Betsy Combier
William Scarborough, Ex-New York Assemblyman, Is Sentenced to 13 Months
ALBANY — William Scarborough, a former state assemblyman
from Queens, was sentenced on Monday to 13 months in prison after he admitted
submitting at least $40,000 in false expense vouchers for days he did not
actually travel to Albany.
Mr. Scarborough, who pleaded guilty and resigned in
May, was ordered to pay $54,355 in federal penalties and forfeit the same
amount to the state.
Hours after his federal sentencing, Mr. Scarborough, 69,
was sentenced in state court for taking $38,000 in unauthorized cash
withdrawals from his campaign fund for personal use. As part of a deal with
prosecutors, the one-year prison sentence handed down there will be served at
the same time as his federal sentence, meaning that Mr. Scarborough will not
have to serve longer than 13 months.
At both court appearances, Mr. Scarborough apologized for
what he said was his own “stupidity.”
Mr. Scarborough, a Democrat who was first elected in
1994, will begin serving his sentence in November and said he planned to work
on behalf of the community when he is released.
“I intend to be a better person,” he said. “My goal is to
be the person that I thought I was.”
The conviction is another black eye for a state
government that has seen its two top lawmakers indicted on federal corruption
charges within the past year. Since 1999, more than 30 state lawmakers have
been forced from office because of convictions for or allegations of ethical
misconduct.
“It is a sad day when an elected official is sentenced to
prison,” said Richard S. Hartunian, the United States attorney
for the Northern District of New York, whose office worked on the case with the
state attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, and the state
comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, both Democrats.
“Sadly, some legislators confuse their public service with self-service.”
Of 198 expense vouchers totaling $147,400
filed by Mr. Scarborough from 2009 to 2012, 174 were found to contain false
information, according to prosecutors. The vouchers included claims for some
overnight stays in Albany when the lawmaker was actually in Georgia and at home
in Queens.
In an earlier statement, Mr. Scarborough, whose district
includes parts of Jamaica and nearby communities, said he was unable to keep up
with bills despite taking a second job at a college and was angry that
lawmakers had not had a raise in their $79,500 salary in 16 years.
Mr. Scarborough faced 10 to 16 months in prison under
federal sentencing guidelines.
Several dozen people, including former constituents,
filed letters with the court on Mr. Scarborough’s behalf describing his
accomplishments as a legislator. Judge Stephen W. Herrick of Albany County Court
said the letters showed that Mr. Scarborough had accomplished some good in
public service.
“It’s obvious you represented your constituents well,”
Judge Herrick said. “But you also betrayed those constituents.”
No comments:
Post a Comment