Former N.J. mayor to report to prison

NEWARK, N.J., Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Former Newark, N.J., Mayor Sharpe James was packing Friday for a trip to a federal prison camp in Virginia, his attorney said.

Alan Dexter Bowman, James' lawyer, said his client has been ordered to report Monday to the prison in Petersburg, 25 miles from Richmond. James faces a 27-month sentence for corruption.

His co-defendant and former mistress, Tamika Riley, is to report to Alderson, W. Va., her lawyer, Gerald Krovatin, said. She was sentenced to 14 months.

The couple were convicted of a scheme in which James helped Riley buy city property at low prices, which she resold quickly for a profit.

James made a brief court appearance Friday in Newark regarding his appeal. His only comment to reporters was a stock answer: "It's a beautiful, God-given day."

The former inmates at Alderson include Martha Stewart, who spent four months there. She spent much of her time creating ceramic figurines for a nativity scene she later featured on her television show.

James, 72, spent five terms as Newark mayor. His final campaign, against a young lawyer, Cory Booker, who later replaced him, was the subject of an Oscar-nominated documentary, "Street Fight."