The estranged husband of Opposition MP Pat Gordon-Pamplin has seen some of the US criminal charges against him dropped.

According to a report in the Daily Record newspaper in New Jersey, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office has dismissed money laundering charges against three men, including Dennis Pamplin.

The trio has agreed to forfeit $110,745 seized from them when they were arrested in Chatham, New Jersey, in 2007.

While free of the Morris County charges, Pamplin, of New Rochelle, New Jersey, still remains charged by federal officials with conspiracy to unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly distribute and possess 1,000 kilograms or more of narcotics. That charge stems from his arrest and that of another man in Orange in July 2008 who allegedly had custody over 700 pounds of marijuana found in a warehouse.

The Chatham charges relate to Pamplin, Mark E. Small and Ronald C. Ellis being involved in what authorities initially believed was an accident, when a total of $110,745 was found in their possession.

According to the Daily Record, Pamplin's now-former attorney had said his client's share of the funds, about $47,000, was meant for the purchase of musical equipment.

Small's attorney, James Porfido, said there were lengthy negotiations about the charges, and he believes there was no clear, legal evidence that the funds were derived from criminal activity or intended to be used in the furtherance of criminal activity, as the money laundering statute calls for.