Former Paterson mayor Torres trying to get new charges dismissed

PATERSON — Joey Torres, the city’s former and convicted mayor, is trying to get his latest criminal charges dismissed.

The pending case stems from the New Jersey Attorney General’s assertion that Torres breached the 2017 plea agreement that sent him to prison for 13 months.

Torres tried to submit nominating petitions in March 2022 to run for mayor and then filed a lawsuit against Paterson when the city clerk would not accept his petitions.

By attempting to run for mayor, Torres violated his plea agreement in which he agreed not to “make any future application for public employment,” the state said. The AG’s Office charged Torres with fourth-degree criminal contempt and 18 months later a grand jury indicted Torres on that same charge.

Torres repeatedly asserted in 2022 that he believes there’s a difference between applying for a public job and running for elected office. That’s essentially the same argument his lawyer made in filing a motion earlier this year to have the indictment against Torres dismissed.

Court officials on Monday provided Paterson Press a copy of Torres’ motion. The AG’s Office filed its own legal arguments opposing Torres’ motion, but the AG’s legal brief has not been made public.

Superior Court Judge Marilyn Clark is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the issue Sept. 3.

In his 2017 conviction, Torres admitted using three city public works employees to perform renovations on a family-owned liquor business while they were being paid overtime by Paterson taxpayers.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Former Paterson mayor Torres trying to get new charges dismissed