"Candidate 1" is focus of Rojas Information

Defendant William Rojas' guilty plea in Federal Court today has opened a window into the government's next likely prosecution.   

The charges against Rojas were filed in a document called an Information.  In federal court, an indictment, an information and a complaint basically mean the same thing on a substantive level and all serve the same function. Each initiates a criminal case and informs the defendant of the charges against him/her. They are also intended to insure that a prosecutor has sufficient evidence to establish probable cause that a crime has been committed. 

One big difference between an indictment and an information: an information does not require a grand jury’s vote, an indictment does.

Today's development  suggests that the Feds have taken a pass at any alleged VBM-bribery schemes during Hoboken's 2014 election cycle; the 5 year Statute of Limitations to prosecute will expire any day.   Folks who might have worried about that, breathe easy.

Folks who have exposure for 'activities' during Hoboken's 2015 election cycle, not so much.  Because Matt Calicchio and now, William Rojas, have plead guilty to crimes committed during that cycle. And while each respective Information for Defendants Calicchio and Rojas implicate  "Candidate 1" and "Candidate 2," the Rojas Information further describes the alleged roles of these unidentified co-conspirators, and appears to encircle "Candidate 1."

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V WILLIAM ROJAS INFORMATION

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PRESS RELEASE