlocked on three other charges.

Milan, who faces nine to more than 11 years in prison when he is sentenced April 5, remains imprisoned at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia.

That's where Milan was at 1:20 p.m. Friday, when he was served with court papers by a representative of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, notifying him that the state asked a judge to immediately remove him from office.

Carlos Martir Jr., Milan's lead criminal defense lawyer, also was notified of Friday's hearing. But neither the former mayor nor anyone representing Milan's interests attended the hearing.

Shuster, sitting in Trenton, at 3:20 p.m. signed an order that took away Milan's title, his $75,000-a-year salary and his right to ever hold public office in New Jersey.

The judge's order became retroactive to Thursday's conviction. Milan has until noon Jan. 12 to file court papers to seek reinstatement by appealing Shuster's ruling.

Chances that the ruling will be changed or overturned are slim. Bonpietro, who argued the state's case before the judge, said court orders forcing public officials in New Jersey to forfeit their office are rarely challenged, and have never been overturned.

"(The) defendant's criminal behavior absolutely reeks of dishonesty," Bonpietro wrote in a legal brief supporting the state's position. "... There can be no doubt that (the) defendant's crimes touched upon his public office. Indeed, the mayoralty of Camden was in effect taken over by (the) defendant to promote his own criminality."

Just four hours after the judge ordered Milan removed from office, Faison stood in a crowded council chamber and was sworn in as mayor. She was surrounded by her family, with her 2-year-old granddaughter, Nia Faison, holding the Bible.

"It's a sad day for the city," Faison said in her brief remarks. "But we have to move forward. I think we're up to the challenge."

Faison, who lives in the city's Parkside section, is a retired data entry administrator and a widowed mother of three.

She served on the council for a dozen years before losing a 1995 primary fight. She was elected again in 1997. She also served an unexpired term on the Camden County Board of Freeholders in the 1980s.

Faison said she will be a force in economic development for the city and asked for people to join her in the fight to clean up Camden.

"We all have a responsibility to help one another," Faison said. "We're too fragmented. We can't work that way. If we pull together, we can do great things."

Councilman Gilbert "Whip" Wilson, who is also running for mayor, was the first to congratulate Faison.

"I'm going to do everything I can to cooperate and make sure the city runs the right way," Wilson said.

Nonetheless, it was back to business as usual when Councilman Israel Nieves introduced an 11th-hour resolution to appoint Hilerio to council, ambushing Wilson and Councilman Ali Sloan-El.

"Who is the man? I don't know him," Sloan-El said. "I didn't know this was on. When did we do this process?"

Wilson characterized the move as a "Pearl Harbor" attack.

"We had no chance to discuss this whatsoever," Wilson said. "What is the dire emergency? What is the rush to get this done?"

Despite the protests, the council voted 4-2 to appoint Hilerio to the vacancy. Councilmen Nieves, Fuentes, Frank Moran and Michael McGuire voted in favor. Wilson and Sloan- El were opposed.

Hilerio, who showed up at the meeting 35 minutes late due to a family emergency, said the opposition is understandable.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know the people and letting the people know me," Hilerio said. "People are claiming they don't know me, but I have been a Camden citizen since 1987."

Hilerio serves as a Parking Authority commissioner. He was nominated for that position by Milan. He is the founder and president of Looking Forward Ministries, Inc.

His appointment left citizens shaking their heads in disgust. "I've seen some dirty deals in this city," said Colandus "Kelly" Francis, president of the Camden County NAACP and vice president of the Camden City Taxpayers Association. "But this is an all-time low."