The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
A look at lawmakers convicted of corruption
As Sheldon Silver gets 12 years in prison for corruption, a look at other N.Y. lawmakers’ ethics transgressions.
ALBANY, N.Y. >> After wielding power for decades as one of the state’s most influential politicians, former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is set to be sentenced Tuesday after being convicted of using his office to trade favors for millions of dollars in kickbacks. The Manhattan Democrat will join a long and growing list of state lawmakers who have been sentenced for crimes including bribery, conspiracy, tax evasion, fraud and racketeering. More than 30 lawmakers have left office since 2000 facing criminal or ethical allegations.
Here are some of them, and their sentences. All are no longer in the legislature.
— SEN. MALCOLM SMITH, 7 years
Smith, a former Democratic Senate leader, was accused of authorizing $200,000 in bribes to scheme his way onto the New York City mayoral ballot line as a Republican to avoid a crowded Democratic primary. Smith was convicted in 2015 of conspiracy, bribery and other charges.
—REP. WILLIAM SCARBOROUGH, 13 months
The Democrat from Queens admitted submitting at least $40,000 in false expense vouchers for days he wasn’t in Albany. The 69-year- old Scarborough was also convicted of using $38,000 in campaign funds for personal use.
—SEN. THOMAS LIBOUS, six-month house arrest
The former deputy majority leader was convicted in 2015 of lying to the FBI about arranging a $150,000 law firm job for his son. Prosecutors did not seek prison time for the Binghamton Republican because he had cancer. Libious died Tuesday at age 63.
—REP. WILLIAM BOYLAND JR., 14 years
A former Democratic assemblyman from Brooklyn, Boyland was sentenced in September after being convicted in a sting of taking bribes from a carnival promoter and two undercover FBI agents posing as real estate investors.
—REP. ERIC STEVENSON, 3 years
The former Democratic state assemblyman from the Bronx was sentenced in 2014 after being convicted of accepting $22,000 in bribes from businessmen.
—SEN. SHIRLEY HUNTLEY, 1 year
The Queens Democrat admitted embezzling nearly $88,000 froma state-funded nonprofit she controlled and was sentenced in 2013. Government officials revealed that Huntley had been working with themto expose corruption, secretly recording nine people in her home.
—SEN. PEDRO ESPADA, 5 years
The Bronx Democrat and one-time Senate majority leader pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges and was sentenced in 2013. He had been accused of looting taxpayersubsidized clinics to pay for children’s pony rides and other extravagances. Espada operated the clinics in the South Bronx for three decades.
—SEN. CARL KRUGER, 7 years
The Brooklyn Democrat pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges after he was accused of pocketing more than $1 million in what prosecutors said was “a broad-based bribery racket.”
— SEN. NICHOLAS SPANO, 1 year and a day
The Yonkers Republican admitted in 2012 that he underpaid his income taxes by $53,000.
—SEN. HIRAM MONSERRATE, 2 years
The Queens Democrat pleaded guilty to fraud charges in 2012. Prosecutors said Monserrate secretly funneled about $100,000 meant for community programs to a failed 2006 state Senate primary bid; the former New York Police Department officer was ultimately elected to the Senate in 2008. Hewas expelled two years later following a misdemeanor conviction on charges of assaulting his girlfriend.
—SEN. VINCENT LEIBELL, 21 months
The Putnam County Republican and 28-year legislative veteran admitted evading taxes and trying to influence a grandjury. Hewas sentenced in 2011. He said he failed to report $43,000 in kickbacks from attorneys who did business with a not-for-profit organization he founded.
—SEN. EFRAIN GONZALEZ, 7 years
The Bronx Democrat admitted that he siphoned $600,000 from charity groups that received state grants fromthe Legislature. He was sentenced in 2010.
—REP. ANTHONY SEMINERIO, 6 years
The Queens Democrat pleaded guilty in 2009 to defrauding his constituents of honest services and collecting $1 million in consulting fees by leveraging his legislative job. He died in federal prison at age 75.
—REP. BRIAN MCLAUGHLIN, 6 years
The Queens Democrat pleaded guilty to racketeering charges alleging he skimmed $2.2 million from a campaign committee, union accounts meant to provide benefits for members and even contributions to a Little League baseball program. He was sentenced in 2009.