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May 26, 2010

Ex-NY state senator sentenced to 7 years in prison

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK — A former state senator was sentenced to seven years in prison Tuesday by a judge who called his rise from humble origins an "American tragedy" because he used the influence of his public office to steal from charities for his personal needs and pleasures.

Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr., 62, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III after he pleaded guilty to mail fraud charges last year, admitting that he drained funds from two not-for-profit Bronx charities to buy everything from New York Yankees tickets to jewelry.

Pauley scolded Gonzalez, a Bronx Democrat, telling him he "treated the bank accounts of these charities as if they belonged to him." He was ordered to forfeit $737,775 as proceeds from his crimes.

Gonzalez tried to withdraw his guilty plea earlier this year and go to trial, a request denied by Pauley.

When given a chance to speak Tuesday, Gonzalez said only that he wanted to "apologize to my family, my friends and my communities."

The brevity led Pauley to say: "He has not demonstrated acceptance of responsibility for his crimes or shown any remorse."

He rejected a request by a defense lawyer for Gonzalez that his client receive two years in prison, like the sentence bestowed earlier this month on 81-year-old Joseph Bruno, the Republican leader of the state Senate for 13 years who was convicted of two fraud charges.

Pauley noted that Gonzalez was a man "who came from very humble origins ... who then somehow lost his way."

He said it was an "American story but in large part it's also an American tragedy."

Gonzalez, a former city bus driver who was born in Puerto Rico, was first elected to the Senate in 1989 when he won a special election to fill the seat of Sen. Isreal Ruiz, who was convicted of falsifying a bank loan application.

Gonzalez was charged in an indictment in 2006 with stealing money from charities while he served in the state senate from October 1999 to January 2005.

He was accused of directing a charity, Pathways for Youth, Inc. in the Bronx to send money to two not-for-profit organizations, which in turn paid his expenses, including fees to a vacation club in the Dominican Republic and his daughter's college tuition.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a release that the seven-year sentence Gonzalez received means he "will join the growing ranks of former New York State and New York City lawmakers now serving lengthy terms in federal prison."

New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said the sentence was deserving for a "one-time state senator who looted hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on his own lavish lifestyle. Steak dinners, premium Yankees tickets and a steady supply of cash came at the expense of the constituents this former public official pledged to represent."

He must report to prison June 30.

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