Former Judge and Prosecutor in Newark Confesses To Arranging False Confession By Innocent Man To Clear Career Criminal

Former prosecutor and judge Clifford J. Minor has confessed to taking a bribe, procuring a false confession, lying to investigators, and falsifying documents. Before serving as a prosecutor and a judge, Minor was a police officer. He later ran for mayor of Newark.

At the heart of the case is a confession by Jamal Muhammad to a gun charge. The actual culprit was Abdul Williams, but Williams had a much longer record and would have received a long sentence. Minor took $3,500 in two payments from Williams to act as Mr. Muhammad’s lawyer and arranged the confession (which Minor knew to be false). Remarkably, Muhammad was paid only $1,500 to take the fall. If this were a legal transaction, Minor would have been accused of ineffective counsel to boot.

Minor, 68, pleaded guilty to six criminal charges.

He was at one time the chief administrative judge in Newark.

Source: New York Times as first seen on ABA Journal