Ex-school board member seeks leniency

Former Palm Beach County School Board member Michael Murgio is scheduled to be sentenced next week for his role in a federal bribery case, and his lawyer is asking for leniency.

Murgio, 66, faces 10 to 16 months in prison, and a fine of $3,000 to $30,000, said his lawyer, Joe Sconzo. Sentencing is scheduled for noon Jan. 27 in New York. Sconzo is asking U.S. District Court Alison Nathan to give Murgio probation instead of prison time and no fine.

“In stark contrast to the life he led before this aberration, and the sterling reputation he has earned and enjoyed throughout his life, Mr. Murgio will present himself as a disgraced and humiliated man who could have never envisioned the situation in which he now finds himself,” Sconzo wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday.

Murgio, 66, pleaded guilty in October of making a false statement to the National Credit Union Administration on behalf of his son Anthony Murgio.

The younger Murgio operated a business that allowed criminals to buy bitcoins — a digital currency exchanged independent of banks — to launder their money. He pleaded guilty earlier this month of conspiracy charges, with sentencing expected in June.

The case is unrelated to the elder Murgio’s role at the School Board, from which he resigned shortly after being indicted in April.

Sconzo said Murgio’s offense is “diametrically inconsistent with the man who is known to many as a loving father, an industrious and untiring advocate for the education of children and a man who throughout his entire life has been a model of high ethical values and stability in the community.”

Murgio is a real estate associate, but his license may be revoked because of his felony conviction, his lawyer wrote.

Because Murgio also gave up his $42,600 salary from the School Board, Sconzo has asked the judge to forgo any fines. Sconzo said Murgio received no financial benefit from his crime.

The court filing includes letters in support of Murgio from his son, also named Michael Murgio, his wife, Jacqueline Murgio, his exwife, Amelia Ostrosky, and other friends and relatives.

“Micheal’s life has been dramatically altered. His life has been sent into a tailspin,” wrote Ostrosky, a former Palm Beach County school principal. “He has agreed to accept responsibility for the actions that have been deemed wrong. He is totally remorseful for these actions.”

Murgio had been originally charged with conspiracy to make corrupt payments with intent to influence an officer of a financial institution and making corrupt payments. Those charges were dropped as part of the plea deal.

Murgio worked in the Palm Beach County School District for more than four decades, starting as a teacher at Lake Park Elementary in 1973. He was later promoted to principal and worked several roles in district administration. In the 1990s, he became principal of Inlet Grove High School, a technical school in Riviera Beach, which converted into a charter school in 2004.

The West Palm Beach resident was elected to the northern School Board seat in 2012. Barbara McQuinn was elected in November to replace him.