News: Former New York State Senator Pleads Not Guilty
(Long Island, N.Y.) A fifty-seven-year-old former New York State Senator pled not guilty on Tuesday to all charges in his federal fraud case. He was the former Democratic Majority Leader and was faced with revised indictment charges that included tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the United States Government. His thirty-five-year-old son is also facing similar charges.
Coming out of the Brooklyn Federal Court, the former state senator claimed that he was certain he’d be exonerated on the old and new charges. The new charges include accusations of subscribing to false and fraudulent tax returns. The father and son duo was previously accused of taking money from a federal-funded health clinic in the Bronx.
The pair has already been charged with embezzling at least half a million dollars from the health clinic. Accusations against them have stated that the money was used personally on expensive meals, concerts, and Broadway shows. Some of the more notable expenses include pony rides during family birthday parties and a $49K payment on a Bentley.
The health clinic is designed to provide services to poor patients and is taxpayer subsidized. FBI search warrants revealed an estimated ninety boxes worth of evidence that contained hundreds of thousands of documents from the Soundview Health Center. That evidence has been made available to defense attorneys by prosecutors on the case.
About a million dollars a year was given to the health clinic from federal funds alone. The years in question range from 2005-2009, and accuse the father and son of using the clinic’s funds as a personal resource. The tax fraud charges came after this issue had been addressed to authorities.
In January, federal prosecutors handling the case allegedly telegraphed their decision to proceed with additional charges and counts to the defendants. This took place during a court hearing when the prosecution originally presented the evidence taken from the defendants’ healthcare firm. Following the court proceeding, the United States Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn offered the pair a plea deal. If the father and son had chosen to admit to wrongdoings, they could have received a lesser sentence.
The former New York State Senator has refused all plea bargains, having his attorney decline the prosecution’s offer. Both he and his son will await trail, beginning with jury selection on September 12th in the Brooklyn Federal Court. Reports coming from a press release claimed that the former senator told interviewers he was fine, ready, and looking forward to the trial in September.
If convicted, both father and son could face at least fifty-five years in prison. In addition to prison time, they must forfeit all of their profits to the Internal Revenue Service. Following their arraignment, father and son were released on $750K bail by the court. The Obama Administration has taken steps to ensure that the United States Government has more funding options to battle and defend tax evasion crimes.
