Wormuth pleads guilty to felonies
ALBANY >> Former Halfmoon Supervisor Melinda “Mindy” Wormuth pleaded guilty in federal court Monday two felony charges stemming from a U. S. Department of Justice indictment brought against her in October 2013.
After more than 18 months of postponements her trial was scheduled to start Sept. 21, 2015.
Aspart of a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Wormuth will face a sentence of zero months in jail to a maximum of 12 months and one day when she is sentenced on Dec. 10. She is also required to pay a $7,500 fine and $5,500 in forfeiture.
Wormuth pleaded guilty to extortion for receiving money in return for using her official position as supervisor and lying to federal investigators about legal advice she claimed to have been given after taking $7,500 she labeled as “consultant fees.” Both charges are felonies.
Wormuth is also under indictment from the state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office on two counts of grand larceny for cashing made out to her political campaign fund, one count of offering a false instrument for filing, and petit larceny for cashing a check to her campaign for $1,000.
The change of plea in the federal case from her initial plea of not guilty was made before U. S. District Court Chief Judge Gary L. Sharpe at the federal courthouse in Albany.
Wormuth, 48, appeared in court with her husband Larry and her attorney E. Stewart Jones. Assistant U. S. Attorney Jeffrey Coffman appeared for the U. S. Attorney’s Office.
Before accepting Wormuth’s plea Sharpe questioned her to see that she fully understood the consequences of her guilty plea and that she was making the decision freely. He also asked her to acknowledge that there were facts that had resulted in the indictment brought against her.
Sharpe also questioned Wormuth to see that she understood the terms of the plea agreement. To all the questions Wormuth answered that she understood.
During the questioning, Sharpe told Wormuth that had she chosen a jury trial and been found guilty she could have faced 20 years incarceration on the count of extortion and five years on the count of lying to federal investigators. The second count carried with it a maximum fine of $250,000.
As he questioned the former supervisor, Sharpe looked directly at her from the bench as she sat at the defense table, taking in her demeanor and her responses to his questions. When satisfied that she understood her decision Sharpe asked Wormuth a final series of questions.
“Is it your free choice to plead guilty?” he asked.
“Yes it is, your honor,” Wormuth said in a strong, clear voice with just a slight hint of emotion.
“How do you plead to the two counts?” Sharpe asked.
“I plead guilty your honor,” answered Wormuth.
Sharpe accepted the plea and asked the government prosecutor whether it had anything to add. U.S. Assistant Attorney Jeffrey Coffman asked that Wormuth’s condition of release, that she drink only socially, be modified and that she be required to fully abstain from alcohol.
The request has been made several times in the past including at her initial arraignment and each time Wormuth has been allowed to drink moderately. After hearing the request Sharpe asked for a response from Jones.
“Social drinking is not a crime,” Jones said. “She does not have a problem. She has never had a problem. She’s never had an issue in her life with excessive alcohol. This is unconscionable and burdensome. There is no suggestion alcohol had any part in the events that brought us here today.”
Sharpe denied the government’s request but sternly warned Wormuth should she transgress the terms of the plea agreement with regard to alcohol use he would issue a warrant for her arrest, send U. S. Marshalls to get her and put her in jail until she is sentenced. He added that such a transgression would affect his agreement to accept the plea arrangement.
“I am concerned with the reports submitted to me by the probation department and the concerns they express,” Sharpe said.
As they entered and left the courthouse there was no response to any media questions from Wormuth, her husband Harry or Jones.
In press release shortly after the plea, U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian, Schneiderman and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli took Wormuth to task for her actions as an elected official who betrayed the public’s trust while in office.
“The defendant accepted money for taking official actions, and then lied to federal agents by claiming she had obtained prior approval for her corrupt conduct,” Hartunian said. “This is yet another instance of an elected official who put her own interest ahead of the public’s.”
“Today’s guilty plea makes it clear that public officials who violate the law by misusing campaign funds will be held accountable,” said Schneiderman. “Public officials must be held to the highest ethical standards and I’m proud to continue working with partners in government to root out public corruption across New York State.”
DiNapoli said in the release that Wormuth seemed oblivious to the requirements of public service, “the first of which is honesty.”
“Today’s guilty plea makes it clear that public officials who violate the law by misusing campaign funds will be held accountable. Public officials must be held to the highest ethical standards and I’m proud to continue working with partners in government to root out public corruption across New York State.” — State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman