Mount Arlington Councilman Pleads Guilty in Bribery Case

John S. Windish admitted to accepting $7,000 in exchange for political support; sentencing set for July; cases against Thomas, O’Donnell, and Cesaro are still pending. Mary Dougherty pleaded guilty in 2021 to fourth-degree false swearing.

John S. Windish, a former councilman in the Borough of Mount Arlington, Morris County, has pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe in exchange for using his influence to steer municipal legal work, according to an announcement made on May 29, 2025, by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA).

Windish, 72, of Landing, New Jersey, entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in official and political matters, a third-degree crime, during a virtual court appearance from a nursing facility. The hearing was held before Judge Peter Tober, Criminal Presiding Judge for the Superior Court of New Jersey in Somerset County.

The plea deal requires Windish to forfeit the $7,000 he received in the bribery scheme and permanently bars him from holding any public office or position in New Jersey. The State has agreed to recommend a sentence of noncustodial probation, with formal sentencing scheduled for July 17, 2025, at 9 a.m.

“Elected officials who can be bought violate the law and are not worthy of the trust given by the electorate,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Decisions by municipal officials, particularly decisions that involve the spending of taxpayer dollars, should be made with the best interests of the community in mind, not the best interests of the officials’ bank account.”

Court documents and on-the-record statements reveal that Windish solicited an unlawful cash campaign contribution in 2018 from an attorney seeking reappointment as Mount Arlington’s municipal attorney. In exchange for supporting the reappointment, Windish received an envelope containing $7,000 in cash at a hotel in Hanover, New Jersey. The transaction violated New Jersey election law, which prohibits cash contributions over $200 per election from a single contributor. Windish subsequently lost his bid for re-election and has not held public office since.

Windish’s case is part of a broader investigation by the OPIA Corruption Bureau involving multiple New Jersey political figures accused of accepting bribes from the same cooperating witness, a tax attorney seeking government legal contracts. Other individuals charged in the ongoing probe include:

• Sudhan Thomas, former Jersey City Board of Education President

• Jason O’Donnell, former State Assemblyman and Bayonne mayoral candidate

• John Cesaro, former Morris County Freeholder from Parsippany

• Mary Dougherty, former candidate for Morris County Freeholder from Morristown

While cases against Thomas, O’Donnell, and Cesaro are still pending, Mary Dougherty pleaded guilty in 2021 to fourth-degree false swearing. She was sentenced to probation and required to forfeit a $10,000 payment she had unlawfully accepted.

“Those who would sell their public office, and the honor of being a public servant, for personal gain at the expense of taxpayers should know they will be investigated and prosecuted,” said Drew Skinner, Executive Director of OPIA.

All charges against the remaining defendants are allegations, and those individuals are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

The prosecution of Windish was led by Assistant Attorneys General Michael Grillo and Andrew Wellbrock and Deputy Attorney General Adam Gerken of the OPIA Corruption Bureau. The case was handled under the supervision of Bureau Co-Directors Jeffrey Manis and Eric Gibson, and OPIA Director Thomas Eicher.