Published in the Asbury Park Press 10/21/04

NEWARK -- A North Jersey bank controlled by real estate mogul Charles Kushner is up for sale following his guilty plea on tax fraud and campaign finance violations.

Federal regulators are forcing Kushner to sell NorCrown bank, which has 15 branches and $555 million in deposits, his spokesman, Howard Rubenstein, said yesterday.

Federal law bars convicted felons from bank ownership.

The Star-Ledger of Newark reported that Kushner also has been told by regulators he may be fined as much as $16 million for failing to disclose the identity of every person associated with the family trust that owns the privately held bank.

The newspaper cited sources involved in the restructuring of Kushner's businesses. The fine could be paid out of the proceeds of the bank's sale, the sources said. Rubenstein declined comment on the report.

Kushner could also face penalties from state regulators.

Kushner, 50, pleaded guilty in August to filing false tax returns for various partnerships affiliated with his company, hiding illegal campaign donations and retaliating against a government witness. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 29.

Kushner was arrested in July after a 16-month federal investigation of his business dealings. Authorities say he retaliated against the witness, his own brother-in-law, by hiring a prostitute to seduce him and sending a videotape of the tryst to his wife.

A major contributor to Democratic campaigns, Kushner donated more than $1 million to Gov. McGreevey and other party candidates. The Kushner Cos. own or manage 20,000 apartments in New Jersey and several other states.