Ex-official convicted in bribery case resigns state job

PASSAIC, N.J. – A former New Jersey municipal official who admitted taking bribes from undercover FBI agents more than a decade ago has resigned a state job following controversy over the $70,000-a-year position.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced Friday evening that Marcellus Jackson had stepped down from the position as a special assistant in the state Department of Education’s Office of Civic and Social Engagement.

Jackson, a Democrat who served on the Paramus City Council, was among 11 officials arrested in a 2007 corruption sweep. He pleaded guilty to obstructing interstate commerce by extortion and received a 25-month prison sentence.

Gov. Phil Murphy said his administration hired Jackson in July after a legal review, but Grewal said state law required that Jackson be disqualified from any public office in New Jersey.