Joseph Coniglio (born February 6, 1943) is an American Democratic Party

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, who served in the

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

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from 2002 until 2007, where he represented the 38th Legislative District. Coniglio, formerly a plumber, also served on the Senate Labor Committee and the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee. In 2009 Coniglio was convicted of

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

and served 20 months in jail.

Career

As a State Senator, Coniglio sponsored a number of initiatives which have been signed into law. Reacting to security concerns following the

September 11 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, he sponsored a law requiring background checks for airport employees with access to restricted areas within the airport. He also sponsored measures creating a

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

education and research program and encouraging more individuals to enter the nursing profession by giving them an income tax deduction for up to three years. In response to escalating violence at youth sporting events nationwide, Coniglio pushed for a bill allowing municipalities and boards of education to establish athletic codes of conduct for behavior at sporting events. Violators of these codes of conduct can be ejected from games and required to participate in anger management programs before being allowed to return. Coniglio was a prime sponsor of New Jersey's "Do Not Call" list legislation, one of the strongest telemarketing restricting measure in the nation. The law requires telemarketers to subscribe to a "Do Not Call" list, and makes penalty provisions for telemarketers who violate the list. He also sponsored the State's historic "

predatory lending Predatory lending refers to unethical practices conducted by lending organizations during a loan origination process that are unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent. While there are no internationally agreed legal definitions for predatory lending, a 20 ...

" law, which protects homeowners from unscrupulous

subprime In finance, subprime lending (also referred to as near-prime, subpar, non-prime, and second-chance lending) is the provision of loans to people in the United States who may have difficulty maintaining the repayment schedule. Historically, subpr ...

lenders who charge exorbitant interest rates on home loans with the intent to foreclose on the home. Coniglio also sponsored bills cracking down on fraudulent solicitations on behalf of charities, upgrading penalties for identity theft and the sale of false IDs, and providing state-funded health care and increased pay for

New Jersey Army National Guard The New Jersey Army National Guard consists of more than 6,000 Citizen-Soldiers. The New Jersey Army National Guard is currently engaged in multiple worldwide and homeland missions. Units have deployed to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Jord ...

members on active duty within the state. Before coming to the Senate, Coniglio served on several different committees within his hometown including the

Paramus Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H, ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...

Borough Council from 1981 to 1990, where he served as Council President from 1985 to 1990, the Paramus Board of Adjustment (1976–1981), and the Paramus Shade Tree Commission from 1974 to 1976.Senator Coniglio's Legislative Website
,

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

. Accessed July 16, 2007.

Conviction and incarceration

In 2009, Coniglio was convicted of five counts of mail fraud and one count of extortion. The mail fraud conviction was later thrown out of court, but the extortion cost Coniglio 20 months of confinement in a federal prison for corruption. He was also forced to pay $15,000 in fines.

References

External links

New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2004 (PDF)

New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2005 (PDF)New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2006 (PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coniglio, Joseph 1943 births Living people Democratic Party New Jersey state senators New Jersey Democrats People from Paramus, New Jersey Politicians convicted of extortion under color of official right Politicians convicted of mail and wire fraud New Jersey politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature