Mims Hackett

Mims Hackett (born September 28, 1941) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002 to 2007, where he represented the 27th Legislative District, which covers the western portion of Essex County.

Mims Hackett
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 27th Legislative District
In office
January 8, 2002 – September 10, 2007
Serving with John F. McKeon
Preceded byNia Gill
LeRoy J. Jones Jr.
Succeeded byMila Jasey
Mayor of Orange, New Jersey
In office
1996 – May 27, 2008
Preceded byRobert L. Brown
Succeeded byEldridge Hawkins Jr.
Personal details
Born (1941-09-28) September 28, 1941
Birmingham, Alabama
Political partyDemocratic

Biography

He was born on September 28, 1941, in Birmingham, Alabama. Hackett received a B.S. in 1963 from Paul Quinn College in biology and physical science and received an M.S. in 1976 from Seton Hall University in administration and supervision.[1][2]

Hackett served in the Assembly on the State Government Committee (as Chair), the Appropriations Committee and the Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee.[1]

Hackett served as the Mayor of Orange, New Jersey from 1996 to 2008. He served on its City Council from 1988 to 1996.[1] He spent thirty-two years as a science teacher in the Union City Board of Education.

2007 corruption charges

Hackett was arrested by the FBI on September 6, 2007, in a Federal corruption probe that also included the arrests of Assemblymen Alfred E. Steele and Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera.[3] The indictment alleges that Hackett accepted $5,000 in bribes for his efforts to steer insurance business from the City of Orange, with an additional $25,000 to be accepted if the firm received the insurance business it sought.[4] On September 7, 2007, Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine called on both Hackett and Steele to resign from their seats in the New Jersey Legislature.[5]

Hackett submitted his letter of resignation from his Assembly seat on September 10, 2007; Steele followed with a resignation submitted that same day.[6] In resigning before September 17, 2007, the Democratic Party was able to put an alternate on the November ballot in lieu of Hackett.[7] He resigned as mayor of Orange on May 27, 2008.[8]

Hackett was convicted on a charge of falsifying expense receipts and was sentenced to a five-year prison term beginning in January 2009. In December of that year, he was accepted into a state early-release program and was allowed to return home.[9]

He currently resides in Orange.

References
  1. Assemblyman Hackett's Legislative Website Archived October 27, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed August 27, 2007.
  2. Assembly Member Mims Hackett Jr., Project Vote Smart. Accessed August 27, 2007.
  3. Baldwin, Tom. "11 arrested in N.J. corruption probe", USA Today, September 6, 2007. Accessed September 6, 2007. "Among the arrested were state Assemblymen Mims Hackett Jr. and Rev. Alfred Steele aides in their legislative offices acknowledged. Also reportedly arrested was Samuel Rivera, the mayor of Passaic, and Keith Reid, the chief of staff to Newark City Council President Mildred Crump."
  4. Staff. "Who's who: Overview of the politicians charged in bribery scandal", The Record, September 7, 2007. Accessed September 7, 2007.
  5. Reitmeyer, John. "Corzine: Steele, Hackett should step down", The Record, September 7, 2007. Accessed September 7, 2007. "Governor Corzine and fellow top Democrats urged two North Jersey legislators to resign by the end of the weekend, after the pair was arrested as part of a sweeping corruption investigation."
  6. Rispoli, Michael. "Two legislators quit over arrests", Courier-Post, September 11, 2007. Accessed September 12, 2007. "The resignations of Assemblyman Mims Hackett Jr., D-Essex, who is also mayor of Orange, was received Monday afternoon by the Assembly clerk.... The letter from Assemblyman Alfred Steele, D-Passaic, was received later in the afternoon."
  7. "NJ Assemblyman Hackett Steps Down", WNYC, September 8, 2007. Accessed September 8, 2007.
  8. Chen, David W. (May 28, 2008). "Mayor of Orange Resigns and Pleads Guilty to Extortion". The New York Times. Afterward, Mr. Hackett, who resigned as mayor effective 8 a.m. Tuesday, declined to comment.
  9. Friedman, Alexi (December 31, 2009). "Former N.J. assemblyman convicted of fraud granted early release". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
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