Top attorneys defending N.J. officials

NEWARK, N.J., Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Joseph Hayden Jr., John Azzarello and Gerald Shargel are among the famous lawyers hired by New Jersey officials charged with corruption, documents say.

Court filings indicate the cream of New Jersey's legal community have come together to defend 44 people -- including three mayors, two state legislators, more than a dozen appointed offices and five rabbis -- swept up in a massive federal anti-corruption sting last month, The (Newark. N.J.) Star-Ledger reported Sunday.

"I saw all this talent coming up here and into this courtroom, I had to find out what was going on," former New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey told the newspaper, saying the scene at the Newark courthouse resembled a gathering of the Who's Who of New Jersey's legal community.

John Farmer Jr., dean of Rutgers Law School, said it's surprising to always see the names of certain well-known attorneys reappear in so many of the major federal cases.

"There's a relatively small circle of lawyers who do federal criminal defense work," Farmer told the Star-Ledger. "It can be an arcane field. Most lawyers understand federal practice is different, and those who haven't done it will often shy away and refer it to those who do."