Al-Tarik Onque, a former senior aide to Newark Mayors Cory Booker and Ras Baraka, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes to hasten the city’s permitting process.
Onque, who mainly handled constituent services, was charged with accepting cash bribes to expedite the process of obtaining building code certificates or occupancy certificates. He was also charged with providing falsified versions of those documents.
He pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini.
Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba’s office announced the guilty plea on Thursday. The charge, conspiracy to commit honest service fraud, carries a maximum of 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.
“Today a former Senior Aide to the Mayor of Newark plead guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud,” Habba said in a social media post on Wednesday. “This is a clear example of a pay-to-play scheme, where public officials exploit their positions of power to obtain bribes in exchange for doing their jobs. This betrays the trust of the very community members they claim to serve.”
Booker, now a U.S. senator, hired Onque as an aide in 2007 after he started an anti-violence group, according to the Jersey Vindicator. Onque had previously served five years in state prison after shooting a man who owed him money in both legs, and his story was highlighted as one of second chances.
Onque’s sentencing is scheduled for January 15, 2026.
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