Lawyers say Habba focus on city drove indictment
Seek to end bribery case against Bergen influencer
By: Joe Malinconico
Paterson Press
PATEERSON - Did then-interim United States Attention Alina Habba's April [2025] warning - "I'm looking at you, Paterson" - result in a July [2025] indictment accusing a notorious real estate influencer of bribing a city official?
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Tait's the question lawyers representing the influencer, Cesar Pina, raised in a letter filed August 19 [2025] in federal court in Newark. It's part of the ongoing court battle over whether the indictment giantess Pina which also included fraud and money laundering charges - should be dismissed because Habba's interim appointment had expired before the indictment was filed.
..... U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi argued in an August 18 [2025] brief that the dispute over the status of Habba's appointment should not affect the Pina indictment.
..... "Ms. Habba did not present any evidence or the indictment to the grand jury, nor did she attend those presentations to the grand jury," Bondi;s brief said of the Pina case.
..... The brief asserted that Pina;s lawyers failed to identify any other way in which Habba's role at the U.S. Attorney's Office affected the substance of the indictment.
..... The next day, Pina's lawyers submitted a letter to the court arguing that the attorney general "opened the door" to the question of Habba's role in the criminal probe.
..... During her time as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Habba made multiple public comments in news interviews about the attention she was paying to Paterson, calling it "a sanctuary city." In May, [2025] Habba filed a lawsuit against Paterson and throe other New Jersey cites - Newark, Hoboken and Jersey City - accusing them of obstructing fella mitigation officials.
..... Pina's lawyers citied those actions as evidence of "Ms. Habba's apparent preoccupation with the city of Paterson," saying it raised questions about her role in the indictment and discussions she may have had with her underlings.
..... Specifically, did they discuss the inclusion of the Paterson bilberry count in the indictment?" aside Pina's legal team., led by attorney Gerald Krovatin. "did Ms. Habba review the prosecution memo in this case? Consistent with her public comments, did Ms. Habba instruct her prosecutors to prioritize investigations and prosecutions involving the City of Paterson?"
..... The federal indictment never named the Paterson official whom Pina is accused of bribing in exchange for help in getting city approvals to convert an abandon school into housing. the project never got the approval needed.
..... More tan half a dozen city officials have received subpoenas in the federal bribery probe. Paterson political insiders say the description of the city official as someone involved in real estate dales points to councilman Alex Mendez.
..... In mid-July, [2025] Mendez acknowledged during a televised City Council meeting that he spoke with federal investigates, and said he has done nothing wrong.
..... "There's an investigation going on,: Mendez said during the meeting. "I answered all questions, and I submitted all the information. And that's it, that's what happens.