Sharpe James

Sharpe James (born February 20, 1936) is an American former Democratic politician who served as the 37th mayor of Newark, New Jersey, from 1986 to 2006, and as a state senator for the 29th legislative district from 1999 to 2008. He is a subject of the 2005 feature-film Street Fight.

On July 12, 2007, James was indicted on federal corruption charges, and on April 16, 2008, was convicted of five counts of fraud and was subsequently sentenced to 27 months in prison.[1] Prior to politics, James worked as a teacher, athletic director and professor at Essex County College.