Goofy bail deal
Ex-jail union boss gets OK for Disney
WHEN YOU wish upon a star ...
A federal court judge is allowing Norman Seabrook to fly down to Disney World for a vacation despite his felony corruption case.
Manhattan Federal Court Judge Andrew Carter signed off on the former city correction officers’ union head’s request to fly to Orlando for a weeklong stay at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa with his wife.
The sprawling “Victorian-style” hotel says it’s “inspired by historic Saratoga Springs, a late-1800s New York retreat famous for its spas and horse racing.”
The swanky four-star resort is “nestled between rolling golf course greens and the shimmering Village Lake,” offering “stately studios and multi-bedroom villas, dazzling pools and a spa,” the resort’s website says. Rooms start at $330 a night. The politically connected Seabrook (photo) enjoys the finer things — the feds found he had 10 pairs of pricey Salvatore Ferragamo shoes in his Bronx home when they raided it earlier this year.
He’s charged with taking cash and deluxe trips in return for diverting $20 million in Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association pension money to a sketchy hedge fund.
The hedge fund — which has links to a wider corruption scandal involving the NYPD and two donors to Mayor de Blasio — allegedly delivered one of Seabrook’s payoffs in an $800 Ferragamo bag.
Seabrook, who headed the powerful union for 21 years, is currently free on $250,000 bond while awaiting trial on wire fraud and conspiracy charges. He faces up to 40 years behind bars if convicted. Seabrook needed the judge’s permission to go to the House of Mouse because his bail conditions limit his travel to parts of New York and New Jersey. The feds did not object to the request. Seabrook's filing says he’s leaving Saturday and returning Sept. 4. Seabrook pleaded “absolutely not guilty” last month to the charges.