Pressley also resigned from the school board after his plea. He got a lighter sentence than federal guidelines call for because he testified against one of his co-defendants and former board colleagues, McCormick. Adams and Callaway also testified against McCormick, who went to trial in February.

A jury convicted McCormick of bribery, conspiracy and four other charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

So is Jayson Adams, a former board president who pleaded guilty in October to taking more than $62,000 in bribes in the scheme, which involved a series of roofing and insurance contracts. But it turned out the roofer, Bruce Begg, and the insurance broker, John D'Angelo, were both informants working with the FBI.

Pete Callaway pleaded guilty in November to attempted extortion and admitted taking $13,000 in bribes. He resigned from the City Council seat he'd won in 2005, and now is scheduled for sentencing in November.

Many of the defendants have had their sentencing dates delayed several times through the course of this case.

But Rafael Velez also learned his fate last month. U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle sentenced Velez to 37 months in prison; Velez pleaded guilty in October to taking $4,000 in bribes. He spent six months of his year out on bail, but was arrested again in April on charges he still had guns in his home - which he was supposed to get rid of as a bail condition. He's been in jail ever since.

The sixth Pleasantville defendant was Louis Mister, the former president of the Pleasantville Real Democratic Club. He also went to trial, and a jury convicted him in May on two of four charges he faced. Mister is scheduled for sentencing in November.

Last November, two months after the arrests, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie summed up the results:

"As this case moves forward," he said, "it is plainly clear that the Pleasantville Board of Education is about as corrupt a government body as I've ever seen."

But the scams didn't stop at the Pleasantville city line. Five other defendants either have pleaded guilty or are awaiting trial in related cases. The two now-former state assemblymen are among those who admitted their guilt.

***

A bit later last September, news came out that the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the Cape May Lewes Ferry, hoped to sell its biggest and fanciest ferry boat, the MV Cape May. The DRBA had only used the boat, which can carry about 100 cars and 1,000 passengers, on 15 days in the previous year, spokesman Jim Salmon explained.

But so far, nobody has bitten on the boat, Salmon said last week.

"We've had some interest in it, but it hasn't gotten any further than people requesting information on the vessel," he said.

The boat was built in 1985 and its appraised value is "$17 million, but we're willing to negotiate, obviously," Salmon said. "For a 320-foot-long ferry boat, the market isn't huge. ... You're probably looking at another ferry service or a private operator who wants to establish some unique venue" for dinner cruises or other special events.

The agency has a glossy, colorful and very detailed brochure about the MV Cape May on the ferry service's Web site:

www.cmlf.com

The DRBA also plans to hire a marine brokerage service to help sell the boat, and Salmon said the agency's requests for proposals on that service are due by Oct. 22.

"We are moving forward with this," Salmon said. But so far, this sale hasn't sailed right through - at least yet.

E-mail Martin DeAngelis:

MDeangelis@pressofac.com