Attorney General Gurbir Grewal is bringing corruption charges against five public officials and political candidates who are accused of taking bribes in the form of campaign contributions from a tax attorney who served as a cooperating witness.

The defendants last year took thousands of dollars from the tax attorney in exchange for promises to use their authority or influence to hire or continue to hire his law firm for lucrative government legal contracts, Grewal said in an announcement Thursday.

The tax attorney delivered envelopes and paper bags filled with cash, and even a coffee cup stuffed with cash, to the defendants at various locations, including campaign headquarters, the attorney general said.

The officials charged are: Jersey City School Board president Sudhan Thomas, former state assemblyman and former Bayonne mayoral candidate Jason O'Donnell, former Morris County freeholder John Cesaro, former Mount Arlington council member John Windish, and former Morris County freeholder candidate Mary Dougherty.

Grewal didn't identify the cooperating witness or his law firm.

Each of the five have been charged with second-degree bribery in official and political matters. In addition, Thomas, Cesaro and Windish, who held public office at the time of the alleged conduct, are also charged with second-degree acceptance or receipt of unlawful benefit by a public servant for official behavior.

"We allege that these political candidates were all too willing to sell the authority of their public office or the office they sought in exchange for an envelope filled with cash or illegal checks from straw donors," Grewal said in a statement. "This is old-school political corruption at its worst—the kind that undermines the political process and erodes public faith in government. We are working through the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability to create a culture of accountability in New Jersey, where public officials know they must act with integrity or else face the consequences."

As of late Thursday afternoon, at least three of the defendants, through counsel, had offered statements denying the allegations.

The charges were filed after an investigation by the state Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. The investigation, which began in early 2018, focused on political figures in Hudson and Morris counties who allegedly solicited illegal campaign contributions from the cooperating witness in return for promised official actions to provide him with government work, Grewal's statement said.

Thomas, the Jersey City school board president, is charged with accepting $35,000 in cash bribes, consisting of $10,000 delivered on one date and $25,000 delivered on a second date. Thomas allegedly agreed, in return for the cash payments, to arrange for the tax attorney to be hired as special counsel for the Board of Education. Thomas and the tax attorney also discussed specific work projects that the tax attorney would receive from the board, according to the statement.

During one such conversation, the tax attorney and Thomas had the following exchange, the attorney general's statement said:

Tax attorney: "Make me special counsel for …"

Thomas: "Real estate."

Tax Attorney: "Yeah, real estate. … That's perfect."

Thomas: "Yeah, nobody questions anything … nobody questions all of that stuff."

Thomas' alleged criminal conduct took place between May and July 2019. Thomas lost his reelection to the school board in November, and his term on the board ends at the end of December.

O'Donnell, the former state assemblyman, is charged with accepting a $10,000 cash bribe in April or May of 2018. He ran unsuccessfully to be mayor of Bayonne in 2018, and he allegedly solicited $10,000 in "street money" for his mayoral campaign from the tax attorney, the statement said. In return, he allegedly agreed to provide the attorney tax work from the city.

O'Donnell accepted the $10,000 in a paper bag from the tax attorney at his campaign headquarters, the attorney general's statement said. After the cash was exchanged, the tax attorney said, "I just want to be your tax guy," to which O'Donnell replied, "Done," according to Grewal.

Cesaro, who was a county freeholder at the time of the alleged criminal conduct, solicited campaign contributions from the tax attorney for his 2021 campaign for mayor of Parsippany-Troy Hills, the statement said. He accepted an envelope containing $10,000 in cash and $2,350 in checks from the cooperating witness, the attorney general said. Cesaro later returned the cash and asked for the tax attorney to replace it with checks, and the two discussed using straw donors, a practice that is illegal under New Jersey law, the statement said. Later, Cesaro accepted two checks for $2,600 each—the individual limit for one candidate in an election—which the tax attorney referred to as "my straws," Grewal said.

During a conversation before the contributions were delivered, the tax attorney said, "Johnny, listen, all I want to do is the tax work. That's all I'm looking to do," to which Cesaro replied, "I become mayor, I got your back," the statement said.

Windish, the former Mount Arlington council member, accepted a $7,000 cash bribe, the attorney general said. He solicited cash from the tax attorney for an ultimately unsuccessful bid for reelection to borough council in June 2018. The state claims that Windish accepted an envelope containing $7,000 cash from the tax attorney. At the time the cash was delivered, the tax attorney said, "I need you to, I need your commit that I'm your borough attorney, and I need more work, John," to which Windish replied, "You got it," according to the attorney general.

Dougherty, a real estate agent from Morristown, is accused of accepting a $10,000 bribe from the tax attorney for her unsuccessful 2018 campaign for Morris County freeholder. In return, she allegedly promised to support the reappointment of the tax attorney as counsel for Morris County. In a meeting at a restaurant, Dougherty allegedly accepted the $10,000 in $100 denominations that the tax attorney delivered in a take-out coffee cup, the attorney general said. She later allegedly returned the cash and asked for it to be replaced with four checks, each under the $2,600 individual limit for campaign contributions. The pair met again at the same restaurant, where Dougherty accepted four checks made out for $2,500 each, and when the checks were delivered, the tax attorney said, "these are my straws … so I just need your support for my reappointment. Don't forget me," to which Dougherty allegedly responded,"I won't. I promise. A friend is a friend, my friend," Grewal said.

Thomas, Cesaro and Windish each face charges carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison without eligibility for parole, and the others face a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, the attorney general said.

Leo Hurley Jr. of Connell Foley in Jersey City, representing O'Donnell, said his client "intends to contest the allegations vigorously" and will enter a plea of not guilty to the charges.

Robert Dunn of Hanlon Dunn Robertson Schwartz in Morristown, for Cesaro, said his client "denies the allegations that have been brought" and "will be vigorously defending" the case.

Dougherty issued a statement through her attorney, Matthew Beck of Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi. "I learned today that I have been charged with campaign finance related offenses in connection with my 2018 campaign for Morris County Freeholder. While I intend to defend against these allegations in the courtroom and not the press, I will say that I am a person of great integrity and conscience and I look forward to presenting my side of the story after which I expect to be vindicated," Dougherty said.

Thomas is represented by Christopher Adams of Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis. Adams didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Counsel for Windish wasn't identified as of Thursday.