Former Newark mayor released from prison

NEWARK, N.J., April 6 (UPI) -- A former Newark, N.J., mayor who was sent to prison for depriving the city of honest services was released to a halfway house Tuesday, officials said.

Sharpe James was found guilty by a jury two years ago of selling city-owned real estate for $46,000 to his girlfriend, who then sold it for $660,000, the (New Jersey) Star-Ledger reported.

James, also a former state senator and Newark's mayor for 20 years, carried a box out of prison. It contained his 17-chapter book, which has a working title of "A Sharpe View," the Star-Ledger reported.

James will serve the remainder of his 27-month sentence in a Newark halfway house and will work as a mentor at the Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington.

James said he drove buses, made beds and helped fellow prisoners working toward their high school equivalency diplomas.

"(Petersburg Correctional Complex in Virginia) is a great federal correctional facility. I've adjusted, I attend chapel. It's been a new experience," James said.